Draft consumer protection act,'07 'should be okayed'

FE Team | Published: June 24, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Saturday said the draft consumer protection act of 2007 prepared by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) should be approved for protecting the rights of the country's 14 million consumers.
The CAB at press conference criticised the government move to approve the draft consumer protection act of 2006 instead of the one prepared in 2007 which was more transparent.
The Ministry of Commerce has sent the draft to the Council of Advisers for its final nod and is expected to be placed before the next meeting of the advisers, sources said.
The CAB said the draft consumers protection act of 2006 was faulty and incapable of protecting the consumers rights.
Addressing the press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) Saturday CAB general secretary Quazi Faruque Ahmed said the consumer protection act of 2006 will be unable to achieve the desired goals in protecting the consumers rights.
He also said the consumer protection act of 2007 prepared by the BDR in consultation with CAB and other trade organisations should be approved by the council of advisers in the interest of common consumers.
CAB secretary said the country's consumers are being often cheated by the traders due to the lack of effective laws related to protecting the common buyers rights.
The immediate-past BNP-led government also prepared a draft act in 2004 as well.
Projecting a comparative scenario between the draft acts of 2004 and 2006, CAB official Khalilur Rahman said the latter has no provision for forming separate courts or tribunals to bring the culprits to book.
He said the draft act of 2007 has provision for forming separate courts or tribunals to punish the criminals.
Presided over by the CAB president Borhan Ahmed, the meeting was attended, among others by programme coordinator Kazi Fazlul Hoque and programme officer Emdad Hossain.