Stiff penalties if outlets don’t display price lists

[shahul]

DUBAI - The retail outlets and eateries in the UAE should display the price lists of all items sold or face stiff penalties including closure of the outlets, Dr Hashim Al Nuwaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy, warned on Wednesday.

Display of the price lists is mandatory for all types of retail outlets and eateries, including supermarkets, cafeterias, groceries, and fruits and vegetable shops, he said after an inspection drive at the Fruits and Vegetable Market in Al Aweer in view of the holy month of Ramadan.

The warning came after a large number of retail outlets in the UAE were found not displaying the price lists. Al Nuwaimi said in case of violation for the first time, a warning letter will be issued to the outlet. If it continues to violate the rule, a fine of Dh10,000 will be imposed.

If it is found repeating the offence a third time, the licence will be cancelled and the outlet shut down. Al Nuwaimi said a team of inspectors would be deployed to inspect the outlets including the big supermarket chains. “We don’t want any bargaining business.

Everything should be on fixed prices. We know that sometimes shopkeepers charge prices according their whim. This practice will not be tolerated.”

The department has already closed down a number of supermarkets in different parts of the country for violating the laws, he said without disclosing the exact the number.

In a bid to ensure stability in prices of vegetables and fruits and their availability in the market during Ramadan, the ministry has held talks with the traders and sellers and warned them of penalties in case of any malpractices, including arbitrary price hikes or hoarding of goods to create demand.

Al Nuwaimi led a group of inspectors to check the Fruits and Vegetable Market in Al Aweer and Emke Group’s LuLu shopping centres, Carrefour, and Union Cooperative Society in different parts of Dubai.

He said a number of shops were found violating the laws during the inspections. They were fined.