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Law ensuring consumer rights yet to be enacted

Proposed law awaits law ministry vetting

TAWFIQUE ALI
The government has failed to enact Consumer Rights Protection Act in the last one decade despite frequent public and media outcry over violation of consumer rights.
A proposed law in this regard is currently lying with the Ministry of Commerce for about three months following approval from the cabinet on August 9 this year. The draft is presently awaiting vetting from the Ministry of Law.
The government has formed a 21-member national committee in 1995 to draft the law on consumer rights protection.
The committee comprised of representatives from consumer rights group, teacher and high officials of commerce, law and health ministries had proposed the draft in 1998.
"Although the matter is of tremendous public interest, it has not been given due importance," said the General Secretary of Consumer Association of Bangladesh (Cab) Qauzi Faruque.
Pointing out that neighbouring countries like India and Nepal have already made similar laws, Faruque said such a law is mandatory to protect consumer rights and to ensure market stability, fair and ethical market practices in an open market system.
"Consumer rights are being violated everyday in absence of a specific protection law," Faruque said.
Referring to frequent media reports on marketing of low-quality and adulterated consumer items in brought day light, he said there is no adequate legal provision for an affected and aggrieved consumer to seek legal redress.
In spite of being extremely hazardous for public health, rampant use of deadly chemicals in fruits and vegetables to enhance their taste goes unabated exploiting the commoners’ helplessness, he pointed out
"There are many examples like Public Safety Act and Speedy Trial Act that were brought into force almost overnight but an extremely public interest law for protecting consumer rights could not be enacted In ten years," Faruque said.
According to various sources concerned, the dilly-dally in enacting the law has been due to disapproval of certain business coteries and influential quarters, who fear the law will restrict their moneymaking in the way they presently do In absence of it.
"I also wonder why it is not being enacted," said Prof Anwar Hossain of Institute of Business Administration (IBA), who was one of 21 members of the draft committee.
"There has been a strong busi-
ness lobby opposing the law," Hossain pointed out.
He said in the context of Bangladesh, consumers are deprived of their rights both in terms of quality and quantity.
"Some vested quarters may be active within the government virtually impeding to enact such a propeoplelaw," said Prof Hossain.
He said a quasi-judicial body is urgently needed under the law to protect consumer rights and act against unscrupulous sections of businessmen, adding that the United Sates made its consumer protection law in 1963.
Commerce Secretary Aminur Rahman ruled out any hindrance by business coteries in the process of enacting the law adding, "I don't know what happened in this regard earlier as I was appointed as a secretary only few months back."
“But we are hopeful that it will soon get passed In the parliament," he said.
The commerce ministry, holding an international workshop on the draft law, brought several modifications to it and incorporated some opinions of international experts.
The Cab made a contribution to the draft by compiling opinions of grassroots-level consumers to make it a uniform consumer right law and it was sent to the law commission in 2000.
Commerce ministry sent the law commission's version of the draft to the cabinet sub-committee or secretary committee for scrutiny in 2004 and later to the cabinet.
The cabinet in its observation said the proposed law provides punishment for those who adulterate foodstuffs and medicines and adopt other dishonest and harmful methods to market substandard goods at higher prices, a source said.
The proposed law also provides an autonomous 'National Consumer Council’ to be represented by people from different professions and classes to protect and expand consumer rights with the secretarial assistance from the proposed 'Bureau of Consumers Affairs'.
The cabinet also suggested that a Consumer Tribunal should be empowered under the Criminal Procedure Code of 1898 to conduct trial of offence against consumers, as most of the offences under the proposed law are of criminal nature.
It suggested that the law ministry should scrutinise the proposed 'Consumer Rights Protection Act-2004* to make it consistent with and complementary to existing several other similar laws like 'Pure Food Ordinance-1959', 'Drug Control Ordinance-1982’ and 'Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institutionordinance-1985'.