The UAE makes an important rule public and warns people who break it that they will face a Dh2 million fine and two years in prison.
For breaking the new law in the UAE, you could get a fine of up to 2 million dirhams or go to jail for 2 years.
Suppliers aren't allowed to add terms to contracts that could hurt customers in the future.
In the UAE, suppliers aren't allowed to include any terms in contracts that could hurt customers in the future. A law that protects consumers went into force in October and says that people can get money to make up for any emotional or physical harm they suffer from using goods or services.
Consumer Protection Law in the UAE
People who break the new rule on consumer protection could be fined up to Dh2 million or jailed for two years.
Legal experts say that the new consumer protection law fills in some gaps and covers some problems that the old one didn't.
The Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection came out in November 2020. Long-awaited executive rules that took effect on October 14, 2023, later added to it.
Galadari Advocates and Legal Consultants' senior counsel Hassan Tawakalna and paralegal Ismail Ezzat said that any clause found in a contract, invoice, or other similar document that tries to get out of the provider's responsibilities is not acceptable.
The fines can be given separately or at the same time, and they can be doubled if the same violation happens more than once.
Important parts of the Consumer Protection law in the UAE.
Suppliers and commercial agents must give correct information about all important matters and make the price of goods clearly visible during display.
Ads for goods must not confuse people, and buyers must be given a receipt that shows the price and date of purchase.
Suppliers must honor warranties, offer spare parts and upkeep services, replace broken items, or give cash for their value.
If a seller finds flaws, defects, or dangers in a product that could hurt customers, they must tell the right people right away and take the product off the market.
If a supplier's product or service is flawed, they must fix it, replace it, or give you your money back.
Contractual agreements need to include clauses about repair, upkeep, or help after the sale.
Jail time and a Dh200k fine for.
The lawyers at Galadari Advocates and Legal Consultants say that the old law didn't do anything about monopolies, which meant that sellers could hide goods, drop sales, or refuse services to change prices. Law No. 15 of 2020, on the other hand, deals with this issue head-on. In Article 19 of the new law, punishments for monopolies are spelled out. These include jail time of up to six months and fines of up to Dh200,000 per violation. "These punishments are harsher for repeat offenses," the lawyer told.
E-commerce in the UAE is now part of the law.
Also, the old rule from 2006 didn't look into e-commerce or list the organizations that were allowed to work in this area. While the New Law gives more information about e-commerce and makes it clear who can work in this area, the Old Law falls short.
Experts and labs had to be involved in disputes between suppliers and consumers, but the old rule didn't say how. Article 23 of the new law, on the other hand, says that the ministry or other competent body can ask labs or testing facilities to look at goods or services when it's in the public interest or when there are disagreements between buyers and sellers.
"Should the goods be found to be unsuitable, the supplier is responsible for the costs of the examination," experts from Galdari Advocates said.
The new version of the law also added the idea of making things illegal or using administrative detention. As per Article 27, if goods are found to be harmful or dangerous to consumers, the minister or their representative, working with the relevant authority, can make a decision to stop importing them, officially detain them, or take them off the market. The old law did not have this part to protect consumers from dangerous goods.
"Many of these penalties weren't in the old law, but they're now in the new law. This shows that the government is serious about protecting people from dishonest or fraudulent activities that could stop them from buying things or cause other problems." "The goal of this project is to protect the consumer market from harm," said Hassan Tawakalna and Ismail Ezzat.
