KATHMANDU, Oct 12: The government in the past three weeks slapped cash fines of Rs 4.932 million on the traders who were found to be involved in market anomalies.

The records unveiled by the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection (DoCSCP) shows that the regulator collected the amount from 159 firms found breaching the laws related to consumer welfare. Most of these cases are related to the food businesses, according to the department.

The figure shows how consumers are poised to market misconduct with the approaching festive season. The DoCSCP records show that almost one-fourth of the firms were found guilty in ensuring consumers interests out of the inspection of 597 firms carried out during the review period.

Tirtharaj Chiluwal, director general of the DoCSCP, said the department has intensified joint market inspection for the past few weeks, targeting the upcoming festivals. According to him, a total of 10 market monitoring teams have been carrying out the inspection of goods divided in 23 categories.

Likewise, the department destroyed substandard foods of more than Rs 10 million during the review period.

Chiluwal said they have targeted to check the black market of edibles in particular apart from taking action against the firms selling substandard products. Recently, consumers have largely been affected by the soaring price of sugar. According to retailers, the price of sugar has gone up to Rs 150 per kg from around Rs 95 per kg in the past few days.     

Meanwhile, the department on Wednesday collected cash fines of Rs 90,000 from four valley-based shops which were found cheating consumers. These firms were carrying out transactions without issuing bills while not maintaining price lists in their outlets.   

 
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