-Ashok Ghimire
Kathmandu, August 22: The Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection have been stepping up the market monitoring to protect the consumers’ rights and ensure smooth supply of the daily consumable goods.
The Department, organizing a press conference here yesterday, informed that it had taken action against a total of 161 erring firms and enterprises in and outside of the Kathmandu Valley in the last fiscal year 2018/19, collecting over Rs 4.3 million in revenue. Of them, 1,412 were from Kathmandu Valley while 260 from out of the Valley, shared Department’s Director-General Yogendra Gauchan.
The Department had lodged cases against 73 firms in the office of public prosecutor while 31 enterprises were shut down. Similarly, 22 firms were asked to produce a certificate of business registration and transaction of seven firms’ stayed. Similarly, the Department ordered 171 enterprises to keep records and put price tag while 85 farms told to keep hoarding board. The Department had aimed to conduct an inspection of 2,800 commercial firms.
But human resource crunch and the provision in the new Consumer Protection Act limited the Department in the inspection only 1,600 firms. The new Act has allowed the inspection officer to impose fine on the erring entrepreneurs on the spot. The smooth supply of daily consumable items was ensured while market monitoring being conducted more effectively despite the human resources constraints, the Department added. RSS
