Shops fined for not displaying prices

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s branch in Jeddah has started implementing the ministry’s decision to enforce the use of price tags in Arabic. The campaign is aimed at controlling prices and ensuring shops abide by the decision.
A ministry official said a number of erring shops were fined. A fine of SR 1,000 is imposed imposed on first time violators. This would be SR 2,000 for repeated violators with the possibility of their shops being closed down. The official said some shops “interacted positively” with the campaign and some seemed to be unaware of it, even though it had been advertised in the media.
In December 2009, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry planned to post prices of essential food items in various shopping centers in the Kingdom on a daily basis in an attempt to keep consumers informed of the prevailing costs for these commodities.
Before and during Ramadan last year the Consumer Protection Association (CPA) noticed that traders drastically increased their prices.
Now that all shops are bound to display prices of goods, the increased transparency would benefit consumers in their dealings with consumers.