Supreme Committee for Consumer Protection mulls adoption of standardized guidance document for electronics

H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the Minister of Economy, headed the second meeting of the Supreme Committee for Consumer Protection for 2016 held at the Grand Hyatt Dubai Hotel.

H.E. Eng attended the session. Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs; H.E. Humaid bin Butti Al Muhairi, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Commercial Affairs and Consumer Protection Sector; Dr. Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Ministry's Consumer Protection Department; and Committee members from the local and federal.

The agenda included recommendations on topics covered by the Committee during the previous meetings, the most notable of which were proposals to adopt a certified guidance document and standardized contracts for electronics and criteria for auto garage approvals in the UAE, as well as ways to organize training programs on approved standards and procedures.

The Committee also discussed the possibility of banning the collection of additional fees for all credit card services and transactions after approving the decision issued on the health, education, and aviation sectors.

The meeting also touched on the results of the country’s participation in the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) last April in London and facilitated talks on tools and controls for regulating services and e-commerce as well as enforcing the protection of consumers' rights in the electronic markets.

Attendees considered suggestions on how to best support the development of the UAE’s consumer protection system. One of the recommendations forwarded was establishing a National Agenda for consumer protection that would begin by raising awareness and then leading to more consumer empowerment.

H.E. Al Mansouri emphasized the importance of developing tools and regulations to manage electronic services in a manner that safeguards consumer rights and uses the best international practices. He added that the Ministry counts consumer protection among its top priorities given its direct impact on market stability.

With regards to the standardized certified guidance document for electronics being prepared by the committee’s electronics group, the Minister gave directions to form a work team comprised of members from the Ministry and the Departments of Economic Development that will develop a standardized document format and collaboratively work on implementing unified contracts for electronics.

As for the suggestion concerning auto garages’ approval, the Minister gave directions to discuss the related standards to car agencies and pointed out the importance of conducting qualification programs for auto garages before issuing approvals.