Audit report recommends CAA to increase raids against MRP violations

The National Audit Office has made recommendations to the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) to increase the number of raids on traders selling beyond the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) as well as on importers and wholesalers.

This was mentioned in a new report published by the audit office, with respect to the contribution of CAA in protecting the consumer. This audit was conducted to evaluate how the CAA has performed to implement the provisions of the Consumer Affairs Act and achieve the objectives mentioned in the legislation.

The audit office has observed that the actual number of raids carried out during the period from 2018 to 2022 was lower than the target number – in the range of 56% to 74%.

It was also observed that it took more than 2 years to file cases for 3,616 raids out of 3,715 raids carried out from 2018 to 31 December 2021, the report revealed.

Further, the audit report also recommended that market raids be conducted and legal action be taken against the importers who do not present information to the Authority to obtain MRP certificates.

The CAA is also instructed to physically verify the prices before granting approval for the rates submitted by the importers to obtain MRP certificates.

Among the audit office’s recommendations are identification of the types of goods that need to be issued with the certification of MRP in relation to the imported goods.

Additionally, the report also called for expeditious legal actions against traders and manufacturers in connection with the samples found to be unfit for consumption or not in the prescribed standard during the samples inspection.