DOHA: In a major crackdown, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce has shut down a fuel station in Lusail for a week for issuing inflated bills to motorists after refuelling their vehicles.
Inflated bills help a customer collect from his employer more than the amount he paid for refuelling. The action follows the ministry’s directive to all fuel stations last month, making it mandatory to provide complete and accurate sale receipts to customers.
The erring fuel station was found manipulating prices and was shut down for a week after repeated violations, the ministry said in a statement yesterday. Investigations revealed collusion between fuel station employees and customers.
The closure comes under the consumer protection law (Law No. 8 of 2008). The violations were detected during a crackdown launched by the ministry to ensure compliance by fuel stations of the new directive. The ministry found 11 cases of price manipulation at petrol stations, including the Lusail case, after issuance of the circular last month, said the statement. The ministry had asked all fuel stations to monitor their staff to protect the vehicle owners’ rights.
Scheming employees sometimes issue incomplete bills to motorists, mentioning only the price of fuel without specifying the quantity sold based on the data displayed on the meter. The ministry has asked the owners of the petrol station to abide by the law and issue bills with necessary information.
As per Article No. 4 of the executive regulation of the law, it is mandatory for an outlet to provide a bill to a customer. The bill should be in Arabic and have nine points, including the name and address of the supplier (outlet), date of issuance, type of product or services with some key specifications, sale unit, quantity of product or number of sold units, condition of the product if used, the price of product or service in Qatari riyal, delivery date, sign or seal of seller or its legal representative and serial number of the product.
The ministry said inspections will continue and erring outlets will be referred to authorities for legal action. As per the law, the erring outlet is required to put an advertisement announcing the closure in two local dailies at its expense. The closure decision will also be posted on the ministry’s website.
The Peninsula
