Saudi: Commerce Ministry Slaps Fine on 10 Foreign Car Agencies for Violations
The Ministry of Commerce has slapped financial fines on 10 car agencies in various regions of Saudi Arabia. This is for violating the provisions of the Saudi Commercial Agency Law and its executive regulations, as well as the rules for the provision of maintenance and spare parts, ensuring the quality of manufacture, and not complying with the provision of after-sales services to the consumer.
The violations included a German car agency for its failure to comply with providing spare parts featuring special technical specifications within 14 days from the date of the consumer’s request for it. The violations included penalties slapped on two American car agencies. The first agency’s violation involved the delay in repairing a consumer’s vehicle and failure to provide the required spare parts in the local market, and the second agency’s violation was a failure to disclose to the consumer the defects in the sold car at the time of sale.
The ministry also fined three Japanese car agencies. The penalty against the first was due to the delay in providing spare parts to the consumer within the period of 14 days specified by the law from the date of its request. The second Japanese agency was punished for the delay in finishing the maintenance work and the failure to provide an alternative vehicle to the consumer or give him financial compensation for the period of non-use of the vehicle. The third agency made errors in detecting the fault of not carrying out the periodic vehicle inspection of a car by a consumer.
The ministry also fined four Chinese car agencies. The penalty for the first agency was for the delay in delivering the consumer his new car at the approved time during the year 2023, and the other three agencies committed violations in terms of providing spare parts of rare demand within 14 days from the date of their request.
It is noteworthy that the Commercial Agency Law and its executive regulations stipulate the need for agents to be committed to providing consumers with spare parts on a permanent basis. There is also another provision to make available rare spare parts within a period not exceeding 14 days from the date of their request. As for the spare parts that are required to be manufactured or with special technical specifications, it shall be agreed upon between the agent and the consumer to provide them within a reasonable period of time.
The ministry also stressed the importance of agents’ commitment to setting up a standard procedural mechanism for selling commodities and complying with this mechanism towards the consumer. This includes a statement about the date of delivery of the commodity; and obligations towards the consumer in case of delay in delivery. There should be a written undertaking with specific terms and conditions between the agent and consumer in this respect.
