Abu Dhabi cracks down on fake goods trade

Photo used for illustrative purpose only

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, or Added, has seized 227,617 fake items in the first six months of 2016 as 494 raids were carried out to combat commercial fraud.

The commercial protection division seized auto spare parts, electronics, clothes, accessories and cosmetics, in addition to 3,792 tonnes of vegetables and fruits, 448 sheep from street vendors and seven kg of niswar. Other confiscated items included counterfeit Arabic cushions and three tonnes of clothes and house articles, says a report issued by the Abu Dhabi Business Centre (ADBC).

The inspectors at the division made 71,595 visits to businesses in the emirate of Abu Dhabi - 42,880 visits in the city of Abu Dhabi, 20,095 visits in Al Ain and 8,620 visits in the Western Region. In these visits, 3,959 fines were issued - 1,960 in Abu Dhabi, 1,833 in Al Ain and 166 in the Western Region.

In the same period, the division received 1,834 complaints from consumers and trade name owners -  1,026 from Abu Dhabi, 785 from Al Ain and 23 from the Western Region, all related to wrong practices, commercial fraud, street vendors, etc.

Khalifa Salem Al Mansouri, Added acting undersecretary, stressed the department's commitment to continue its efforts to monitor and eliminate all negative practices that would affect the performance of the business environment in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

He commended the role of Added's strategic partners in the government, semi-government and private sectors to help the department achieve its goals of creating a competitive business environment in the emirate.

The Added is now carrying out a number of strategic projects in the field of commercial protection in cooperation with its government partners, including the establishment of the consumer protection centre, monitoring markets, restructuring the retail sector baqala, geographic coding, mobile vendors, eliminating bogus or deceptive commercial licences and providing the services of the commercial protection division through smartphone apps.

Mohamed Munif Al Mansouri, ADBC's acting executive director, called on all community members in the emirate to combat wrong commercial practices by immediately reporting any violations to the concerned bodies, especially Added which is responsible for regulating the emirate's commercial activity in cooperation with relevant agencies.

In the first half of the year, the Added closed 43 commercial establishments in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain for violating regulations governing commercial activity.

- haseeb@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi