Law 7 of 2017 on Consumer Protection.

This Law comprising 26 Articles is designed to safeguard consumers in the provision of goods and services. Article 3 states that the consumer has the right of (i) obtaining goods or services that achieve their purpose without causing any harm to his interests or health during the normal or expected use; (ii) clearly obtaining complete and correct information about the good or service he is purchasing and the terms of sale for it; (iii) obtaining complete and clear information before completing the purchase process about the obligations it owes to the supplier and the supplier’s rights vis-à-vis the consumer; (iv) choosing the good or service he wants to buy without unjustified pressure or restrictions; (v) obtaining proof of his purchase of the good or service and the basic details of the purchase process; (vi) filing lawsuits for anything that might violate, damage, or restrict his rights, including requiring fair compensation for the damage he suffers as a result; (vii) obtaining complete and correct information about the provider. Under Article 4, the provider is committed to the following (i) verifying the declared quality of the goods or services he deals with and their suitability for use or consumption according to what they were prepared for; (ii) ensure that the goods or services that he deals in conform to the advertised characteristics and that those goods or services achieve the declared results for the consumer; (iii) delivering the commodity to the consumer or providing the service to him within the agreed upon period or within the usual period for that without delay; (iv) providing products that do not violate intellectual property rights; (v) respecting religious values, customs, traditions, and consumer dignity. Furthermore, the supplier is required to offer post-sales services, particularly maintenance and essential spare parts for goods or services where such support is necessary. Article 6 outlines the circumstances under which a product or service is deemed defective, and in such cases, as per Article 7, the supplier is obligated to accept its return and provide a refund upon the consumer's request. Article 8 explicitly prohibits the dissemination of any advertisements that could mislead or deceive consumers regarding the nature of the product or service. An advertisement is considered misleading if it contains false, inaccurate, or incomplete information, and it is also forbidden to advertise goods or services that pose a risk to consumer health or safety or whose origin is uncertain.
Under Article 9 it is established the Consumer Protection Council chaired by the Minister of Industry and Trade, with the following main tasks (i) proposing a general policy for consumer protection; (ii) proposing a general policy to coordinate work between entities that exercise tasks related to consumer protection; (iii) contributing with official bodies in developing the level of media with the aim of educating the consumer about his rights as a consumer; (iv) expressing an opinion on draft legislation related to consumer protection referred to him by the Minister; (v) providing recommendations related to consumer protection; (vi) contributing to developing general policy to improve the quality of goods and services. Articles 14 and 15 regard the consumer protection associations, supervised by the Ministry, and with the following main functions (i) taking care of the consumer’s interests, educating and raising awareness, and informing him of his rights and ways to claim them; (ii) providing advice and guidance to the consumer; (iii) receiving complaints and working to eliminate their causes; (iv) representing the consumer before official and unofficial bodies regarding consumer complaints against providers; (v) studying the prices of products, comparing them and their quality, ensuring the accuracy of their data, and informing the competent authorities of any violations that occur in this regard; (vi) providing information to the competent authorities about problems related to consumer rights and interests and submitting proposals to solve them; (vii) assisting a consumer who has suffered harm as a result of using a commodity, purchasing it, or receiving a service in submitting complaints to the competent authorities and taking the necessary legal measures; (viii) strengthening the relationship between consumer and provider; (ix) creating a database related to its field of work, conducting studies, and research.