Consumer Protection Agency Decree No. 4/1 of 2022 Regulating The Lifespan of Commodities

Consumer protection is a set of laws governing consumer rights, and providing guidance to said consumer, with the overall purpose of minimizing any risks or factors that would lead to their deception and/or misinformation. Consumer protection laws also help to prevent acts related to fraud or unfair practices, as well as provide additional protection for the most vulnerable groups in society. 

Generally, consumer protection is linked to the guarantee of a consumer’s rights within transaction processes, by providing conditions that ensure that there is a contractual balance between the consumer’s rights and obligations, and the trader’s rights and obligations.

Recently, the focus on consumer protection regulations has increased due to the continuous expansion of the free economy, and the growing control of market mechanisms on consumers, which make them vulnerable to manipulation and deception. 

In conjunction with the state’s proactive efforts to protect the consumer and their safety, the Consumer Protection Law was issued in 2018, obligating both suppliers and the manufacturers to ensure the quality of their commodities by providing the consumer with all the information relating to it. Failure to comply with this condition could result in imposed fines and penalties. 

After that, the Prime Minister issued the executive regulation for the aforementioned law in April 2019, it has stated in Article 9 that the supplier is obligated to hand the consumer an invoice proving the transaction or contract that includes several data, the lifespan of the commodity is one of them.

It is worth noting that within this context, the lifespan of the commodity refers to the actual period of its existence commensurate with its nature to continue performing its function. Such lifespan starts from the date of the consumer’s receipt of the commodity, or the date of activating the warranty for commodities that need installation or operation.

In February 2022, the Consumer Protection Agency’s Decree No. 4/1 of 2022 was issued to regulate the lifespan of commodities. This decree obligates all producers, importers and suppliers of commodities to declare the commodity’s lifespan on the commodity itself and its packaging in a way that would be difficult to remove, As well as invoices, warranty certificates, and catalogs. Also, the Agency granted a period of 3 months for the addressees to reconcile their situation.

This Decree was drafted inaccurate and has added a provision that was not included in the law and its executive regulations, since this Decree has obligated all producers, importers, and suppliers of commodities to declare the commodity’s lifespan in writing on the commodity itself, while the law and its executive regulation were satisfied with declaring the commodity’s lifespan on the invoice delivered to the consumer.

Law Reference

To conclude, the aim of this article is that the Decree may not violate the law or its executive regulations or impose new provisions for the addressees of the law.

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