KATHMANDU, May 4: As the government bodies are busy preparing for the upcoming local elections, a number of traders have been found cheating the consumers through hikes in prices and artificial shortages.

The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumers Protection (DoCSCP), in this regard, collected Rs 985,000 in cash penalty from the unscrupulous traders in just the past two weeks. During the period, the department took action against 184 business firms in the Kathmandu Valley.

According to the DoCSCP, the outlets scanned were found to be involved in the black marketeering of daily essentials and selling expired foods. The Consumer Protection Act 2018 has permitted the department to charge on-spot cash fines of up to Rs 300,000 from the traders violating the government rule.

Meanwhile, the DoCSCP collected cash fines of Rs 11.86 million from 996 valley-based firms in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Over the period, the regulator inspected 2,129 business outlets.    

 
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