1,000 Abu Dhabi fines for Ramadan violations

By Rajive Singh

ABU DHABI 3 June 2019: The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added), issued 100 fines and 195 warnings to violators during its inspections of commercial facilities in Abu Dhabi during Ramadan.

Over 10,000 field inspections were carried out as part of the department’s consumer protection outreach, in which it verifies whether commercial activities are being conducted in line with regulations, as 120 such activities were investigated during the Holy Month.

The field inspections targeted 15 main outlets, points of sale, retail outlets, fruit and vegetable shops, livestock markets, butcheries and consumables outlets, in addition to restaurants, coffee shops, Ramadan tents and promotions, said Wam.

The number of field inspections in Abu Dhabi City amounted to 5,080. In addition, 3,182 visits were conducted in Al Ain and 1,747 in Al Dhafra. During these inspections, 2,116 items that did not adhere to specifications were confiscated, including automotive spare parts, electronics, clothing, accessories, make up, and food products, among others.

Mohamed Monif Al Mansoori, Executive Director of Added’s Abu Dhabi Business Centre, emphasised that these campaigns fall within the framework of the Commercial Protection Department’s, CPD, preparations ahead of festive seasons, as these periods witness a considerable rise in commercial activities in different regions across the emirate. This calls for additional efforts to detect violations of Added’s regulations and conditions for conducting commercial activities, and to ensure consumer protection regulations are enforced.

Al Mansoori added that such campaigns improve transparency in local markets and eliminate practices that might negatively impact upon the performance of Abu Dhabi’s business sector.

The CPD issued several circulars to various points of sale during Ramadan to ensure the protection of consumers and reiterated the need to add product descriptions in Arabic to make product packaging clear and understandable so that Arab-speaking customers can easily see what they are buying.