Kazakhstan to expand measures to protect consumer rights

New measures in the field of consumer protection were considered at a Government meeting chaired by Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov.

Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin reported that the number of complaints about consumer rights violations in the republic is growing annually. So, in 2022 alone, MTI considered more than 30.2 thousand appeals. A similar situation is observed in other government agencies.

For the most part, citizens are not satisfied with the quality of medical services, communication services, urban public transport and catering services. At the same time, consulting and legal assistance was provided for 44.8% of the received appeals last year, positive decisions were made for 43.7%. In general, 786 million tenge was returned to consumers.

At the same time, amendments to the legislation aimed at improving the effectiveness of the consumer protection system have been prepared on behalf of the Head of State. Thus, it is envisaged to introduce the institution of an Ombudsman for consumer protection, simplify the procedure for considering consumer complaints (from 4 to 2 stages), extend the basic principles of consumer protection to the spheres of public utilities, transport, medical, tourist services, communication services and others.

In addition, it is planned to introduce civil liability in the form of a fine by a court decision in favor of the consumer, which will motivate business entities to voluntarily satisfy their legal requirements. Work will also be carried out to fill legislative gaps in the online trading segment.

In general, as a result of the amendments, the level of satisfaction of citizens with state regulation in the field of consumer protection should reach 80% by 2025.

Svetlana Romanovskaya, Chairman of the National League of Consumers of Kazakhstan, also made a comment on the proposed amendments.

The Prime Minister stressed that one of the main reasons for the appeal of the population is the sale of low-quality goods, the absence and correctness of price tags on goods, untimely refund of funds from online stores.

«Consumers also complain about the quality of services in the fields of healthcare, nutrition, housing and communal services, communications. State bodies do not always consider appeals in a timely manner. Often the very cause of the problem is not solved. In this regard, the Interdepartmental Council for Consumer Protection needs to step up its work», — Alikhan Smailov said.

He added that the amendments to the Law «On Consumer Protection» introduced in 2020 contributed to the construction of an integrated system with the involvement of non-governmental organizations and businesses. However, in order to achieve more tangible results, further improvement of the legislative framework is required. For this purpose, new amendments to existing laws were developed.

«It is proposed to introduce the institution of an Ombudsman for Consumer Protection. He should become the main coordinator for the settlement of all emerging problems and complaints. At the same time, it is necessary to simplify the algorithm for reviewing consumer complaints as much as possible. It is important to build an effective scheme of interaction: consumer – public association – state», — the Prime Minister stressed.

After the voting procedure in support of the proposed bills, the Head of Government instructed to ensure that they are submitted to the Majilis of the Parliament in due time.

He also noted the need to work on improving existing national standards that improve the quality of life of the population.

«We need to develop additional measures to stimulate business in terms of improving the quality of services and goods provided to consumers», — concluded Alikhan Smailov.

https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/v-kazakhstane-rasshiryat-mery-po-zashchite-prav-potrebiteley-24479