Saudi Gazette report ABHA/DAMMAM — A source in the Human Rights Commission (HRC) said the Consumer Protection Association (CPA) is ineffective in regulating price increases, Alsharq newspaper reported. Price increases have alarmed citizens and residents, especially during Ramadan. Consumers such as Abdullah Al-Amri said food consumption increases in Ramadan, encouraging some companies to raise prices due to the increased demand. Mishari Al-Fouzan said prices differ from one shop to another and some businesses have special offers for some food items, while they increase the prices of other items. Consumers asked the Ministry of Commerce to monitor prices and educate the public on such matters. The HRC said there is no clear law against price increases and no specific bodies to implement any. The commission has received many complaints from the public regarding price hikes. Under current regulations, monitoring is useless and consumers' rights will continue to be violated, the commission said. Such issues can only be dealt with through the implementation of a consumer protection law, a draft of which is still under study. A source in the Ministry of Commerce said supervisors are instructed to monitor any fraudulent activities and submit reports to the ministry. He said many violations have been recorded, such as discounts on near-expiry products. The manager of the Eastern Province Ministry of Commerce branch, Mohammad Al-Abdullateef, said the ministry has made preparations to monitor shops and commercial centers. He said the ministry is conducting daily field inspection rounds to monitor violating shops. He said shops should abide by the ministry's instructions to place prices on items and the government department will take necessary action against violators. Such violations are punishable by a warning and a SR1,000 fine, which increases to SR3,000 for a repeat offense and even closure. The third time a violation occurs, the business will be closed immediately and fined SR5,000. Al-Abdullateef said the ministry is keen on educating the public by distributing brochures explaining how to submit a complaint and listing contact telephone numbers.
