Ministry of Commerce and Industry issues a circular specifying providers’ obligations to consumers when purchasing or reserving cars

March 26, 2023

The Consumer Protection and Combating Commercial Fraud Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued Circular No. (1) of 2023 to specify the obligations of car providers to consumers when buying or reserving cars by preparing a form for a “delivery date document” that includes mandatory data in accordance with the provisions of the law. This circular comes in line with the Ministry’s keenness to protect consumers’ rights when buying or reserving new or used cars.

The Ministry referred to Law No. (8) of 2008, regarding the protection of consumers, and the following amendments which clarified the obligations of the providers in line with the protection of consumers’ rights, and also Article (8) related to the rights of consumers to obtain additional information as per the executive regulations of this law, which stipulated in Article (4) the nature of data that should be available in the document issued by the providers, and therefore the following has been decided:

First: the preparation of a form to reserve a vehicle, which includes the following:

  • Name and address of the provider, and the date of the invoice
  • Type of vehicle or service, plus a basic description
  • Sale unit
  • Number of units sold
  • Unit condition (if used)
  • Price of the good or service in Qatari Riyal
  • Delivery date
  • Signature/seal of the provider or his/her legal representative
  • Serial number of the good and its components

The form is filled once the provider is certain about the availability of the vehicle requested by the consumer, and once the date of delivery and payment are specified.

Second: Providing the customer with a copy of the “delivery date form”:

Third: All car dealers concerned with this circular shall regularly provide the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department with a monthly statement of car reservations and make it readily available.

Additionally, the Ministry has decided to give car dealers residing in the State of Qatar a week notice to implement the changes and inform the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department about it.

The Ministry affirms that after the expiry of the deadline, it shall intensify its inspections to monitor the adherence of car dealers to the new regulations, and it will deal with any violation of the obligations stipulated in Law No. (8) of 2008 and its implementing regulations related to consumer protection.

The Ministry encourages all citizens and residents to report any violations via the following channels:

– Call Center: 16001

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry social media sites:

Twitter: @MOCIQATAR

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