To amend the Act, Department of Commerce (DoC) has initiated the process to collect suggestions from different stakeholders, including consumer rights groups, business peoples and experts, for the amendment to the Consumers Rights Protection Act, 1997.[break[
“Existing Act lacks clear definition of hoarding of goods and punishment against those involved in such unethical activities, which gives us no power to take action against them. So we are pushing for the amendment to the Act in a bid to discourage such practices,” Anil Thakur, director general of DoC, told Republica. Thakur said they would also incorporate the provision of levy -- a certain portion of essential commodities to be sold to the government by private producers -- in the Act so as to empower the government intervene into the market to control skyrocketing prices in the market and control black marketing by private traders.
“We are also preparing to include a provision for setting up Consumer Court and devising a pricing policy to fix price of certain essential commodities in a bid to ensure prompt action against the wrongdoers and to control market prices,” Thakur added. He also said the DoC would function as a semi-judicial body and its jurisdiction would be expanded after the Act is amended. “This will enable DoC to look into cases related to unethical activities in the market and issued verdicts,” he added.
Meanwhile, the government is setting up a Wholesale Market Price Information Center to provide actual information about prices of consumer goods to general public in a scientific manner.
“We will set up the information center to provide wholesale prices of goods, mainly essential commodities, so that consumers can guess retail prices goods easily. With the establishment of the center, retailers will be discouraged to overprice the commodities and wholesalers will be brought into the scientific pricing system,” said Thakur.
Ganesh Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), said the ministry would propose to set up the center in the upcoming budget.
“The center will be established for effective information dissemination and market monitoring involving different associations of business communities and retailers,” said Dhakal.
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