The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) has defined the obligations of car dealerships towards consumers when purchasing or reserving vehicles within the framework of the Ministry's keenness to protect the rights of consumers when contracting to purchase or reserve vehicles.

The Consumer Protection and Combating Commercial Fraud Department of the MOCI issued Circular No. 1 for 2023, specifying the obligations of car suppliers and agents towards consumers when purchasing or reserving vehicles by preparing a form for a "delivery date document," which includes mandatory data by the provisions of the law.

In its statement on 26 March 2023, the MOCI stressed the need that the form for submitting a request to reserve a vehicle should include the following data:

• Provider's name
  
• Address
• Invoice date
• Type of commodity or service and its essential characteristics
• The unit of sale
• The quantity of the commodity or number of units sold
• Condition of the commodity if it was used
• The price of the commodity or the service fee is in Qatari Riyals
• The delivery date, in addition to the signature or stamp of the supplier or his legal representative
• The serial number of the goods and the parts they contain
  • The above is provided that the form is filled out after the supplier confirms the real date of the availability of the vehicle to be purchased and delivers it to the consumer after setting the agreed date for receipt and pay the price.

The statement stressed the necessity of handing over a copy of the original "delivery date document" to the customer, calling on all concerned car dealerships to provide the Consumer Protection and Combating Commercial Fraud Department periodically with disclosure of vehicle reservations made during each month, and facilitating access to them.

Law No. 8 of 2008

This comes based on Law No. 8 of 2008 regarding consumer protection and its amendments regarding the obligations of suppliers and an indication of how to implement them under conditions and standards consistent with the provisions of the law and its executive regulations, provided that they come within the framework of ensuring consumers' rights towards those they deal with to meet their basic needs, and based on Article No. 8, concerning consumers' rights to obtain other data as determined by the executive regulations of this law, which are stipulated in Article No. 4 of the data that must be available in the document issued by the provider.

In its statement, the MOCI added that it would give suppliers and car agents in the State of Qatar one week from the date of knowledge of this decision to modify their conditions according to what was included in the circular and to provide the Consumer Protection and Combating Commercial Fraud Department with what had been implemented in this regard.

In this regard, the MOCI affirmed that it would, after the expiry of the specified deadline, intensify its inspection campaigns to monitor the extent to which suppliers and car dealerships comply with what they had been notified and would firmly deal with any negligent in carrying out the obligations stipulated in Law No. 8 of 2008 regarding consumer protection and its executive guidelines.

The Ministry urged all citizens and residents to report any violations through the call center 16001 and the account of the MOCI on social media platforms.

Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Cover image credit: Shutterstock

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Tracy Quirino

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