The Ministry of Commerce and Investment and the Ministry of Information are coordinating and cooperating together to eliminate the commercial fraud in the printing sector through a joint work plan aimed at improving the level of services offered by printing presses and eliminating any violations related to commercial fraud, especially in the materials used in printing.
MCI and the Ministry of Information have been intensifying the inspection and control on printing sector by carrying up joint inspection campaigns, aiming at eradicating the commercial fraud in the products offered by the printing presses and ensuring that the consumer would obtain a product conforming to the approved Saudi standard specifications.
The two Ministries also intend to proceed in their media campaign, aiming at raising the consumer and merchant awareness, as well as enabling the consumer to obtain a product that meets the standard specifications, also providing an attractive environment for businessmen wishing to invest in the printing sector, besides providing fair competitive environment through intensifying the inspection and control on printing presses, to ensure that the market is free of any counterfeit products.
This cooperation between MCI and the Ministry of Information has been crystallized by the five-day joint inspection campaign covering the printing press sector in all parts of the Kingdom. This inspection campaign resulted in the inspection of 783 printing presses, 45850 items in violation seized, 45 violation notices have been released to printing presses operating in this sector, besides shutting up five printing presses in violation in Riyadh. During the implementation of the inspection campaign, MCI and the Ministry of Information worked according to a joint coordination mechanism by tracking the details of the printing presses that the customers are dealing with to forge and print the trademarks of the goods and products, usually seized by MCI inspection teams.
Meanwhile, the two Ministries will not hesitate to impose the legal penalties against the violators. Since the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law imposes penalties of up to three-year imprisonment, fines of up to one million riyals or both, defamation against the violator in two local newspapers at his expense, deporting the illegal labors, suspension and prevention of practicing the commercial activity.
MCI calls on all consumers to lodge their complaints and observations through MCI Consumer Call Center (1900), or through the application of a Commercial Violation Report or via the Ministry's official website.
For its part, the Ministry of Information pointed out that all reports and complaints can be delivered through the Ministry’s "Fawri" Service via the Social Networks, or via the e-portal through the “Communication” Service of the Report Technical Support Center, or through the application of "Media Reports" via smart devices and tablets.