Draft of Consumer Protection Act awaits advisers' nod

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Jasim Uddin Haroon
The council of advisers is likely to approve the draft Consumer Protection Act-2006 shortly. The proposed act has been opposed by the non-government market research organisations and civil societies saying that it cannot protect the consumers' interests.
The market research organisations said the draft act has no provision to identify any syndicate or cartel of traders and bring them to book.
The country does not have any consumer protection act and the victims might file cases under the Bangladesh penal codes, which can impose very insignificant penalties on the culprits.
Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed told the FE that the draft Consumer Protection Act of 2006 was submitted Monday last and it might be placed before the council of advisers in a meeting shortly.
"I don't know whether it will be placed today or Wednesday," he, however, added.
Sources from the market research organisations in the city told the FE Friday that they would resist enforcement of such a defective act through creating opinions among the people across the country.
"I think the proposed act of 2006 has been prepared in connivance with the syndication leaders and we will resist it for its defective nature," said general secretary of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Quazi Faruque Ahmed.
As per the draft act, a separate department will be constituted to look after the interest of consumers across the country.
But it did not propose forming a separate court or tribunals to bring the culprits to book.
The affected consumers, however, will be able to submit their allegations to the department and its officials will file cases on behalf of them, if the allegations are found cognizable, the draft act envisages.
It might jail the culprits for a period of one year in addition to a maximum penalty of Tk 100,000.
The CAB said former commerce secretary Abdul Karim postponed all the procedures relating to the act in the face of opposition from them.
In the meantime, sources with the market research organisations said the proposals prepared by the Trade and Commerce Monitoring Cell (TCMC) of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) under the draft consumer protection act of 2007 might help uphold the rights of the consumers.
The TCMC prepared the proposals combining the draft consumer protection acts of 2006 and 2004 to protect the rights of the consumers and sent it to the government one month back.
Earlier, the immediate past BNP-led government prepared the draft consumer protection acts of 2004 and 2006. Former commerce secretary Abdul Karim was the chief of the committee of the consumer protection act of 2006, which finalised the draft in May in 2006.
However, as per the draft consumer protection act of 2007 prepared by the TCMC, the affected consumers are likely to be able to file their allegations with three arbitration boards at district, city and upazila levels.
The arbitrations boards will look into the cases involving up to Tk 10,000.
The cases involving beyond Tk 10,000 will be taken up by the tribunals and the consumers need not recruit any professional counsels to run their cases.
The victim himself will appear before the tribunal, if he is not solvent enough to hire a lawyer, to seek justice, according to the draft of the consumer protection act of 2007.
'We prefer TCMC proposals despite the fact that it also has some limitations,' said Imdad Hossain, programme officer of the CAB.
He also said all the three drafts have failed to bring the educational institutions, recreation centres and many such others under coverage, though they often cheat the consumers.
The CAB will organise a press conference in the city today (Saturday) to protest the move.
The CAB general secretary told the FE, there is not a second such controversial act in the world compared to the draft of 2006 as far as the rights of the consumers are concerned.
"We don't want such an act and it will fail to protect the rights of the consumers," he added.