BEWARE OF FAKE DISCOUNTS

wrong with the promotions these shops were offering, these individuals compared the existing price of the products, with their original prices, and found out that they would be paying prices that were significantly higher than the original sale prices of these goods, even after the discount was applied.

“We confirm that our committees do follow up on complaints of such offers and also follow up with the violating institutions, if any, to provide restitution to customers,” said an official from Oman’s PACP. “Customers are welcome to send more details about these violations by sending the name of the shop and the details of the complainant.”

PACP regularly conducts surprise inspections and raids against shops that try to make a fast buck at the expense of the customer. In 2018, according to the organisation’s annual report, a total of 150 violations were issued by PACP to shops that announced misleading discounts, and without the proper approvals from the authority. A further 137 were issued to companies that published misleading commercial promotions.

To manipulate prices in such a manner is illegal, according to Omani law, Royal Decree number 66/2014, as well as its subsequent regulations, which were included in Royal Decree number 77/2017. Article 36 states, “In making discounts over the prices of goods and services, the supplier shall comply with the following: obtaining the approval of the concerned authority after coordination with the authority to ascertain the prices in accordance with the regulations determined by the authority, provide a list of the number of goods available for each type of discount, and declare in a clear line the sale price before and during the period of discounts, as well as the percentage discount offered, for each commodity.”