The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has announced the closure of a beauty centre on Tanga Street, Al Hilal, for one week over the use of expired products.

The closure came as part of the intensive inspection campaigns carried out by the ministry to monitor and control the local market and commercial activities in order to crack down on price manipulation and expose violations pertaining to counterfeit goods and non-complince with standards and specifications, the MEC said in a press statement.
Inspectors fined the beauty centre and ordered its closure for a week in accordance with Article No 6 of Law No 8 of 2008 on Consumer Protection and Combating Commercial Fraud, which says "it is prohibited for all suppliers to sell or display or provide or promote or advertise any counterfeit or corrupted good. A commodity is considered fake or corrupted if it does not match the prescribed standards or unusable or expired.”
An advertisement of the administrative closure is to be published at the expense of the violating company or shop in accordance with Article No 18 (bis) of Law No 8 on consumer protection. This provision stipulates that the advertisement is published on the website of the ministry and in two daily newspapers at the violating company's expense.
The ministry stressed that it would not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and would intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on violations. Further, it said it would refer those who violated laws and ministerial decrees to the competent authorities, who would - in turn - take appropriate action against the perpetrators in order to protect consumer rights.
The MEC has urged consumers to report violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the call centre – 16001, email - info@mec.gov.qa, Twitter - @MEC_Qatar, Instagram - MEC_Qatar and the ministry’s app for Android and iOS - MEC_Qatar.