Plan to amend consumers\\\' rights law

---

Talha Bin Habib | Published: August 17, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

---

 The government plans to amend the law protecting consumers' rights, aiming to make it time-befitting for the greater benefit of consumers, a senior trade official said.
 The move comes against the backdrop of a series of public reactions and problems the government faced while enforcing the Consumers' Rights Protection Act, 2009.
 "We are considering amending the Act," senior secretary of the ministry of commerce (MoC) Hedayetullah Al Mamoon told the FE.
 The consumers' rights in the country are not well-protected due to some procedural hindrances, lack of awareness and monitoring systems, and shortage of experts, for example, according to the market analysts.  
 The existing district committee under section-1 of the Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009 chaired by the deputy commissioners (DCs) are dysfunctional as they are involved in other administrative functions.
 Besides, no union committee has yet been established for the protection of the rights of consumers under section-13 of the act.
 The other problems of the existing consumer rights protection mechanisms are-different laws on the same issue,  different types of punishment for the same offence under different laws; court fees for filing a suit for compensation.
 The Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009 is not applicable for drug. The sellers have been given privilege to escape legal actions in the name of selling in good faith, lack of accountability of the department concerned, lack of expertise in examining products for safety and maintaining standards and quality due to  lack of awareness.
 "We got huge public reactions to the act and faced problems while enforcing the law. We will amend the act to make it time-befitting," a high official of the MoC told the FE.
 He said that to push the move forward the government has formed a six-member committee with the responsibility for bringing necessary amendments to the Act.
 "It is necessary to amend the Consumers Rights Protection Act, 2009," Director General (DG) of the Directorate of the National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) Abul Hossain Mian told the FF.
 Asked about the timeline for amending the Act, the senior secretary of the MoC said, "It will take some times to amend the Act."