The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection has carried out monitoring at 1,355 trade and business firms in the first four months of the current fiscal year (FY) starting July 16.
The monitoring was carried out in the Kathmandu Valley and several places of the country. It monitored 388 firms in the month of Kartik (October 18 to November 16) alone and took action against 176 of them for wrongdoing. The Department collected revenue of Rs 7.11 million from fines slapped on those business firms found involved in unfair trade practices.
Of the total firms monitored, nearly half were fined, Department’s Director Hari Pangeni said. According to Pangeni, the Department fined 667 firms and reprimanded 668 firms in the last four months.
Similarly, samples of goods were collected from 10 firms for lab tests, three people involved in business malpractice were arrested and 10 firms were sealed during the period.
Groceries, department stores, goat markets, the fruits and vegetable markets, meat shops, liquor stores, marts, hardware stores, sweet shops, and electronics goods stores, among others were monitored during the festival period.
The Department had mobilized three separate market monitoring teams in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley during the festival period.
These teams are still active despite the festival period is already over, Pangeni said.
