The new shift in policy, which aims to intensify the government´s presence in the open regime that the country embarked on about two decades ago, will be enforced through the amendment to the Consumers´ Rights Protection Act (CRPA), said Anil Kumar Thakur, director general of Department of Commerce (DoC). [break]
Through the amendment, the government is making it legally binding for the producers of essential commodities to supply at least 10 percent of their total productions to the state.
“The main motive of this provision is to build the national reserve of the essential commodities so that the government can intervene into the market whenever supplies dwindle or prices in the market move upward without valid reasons,” said Thakur.
The government is also preparing to empower market regulators and adopt prompt penalizing system. Under it, the market inspectors will be allowed to slap instant fines and go even to the extent of sealing the business units in case they are found of flouting competition law and fair market norms.
“We have also proposed giving more teeth to market inspectors to regulate the market. Our aim is to uphold consumers´ interests by bolstering state´s monitoring presence in the market,” said Thakur.
DoC has already drafted the new amendments and forwarded it to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies for further actions.
Of the major changes proposed in the Act, DoC has decided to bring in unfair marketing practices such as hoarding and black marketing under its supervision and regulation. So far, those were governed by a separate Black Marketing Act.
The draft defines ´hoarding´ from the regulatory perspective. This, officials said, will end long-running ambiguity in ascertaining which is genuine stock and which is hoarding, thus facilitating the market inspection, Thakur added.
DoC has incorporated all existing code of conduct issued to wholesalers and retailers like disclosure of prices, health and quality related assurances as mandatory provisions in the proposed amendment for the different players along the supply chains to follow.
The amendment also holds importers liable for compensation in case the goods cause health hazards and loss to the consumers.
It pushes for the formation of Market Inspection Central Direction Committee as apex institution to regulate the market.
The committee will have secretary of Ministry of Commerce and Supplies; joint secretaries from Ministry of Home and Ministry of Finance; and chiefs of DoC, Department of Standard and Metrology and Department of Food Technology and Quality Control.
“The committee will basically work as policy-level body, chalk out actions to be taken in the market and issues instructions to the market inspectors for effective market monitoring,” Thakur said.
Ministry officials express hope that the body will also ensure inter-ministerial and departmental coordination and resolve current trend of shying away from working together in upholding consumers rights.
While the Act envisages incorporating local bodies in controlling anomalies in the market at the local level, it moots cost-sharing proposal among different stakeholders so that local governance units, activists and consumers own and aggressively work for market inspection and correction.
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