The federal draft law on consumer protection approved by the Federal National Council, yesterday, gave the Minister of Economy the power of "government intervention" in pricing any good or service in times of crisis, emergency conditions, or unusual conditions in internal or external markets, with the aim of Protecting the interest of consumers and not harming them.
With the bill that will enter service immediately after the final approval of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and published in the Official Gazette, the Cabinet has been responsible for establishing the Supreme Committee for Consumer Protection, with the Minister of Economy taking responsibility for chairing the committee, to implement the tasks assigned to it According to seven strategic specializations, the most prominent of which is the study of the proposals and recommendations that are received and related to the protection of the consumer's right, and the development of plans and programs to educate the consumer and make him aware of his economic rights and obligations.
In detail, a federal draft law on consumer protection was introduced, and the Federal National Council finally approved it, creating a government committee affiliated with the Ministry of Economy called the “Higher Committee for Consumer Protection”, which is concerned with protecting consumers from any negative practices or manipulations by merchants or service providers.
According to the draft law, the committee is formed by a decision of the Council of Ministers provided that it consists of five officials (president and 4 members), as the Minister of Economy is responsible for chairing the committee, while its membership includes two representatives from the competent authorities and consumer protection societies, in addition to two representing those with expertise and competence ( Chosen by the minister).
The draft law identified seven main competencies or strategic tasks for the work of the Supreme Committee for Consumer Protection: the first is to study the proposals and recommendations that are received and related to the protection of the consumer's right and give an opinion on them, and the second is to develop plans and programs to educate the consumer and make him aware of his economic rights and obligations, and the third is to study what the minister offers and issue recommendations on him .
The fourth specialization focuses on setting general policies for consumer protection, the fifth is studying consumer protection reports referred to it by the administration and the competent authority, and taking the necessary decisions in this regard, the sixth is studying the obstacles facing the application of the law and proposing a mechanism to address them, and finally any other competencies assigned to it by the Council of Ministers.
The federal draft law on consumer protection granted the Minister of Economy the authority to take the necessary measures to protect the interests of consumers and not harm them in the event of a crisis, emergency conditions or unusual conditions in the internal or external markets, most notably his ability to interfere in the pricing of goods by issuing an official decision, specifying in it The selling price of any commodity, which is supplied by all state suppliers.
And issuing decisions on the basis of which the terms and conditions of the guarantee and the prices of the after-sales service are determined, according to the type and nature of each good or service, with the obligation of the provider in the event that a defect in the good or service is discovered to repair or replace it or return the commodity and return its price, or to return the service without compensation, And in accordance with what is determined by the executive regulations of this law.
The draft law gave service providers, agents, and advertisers a year to reconcile their conditions in accordance with the provisions of the law, starting from the effective date of the law, and this period may be extended for other similar periods by a decision of the cabinet based on a proposal from the minister.
The draft law permits affected persons with interests to file a grievance in writing to the Minister of Economy of decisions and actions taken against them, according to the provisions of this law, within 15 working days from the date of notifying him of the decision or the grievance against him, provided that the accompanying documents and documents are attached to the grievance. The grievance shall be within 30 days from the date of its submission, and the decision issued in respect thereof shall be final, and failure to respond within the aforementioned period shall be considered a rejection of the request.
E-commerce services
The draft law assigned the Ministry of Economy the task of overseeing the preparation and application of the general policy for consumer protection, in cooperation with the competent authorities, especially with regard to raising awareness and educating the consumer about what contributes to his protection from the risks of some goods and services (including e-commerce services) and publishing decisions and recommendations that contribute To increase consumer awareness, monitor price movement, work to limit their rise, work to achieve the principle of competition, and combat misleading advertisements and monopoly.
In addition to receiving consumer complaints and the Consumer Protection Association, and taking the necessary measures in this regard or referring them to the competent authorities, provided that the executive regulations for this law set a system for receiving complaints and necessary procedures in this regard, and aspects of coordination between the ministry and the competent authority, and a list of administrative penalties and financial penalties that may be imposed The Ministry may sign the provider.