DOCSCP increases monitoring efforts, imposes hefty fines on violating businesses

KATHMANDU: The Department of Commerce, Supplies, and Consumer Protection (DOCSCP) has significantly stepped up its monitoring activities in the first one and a half months of the current fiscal year. A total of 1,480 commercial establishments have undergone inspections, marking a 14 percent increase compared to the previous fiscal year of 2022/23.

These monitoring efforts, conducted from July 17 to October 3, have yielded noteworthy outcomes, according to Anandaraj Pokharel, the information officer of DOCSCP.

Among the businesses subjected to scrutiny, 442 were found to be in violation of various regulations, leading to fines totaling Rs 10.37 million. These violations included the absence of registration certificates, failure to issue purchase and sale invoices, the sale of expired products, involvement in relabeling activities, and non-cooperation during inspections.

This represents a 55 percent increase in fines compared to the corresponding period in the previous year when 224 establishments were fined a combined sum of Rs 4.6 million. The fines imposed ranged from Rs 2,000 to Rs 300,000 per establishment.

In addition to the fines, DOCSCP took decisive action to dispose of various food and beverage products valued at over Rs 20 million.

This action was prompted by the identification of three instances of relabeling, where commercial enterprises had repackaged expired or deteriorated food and beverage products with new labels. All three establishments involved in such activities were penalized, with fines ranging from Rs 200,000 to Rs 300,000 each.

Furthermore, during the initial one and a half months of the current fiscal year, DOCSCP confiscated and disposed of 333,339 bottles of beer, valued at Rs 9.7 million. These included the Barahsinghe brand produced by the Yak Brewing Company and other brands from the same producer, which had exceeded their expiration dates.

This action followed a similar incident in February, during which the department seized and disposed of 2,100 cartons of expired beer from the same company, with an estimated value of around Rs 6 million.