Significant amount of counterfeit products was seized and commercial data system violations recorded
The Ministry of Commerce and investment continue the inspection patrols on commercial facilities to expose the concealment in telecommunication and accessories sector. The ministry carried out more than 5,000 inspection patrols around the Kingdom's regions since the implementation of the Ministerial Decree, which limits the work in this sector to Saudi citizens and came to force in the first of the Ramadan. More than 2000 violations included 41 cases of suspected commercial concealment, 218 violations of the new ministerial decree and more than 1,700 breaches of the Ministry rules and regulations. Those cases now are being followed by the authorities to take legal procedures and necessary penalties against them.
During the inspection patrols, MCI inspectors seized large quantities of counterfeit mobile batteries and chargers with forged famous brand names and some violations for not placing the price tags on the products.
The intensive field inspection campaigns on the shops dealing with mobile phones and their accessories in various regions of the Kingdom, carried out by the Ministries of Commerce & Investment, Labor & Social Development, Municipal & Rural Affairs, Telecommunications & Information Technology. This is to ensure the commitment towards the regulations and to impose the legal penalties on the violators of the Commercial Concealment Law in the telecom sector and its accessories. And to carry out the Ministerial Decree that state to limit the work in the telecom sector on the Saudi citizens only.
Based upon the rules and regulations that the citizens and foreigner should apply to, whoever involved in a commercial concealment, will be liable to two years imprisonment, a fine of one million riyals besides deporting to his country after the end of the sentence. Also, there will be a defamation against the violators in the local newspapers, closing the shop and preventing the concealer from exercising the same business for five years.
The Nationalization decision aims at finding job opportunities in the telecom sector for Saudi men and women, who wish to work in this field, since this trade activity provides appropriate income, job stability for workers, besides maintaining this profession, due to its importance from the security, social and economic point of view, in addition, to stop commercial concealment practices.
It is worth mentioning that the four Ministries had given the telecom shopkeepers a period of 90 days, from the announcement of the decree on 01.06.1437 AH, to fulfill the nationalization by 50%, and then the whole sector by 01.12.1437 AH.