Media ININ Economy We Trust
Aug 21
Cabinet Resolution No. 66 of 2023 – the executive regulations of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 – regarding “consumer protection” – prohibited commodity providers and outlets from nine practices that should be avoided and not fall into them, in order to avoid violations and administrative and financial penalties.
According to Article 32 of the text of the decision related to “monopolistic practices”, and taking into account the provisions of Federal Law No. 4 of 2012 referred to, it is prohibited for providers of goods, sales outlets and groceries to: discriminate between consumers in selling the commodity or benefiting from the service, and concealing the commodity or refraining from selling it Or refraining from providing the service by obliging the consumer to buy a certain amount of the commodity or making another commodity or service conditional with it, or restricting the use of the service to conditions that are by their nature unrelated to the service subject of the original transaction.
Likewise, to charge a price higher than the price advertised by any means of advertising, to sell goods or services at prices less than the cost price to create a monopolistic position, or for more than one supplier of goods to form an alliance to form damage to the national economy, or the suppliers agree explicitly or implicitly to fix, reduce or Raising the price, openly or secretly, in a way that harms the national economy.
Also, the agreement of competitors to divide the market among themselves according to geographical distribution or sales volume, or the supplier purchasing competing goods or services from the market for the purpose of controlling prices, or refraining from stopping or limiting the quantity of production, supply or supply of goods or services.
Prohibited agreements
The decision also prohibited, according to Article 33 (prohibition of monopoly-related agreements), practices, agreements, or contracts, whether the contracts are written or oral, express or implied, if the purpose of the practices, agreements, contracts, or the resulting effect is any case of monopoly.
Include an adverse condition
And according to Article 34 regarding (prohibiting the inclusion of a condition that harms the consumer), every condition that would exempt the supplier from its responsibility or any of its obligations stipulated in the law and this decision towards the consumer, whether these conditions are contained in contract forms, invoices, documents, or anything else related to it, is null and void. By contracting with the consumer, and in particular: by giving the supplier the right to interpret or amend some of the terms of the contract or unilaterally terminate it without referring to the consumer or giving him the right to claim compensation.
Likewise, authorizing the right to the provider in the case of an indefinite contract to terminate it unilaterally, not to grant the same right to the consumer, and to authorize the provider to determine by itself and without reference to the consumer whether the commodity or service subject of the contract conforms to what is stipulated in the contract, and cancel or Diminution of the consumer’s right to seek compensation when the supplier breaches its obligations.
Giving the provider the right to unilaterally change the characteristics of the commodity or the terms of the consumer’s use of the service in the case of subscription contracts for services, and as an exception to this provision, the provider may change the service provided by it after notifying the consumer of that, whenever this change would develop the service or update them, or for a reason beyond the control of the provider. Or the consumer’s waiver of any of his rights stipulated in the law and in this decision or in other relevant legislation.
Cancellation of the consumer’s rights towards the provider or limiting them appropriately in the event that the provider fails to implement its obligations in whole or in part or performs them poorly, or obliges the consumer, in the event of failure to fulfill any of its contractual obligations, to pay the provider compensation that is not commensurate with the actual damages resulting from its failure to fulfill it. his obligations. Or that the price of the commodity be determined upon presentation and delivery, or that the price of the service is subject to review at the will of the provider alone in the case of long-term contracts, and not allow the consumer to request termination of the contract when the final price is too high compared to what has been agreed upon.
Merchandise is not refundable or exchangeable
And the decision prohibits the supplier of the commodity and the sales outlet from putting the phrase “the sold goods are not returned or replaced” except for 3 cases: if the consumer knew of the defect or defect in the commodity when purchasing it and accepted it in its condition as it is, and this was proven in the purchase invoice, or if it was among the Goods whose nature, characteristics, or method of packaging or packaging preclude their replacement or return, such as their exposure to damage or the impossibility of returning them to the state they were in at the time of purchase, in a way that prevents them from being resold, unless the reason for the return and replacement is defects in manufacturing or a violation of standard specifications. Or other than the agreed upon specifications.
In the third case, if the consumer goods are subject to rapid perishability, unless it is proved that they are spoiled or expired for human consumption at the date of purchase, or the goods are manufactured according to specifications specified by the consumer, as well as books, newspapers and magazines.
Also among the prohibited matters is the failure of the consumer to recover the price of the commodity or for the service, or to oblige the consumer to deal with certain financing or insurance companies, or to set conditions that maintenance must be carried out in the agency within a certain period of time, and not to carry out any maintenance or repair outside the agency, provided that This takes into account the assessment of the concerned authority and the extent to which accredited centers exist to carry out this type of maintenance in accordance with the requirements and conditions, or the supplier’s non-responsibility for the commodity while providing the service.
consumer complaints
According to Article 35 (Consumer Complaints), the competent authority receives consumer complaints, examines them, and follows them up. To this end, it has the right to take 3 procedures, which are, the complaint is entered, provided that the data include: the name of the complainant, his address, his description, the date of submission, the name of the complainant, his address, the nature of his activity, and the type of violation subject The complaint, the evidence on which the complaint is based and related documents, if any, and any other documents or data required by the concerned party.
Second: The competent authority may refuse to receive any complaint that does not fulfill any of the data and documents specified in the previous paragraph, and in the event that it is not possible to
