Dubai: It is against the law for retail outlets to insert the clause “the sold goods are neither returnable or exchangeable” on their invoices, warned an official.

The warning comes as the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai seeks to raise awareness on the rules and guidelines governing commercial activities in Dubai and consumer rights.

All businesses must comply with certain basic DED requirements and rules but some guidelines are more specific to the nature of the commercial activity.

A trade licence, for example, is required to engage in any kind of commercial activity and all companies are required to obtain permission before announcing sales or special offers.

However, the rules become more specific according to the type of business. For instance, traders dealing in mobile phones must also ensure the products comply with UAE environmental laws and provide a manual for phones in Arabic and at least one other language. Meanwhile, groceries cannot sell fireworks or medical products, although they are permitted to sell a huge range of household items.

Some businesses are not aware of all the rules and risk getting fined if they come up short in terms of compliance. Many rules are issued in the interest of standardisation, while others regulations are in place for the safety of customers and the public, or for environmental reasons. It is understood consumers stand to also benefit indirectly from the awareness drive as it encourages business owners to implement best practices, quality control and customer service.

A senior DED official told Gulf News that the rules are printed on the back of trade licences specific to the commercial activity but officials are also raising awareness and reaching out to businesses.

“Many companies don’t know about the rules and regulations. We are spreading awareness, through the media and by using social media also, so they are more aware what is and is not allowed,” said Omar Al Mehairi, Director, Development and Follow-up Department, Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Sector, DED.

“For example, many warehouses don’t display the licence or company name, or there may be staff living inside, or they may be selling products directly out of the warehouse. All that is not allowed, but many warehouses are not aware even though they have a licence for the warehouse itself.”

Al Mehairi said some businesses are genuinely unaware of the rules while some feign ignorance of the rules as an excuse to avoid fines.

“The awareness in general is good but it can be better. Some sectors are better than others. We’re marketing the campaign, starting with some commercial activities. We are expanding the list, and will add more sectors in the future.

“This is an important issue. We started the campaign two months ago and business owners should know rules [beforehand], not when our inspectors go to them. Nobody should say, ‘we didn’t know the rule’. But we already tell them in the trade licence, each licence has a list of rules.”

He added: “The focus is to work with them, not to focus on fines. It’s a continuous plan.”