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The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has carried out sudden intensive inspection campaign on a number of retailer complexes at different areas of the State of Qatar to monitor the compliance of suppliers (the retailer complexes) with obligations stipulated by Law No. (8) of 2008 on Consumer Protection.
The sudden intensive campaigns come in the framework of the ministry’s keenness to regulate and control the market and commercial activities in order to crack down on price manipulation and protect consumer rights.
The inspection campaign resulted in a fine for one of the retailer complexes, which was displaying a well-known local tomato product in the area designated for imported goods through air, which violates the provisions of Article No. (7) of Law No. 8 of 2008 on Consumer Protection and combating commercial fraud, which states that “For any trading product, the supplier should be committed to clearly present the type and nature of the commodity, its components and all the relevant data on its cover or its packaging as determined by the executive regulations for this law, and whether the use of this product will pose any kind of harm to the consumer, the supplier has to alert the consumer visibly. For all suppliers, it is prohibited to describe, advertise or display any kind of product in a way that contain false or deceptive statements.”
A fine was issued by the ministry, in addition to the pledges that were signed by the complex ensuring that it will abide by the laws for Consumer Protection. It should be noted that violating Law No. (8) of 2008 on Consumer Protection can result in closure and fines ranging from 3,000 QR to 1 million QR.
 
 
 
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Economy and Commerce has previously urged all retailers and suppliers to separate the displayed local vegetables and fruits from the imported goods through air to ensure that the consumers are fully aware of the type of displayed product in all retailers.
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