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The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has carried out intensive inspection campaigns during the month of September 2016 to monitor the compliance of the suppliers with the obligations stipulated by law No. 8 of 2008 on consumer protection, which comes in the framework of the ministry’s keenness to monitor markets and commercial activities to crack down on price manipulation and protect consumer rights.
The inspection campaigns, which targeted different areas of the state, resulted in 137 violations; most of them included failing to include clearly all the information related to the displayed product, failing to issue Arabic bills, failing to use the Arabic language in declarations and statements related to the product, using false and deceptive information when describing, advertising or displaying the product, failing to announce the price of the service/product, charging a price higher than the price that was declared, selling and displaying expired products, failing to announce product/service prices, etc.
Fines issued by the ministry to the violated outlets included closures and financial penalties starting from 5,000QR up to 30,000QR, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Consumer Protection Anti-Commercial Fraud Department.
The following table shows the type and number of violations issued during the month of September 2016:
 NumberType of Violation31Failing to include clearly all the information related to the displayed product17Failing to issue Arabic bills17Failing to use the Arabic language in declarations and statements related to the product16Using false and deceptive information when describing, advertising or displaying the product14Charging a price higher than the price that was declared13Selling and displaying expired products7Failing to announce product/service prices1Failing to announce product/service prices in Arabic2Failing to clearly announce product/service prices4Failing to clearly identify service information, including its advantages, characteristics and prices2
Raising the prices without an approval from the competent authority.
 2Failing to issue bills1The unavailability of automobile spare parts/the delay in after-sales services/ failing to provide an alternative car1Issuing promotions without obtaining the necessary approval from the competent authority2Issuing reductions without obtaining the necessary approval from the competent authority1Not complying with the service guarantee that was carried out over a period of time suitable for the service type and the repayment of the charged amount back to the customer1The imposition to buy a certain amount of a commodity or buy another commodity with it1Not complying with the rules of exchange and refund of the product1Raising the prices of fruits and vegetables during the auction time without obtaining an approval from the competent authority1Not complying with the charge of car parking service2
Reducing the weight of local and Arabic bread
 137Total
 
The ministry stressed that it will not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and will intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on violations. The ministry said it will refer those who violate laws and ministerial decrees to competent authorities, who will in turn take appropriate action against perpetrators in order to protect consumer rights.
The ministry urges all consumers to report violations to the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the following channels:
– Call Centre: 16001
– Email: info@mec.gov.qa
– The accounts of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce on social networks
     – Twitter MEC_QATAR
     – Instagram MEC_QATAR
– The application of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce on iPhone and Android devices MEC_QATAR