The Office of the Consumer Protection (OCP) is working on the formulation of a National Competition Bill. The office says the Bill will ensure fair market competition in the country. Although there is a National Competition Policy in place, they say it has no legal power making enforcement of the rules a challenge.
Competition in the market is expected to enhance innovation and maximize consumer welfare through lower prices, higher quality of goods and services, greater variety and so on.
The National Competition Policy, adopted in 2020, aims to promote fair competition by avoiding anti-competitive behaviours and practices in the market such as price rigging and market collusion.
However, officials at the OCP say it is a challenge when it comes to its enforcement.
“It does provide a general policy direction but provides limited or no authority to the agencies responsible for promoting and ensuring competition in the market,” said Jigme Dorji, the Chief Programme Officer at the OCP. “It will help us to implement and promote competition in the market that will promote consumer welfare by preventing abuse of market power by commercial monopolies and oligopolies.”
He added the office has already submitted the concept notes to the government. He said the office will start working on the Draft Bill as soon as they receive approval from the government.
Meanwhile, the increase in e-commerce business through social media has increased the risk of consumer deception. And this has also become a challenge for the OCP since it does not have the tools to detect and stop fraudsters.
As per the OCP’s annual report 2022, regular inspection and frequent price collection of essential commodities is also a challenge for the office due to the lack of its presence in the districts.
Kinley Dem
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
