The Ministry of Commerce and Investment holds today a workshop on Anti-Commercial Fraud Law, Precious Metals, gemstones, Commercial Data and the GCC Consolidated Consumer’s Protection System, as part of the Consumer Rights Enforcement Initiative, which is one of the Ministry's initiatives within the National Transformation Program 2020.
This workshop aims to raise the consumer and merchant satisfaction, as well as to raise awareness of the Rules & Regulations that traders should adhere by, in terms of the consumer’s rights, and to avoid falling into the breach of these regulations.
During the workshop, a presentation was delivered on precious metals and gemstones system, which focused on the regulatory procedures to work in this field, also the rights of the consumer and the merchant alike. Followed by a presentation of the Anti-Money Laundering System, relevant to gold and jewelry sector, which included the procedures to be followed in order to avoid falling into the breach of the law, as well as how gold and jewelry traders should cooperate with the concerned authorities, focusing on the issue of not selling or purchasing to an anonymous or suspected person, besides keeping the relevant records, as well as to inform the concerned authorities in case of suspecting any purchase or sale of gold and jewelry.
Meanwhile, a presentation was delivered on Consumer Call Center (1900) and its work mechanism and functions, which has direct communication with consumers and companies, followed by a presentation on the consumer’s rights in accordance with the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law, Commercial Data and the GCC Consolidated Consumer Protection System, through which a detailed explanation of the consumer’s rights was shown, which the traders should adhere by, then a presentation was delivered on the system of issuing the licenses for sales & discounts electronically, which contributed to reducing the period of obtaining the license from 15 days to one working day.
The said workshop included discussions and suggestions by the participants, which focused on the procedures of dealing with consumer’s reports and complaints, also the necessity of clarifying the methods and ways of avoiding violations and breaching the law, besides protecting the rights of consumers. The participants called upon intensifying the Rights & Duties Awareness Campaigns for traders and consumers.
It is worth mentioning that the said workshop was attended by the Secretary General of Consumer’s Protection Committee, in addition to representatives of major retailers, as well as gold and gemstones companies.