Pauline Etienne
12 September 2007
Port Louis — The law is clear about storage in a warehouse. The owner must be registered with the CPU and all products in stock must be displayed in his shop.
The Consumer Protection Unit insisted that products can't be only in warehouses without being displayed.
While consumers are starting to get crazy over a serious lack of milk in supermarkets, a trader had kept a number of boxes in stock. The Consumer Protection Unit (CPU) has already stated it would not tolerate such hoarding situations. But how can it draw the line between normal stocks and hoarding?
The CPU knows exactly how to make the difference between the legal and the illegal situation "In that specific case, the trader committed two offences against the law. He was keeping his products in a warehouse that was not registered with the CPU and he did not put his products on shelves," declared Amita Ganesh of the CPU.
In fact, traders have two main obligations aimed at preventing hoarding. The Consumer Protection (Supplies and Control) Act of 1998 states: "A trader who wishes to store any goods ( ) in any warehouse shall apply in writing to the Permanent Secretary for a certificate of registration of the warehouse." Furthermore, "a trader who keeps any goods specified in the Third Schedule on any premises other than his trading premises or a registered warehouse shall commit an offence".
Consumer protection officers
often go in the field to make
sure traders do not take advantage
of their position. However,
they also rely on consumers to
denounce what they consider illegal actions.
The second obligation has to do with the duty to display. "A trader shall display in that part of his trading premises to which the public has access a specimen of every goods kept for sale and a specimen of every goods stored in the registered warehouse."
"It is clear that customers must have access to products traders have in store. They can't guess what there is in the warehouse," commented Amita Gunness. According to the law, the trader is liable to a sentence of up to three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 100 000.
Last Monday, the police was the one to warn the CPU about the problem. "Officers of the CPU often go in the field to do some investigation and make sure traders do not take advantage of their position. This is our duty," said the CPU officer. However, the watchdog also relies on consumers themselves to come forward and denounce what they consider as illegal actions.
"Feedback on any consumer problem is received directly by phone, by the questions put to Consumer Protection Officers when delivering talks, by going through press articles and by listening to radio programmes," writes the CPU. About 50 phone calls are received everyday from customers to express their grievances of a general nature. Two suggestion boxes are also available at the CPU counters.
Concerning the recording of complaints, any complaint can be made in Citizens Advice Bureaux and police stations. Everyday, about 8 to 10 persons report in person to have their complaints recorded. "The complainants are kept informed of the outcome within the shortest possible delay," states the CPU. Most cases are settled by way of mutual agreement but the case may also be referred to the DPP or to a Court of Justice if mediation is not successful. Services of the CPU are free of charge.
Can traders refuse to sell ?
"The law is not really clear about that," says Amita Gunness right from the start. Many customers have yet been faced with traders refusing to sell more than a certain amount of a specific product. At the moment, some supermarkets even put up a notice about a restricted number of milk boxes per person. "If the product is readily available and there is no risk of shortage, we have the right to ask traders the reasons for limiting the sale of their products. However, in the case of milk, the problem is one that is global and does not depend on policies here. So, when we went to ask traders for explanations about the reasons for selling sparingly, we did not take any sanction on humane grounds."
In fact, such an attitude from traders is not justifiable in cases where price rises are about to occur. This is a typical case of artificial shortage. But, in the case of milk, the situation is so precarious with a risk of serious shortage in the coming days that the authorities have agreed to close an eye on the methods used by traders. In an atmosphere of panic, consumers may be tempted to buy large amounts of milk, which would create a shortage even faster
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