KATHMANDU: Shopkeepers in Kathmandu Valley are reluctant to

display price-list (wholesale and retail) without

strong action, data of the Department of Commerce (DoC) show. Among 34 shops inspected this week, 16 did not have price-list. The Consumer Protection Act has made price-list mandatory in wholesale and retail shops.

DoC needs to take strong action for full-fledged implementation of the price-list display, said Dr Khil Nath Bastakoti, director.

“Actually, the business community is not supporting us in this drive,” he said. DoC started market monitoring for price-list in July after the huge price hike in consumer goods.

Half of the shops of Kathmandu are using substandard measurement systems. Sixteen out of 34 shops are using low weight measurement systems and five shops do not have license. Only 18 shops were found issuing bills to customers.

DoC along with the district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur

and Bhaktapur monitored the market 30 times between October 11 and October 16. The DoC inspection team inspected markets in Kavrepalanchowk district four times.

The department seized 315 cartoons of date expired Pakawan brand soyabean oil on October 25. “We will destroy the oil,” said Bastakoti. DoC destroyed 95 packets of sausage seized from Shubha Fresh Fish House the same day.

The department destroyed 14 quintals of wheat flour seized from Sajan Goth Sweet Shop, Tripureshwor on October 13. Mineral water brands like Aqua Pyas and Everest were also destroyed after they were found to be substandard, said inspection officer Kamal Bahadur Thapa.

Meanwhile, DoC has failed to enforce its directives to errant retail shops. Not even one shopkeeper has contacted DoC to prove his innocence. The department had issued a seven day show-cause notice to 34 shops last week.