KATHMANDU, Sept 4: The government on Sunday collected a cash fine worth Rs 715,000 from unscrupulous traders based in Kathmandu on charge of being involved in market anomalies.
According to the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection, it slapped the aforementioned amount of cash fine against 12 firms out of 21 firms that were inspected on a single day. Based on their misconduct on quality, quantity, price and measurement of goods, the business firms were charged with cash fines between Rs 5,000 and Rs 300,000.
Of the business outlets, two edibles sellers in Yatkha were penalized with Rs 200,000 and Rs 300,000, while a seller of surgical equipment in Tripureshwar was slapped with a cash penalty of Rs 100,000.
The Consumer Act has a provision to slap a fine of Rs 200,000 to Rs 300,000 if the quality of the product is tampered with, artificial scarcity is created in the market, and new label is placed on goods that are inconsumable. Similarly, stores that do not display price lists and business registration certificates can be fined Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000. According to the act, somebody who does not cooperate with monitoring activities can be fined up to Rs 20,000.