Consumer's Protection Policy in limbo

KATHMANDU, April 28:

The government has failed to live up to its commitment of introducing Consumers Protection Policy 2014 within February.

The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) was supposed to send the draft of the policy to cabinet for endorsement after holding final discussion with concerned stakeholders about two months ago. But instead of forwarding the draft to the cabinet, the ministry has sent the draft back to the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) citing that the draft lacked the format of a policy.

“We have sent the draft back to the department, asking it to make some changes,” Deepak Subedi, spokesperson of MoCS told Republica, adding, “We will forward it to the cabinet for endorsement after the department submit us the draft after making necessary changes.” Subedi also said endorsement of Consumer Rights Policy was in the top priority of the government.

The draft was initially prepared by the Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights (FPCR) about one and half years ago. DoCSM had provided technical and financial assistance to the forum to prepare the initial draft.

The draft envisages forming Department of Consumer Protection and Supply Management to look after consumer rights and to ensure supply of goods. Likewise, the raft proposes formation of Consumer Protection Trust in the capital that will launch consumer awareness campaigns and allocate funds for the purpose.

As per the draft, the government will deposit certain percent of import duty in the fund. Fines penalties paid by unscrupulous traders would also be deposited in the fund.

Other provision in the draft includes forming Consumer Protection Council to suggest to the government on rules, regulations and policies on consumer rights. It has also proposed forming consumer courts in all the districts to handle cases related to consumer rights.

Consumer activists had hoped that the policy would provide relief to consumers who are being cheated in terms of quality or price by unscrupulous traders. Jyoti Baniya, general secretary of FPCR, accused the government of showing reluctance to endorse the policy. “The draft had already been finalized. I don´t know why the government is dragging feet to endorse it,” Baniya said. “Even if the policy is endorsed, implementing it effectively would be a challenging task.”

Source: Republica