Kathmandu, September 13

Stringent provisions in the Consumer Rights Protection Bill (CRPB), which is in the last leg of being endorsed from the Parliament, could dampen the sentiment of the business community, according to the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

The largest private sector umbrella body today expressed its dissatisfaction over the harsh provisions to discourage the business community with quasi-judicial rights to the officer deployed in the market monitoring, high penalty, provision related to import licence, discrimination between domestic products and imported commodities, among others.

Private sector representatives have said that the government has not even held consultations on the draft bill with the stakeholders.

Bhawani Rana, president of FNCCI, sought amendment in the draft bill stating that if it is endorsed from the Parliament without incorporating

the changes as suggested by the private sector, it will dampen investors’ sentiment.

FNCCI Senior Vice President Shekhar Golchha also underpinned that the government cannot achieve high growth target without the cooperation from private sector and enforcement of these laws will demoralise the private sector further.

“There are various agencies for inspection and monitoring of industries and businesses, and they try to demoralise the private businesses,” said Golchha, adding, “Private sector was upbeat after the election, which paved way for stable government with absolute majority, but the working culture of the government has been dampening the private sector’s sentiment.”

He urged the government to join hands with the private sector to achieve high growth. “We are not implying that the government should turn a blind eye to whatever the private sector does, but that it should be fair,” he said.

But when Golchha alleged that the government was playing foul and taking action against the private sector, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Industry Matrika Prasad Yadav interrupted him and sought an explanation into what he meant.

When Golchha said that the private sector would act responsibly only when the government treated private businesses fairly, Minister Yadav said that the government will not compromise when it comes to consumers’ rights and would take action with those cutting corners to make a quick buck.

Stating that the bill submitted in the Parliament is designed as per the global principles of consumer rights in terms of safety of the products, information about products and consumers’ rights to choose or reject any product, Minister Yadav claimed that the past governments had come under the influence of the business community. “Under my leadership, the ministry is finally trying to act for the benefit of the consumers,” he added.

Assuring that there will be no differential treatment between domestic production and imported goods, he said the government will actually be stricter towards imported goods to end the widespread practice of selling goods sans label, necessary information, its maximum retail price, among others.

The bill has provisioned that the retail shops mandatorily keep a price list of every product available there and must meet the standards and safety requirements in the consumable goods.