Shania Shayal Prasad 
[Source: Consumer Council of Fiji/Facebook]
The Consumer Council of Fiji has uncovered a wave of serious pricing and regulatory breaches following market surveillances conducted this year.
Chief Executive Seema Shandil says the Council carried out 1,014 inspections across supermarkets, retail shops, open markets, restaurants, bakeries and service providers nationwide.
Shandil says what is most concerning is that many retailers are directly misleading consumers.
She adds among the most serious breaches were price control violations and misleading advertisement.
“We have seen misleading advertisements omission of VAT receipts it’s not clearly declared whereas it should be right they legally mandated to put a VAT on receipt so that people are aware the percentage of VAT they are paying use of exclusionary clause in sales stamp.”
[Source: Consumer Council of Fiji/Facebook]
Shandil warns certain promotions and specials are not always genuine.
“Because there are some stocks sitting that they need to get rid of and this is the time where they’ll have a lot of promotion that will have a lot of you know specials going and just trying to get rid of the old stock whether it’s a retail store or a supermarket.”
The Council is working closely with enforcement agencies to ensure appropriate action is taken, adding that recurring issues make constant market surveillance essential.
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