Our right as consumers

The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh mentions about the States duty to ensure the rights of consumers . Art. 16 of the Constitution the People's Republic of Bangladesh provides that, “The State shall adopt effective measures to bring about a radical transformation in the rural areas through the promotion of a agricultural revolution, the provision of rural electrification, the development of cottage and other industries, and the improvement of education, communications and public health, in those areas, so as progressively to remove the disparity in the standards of living between the urban and the rules areas.”

Article 18 of the Constitution also provides,  “The state shall regard the raising of the level of the nutrition and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties, and in particular shall adopt effective measures to prevent the consumption, except for medical purposes or for such other purposes as may be prescribed by law, of alcoholic, and other intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.

Consumer rights are recognised in the Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009. The rights include:

1.    Obtaining commodities or services at a price fixed by the authority or at a reasonable price.

2.    Right to have safe and pure products.

3.    Right to have necessary and correct information about products.

4.    Right to be informed of the qualities or defects (if any) of a particular product.

5.    Right to know the quantity of the product.

6.    Right to know the utility, purity and price of the product.

7.    Right to have products or services in right quantity and quality.

8.    Right to have choice among product offerings.

9.    Right to have defense against activities relating to purchase or sale of products by which life or property may be in danger.

10.    Right to education about consumer rights and protection.

11.    Right to have access to remedy in relation to violations of consumer rights.

Source: A Booklet on Consumer Protection in Bangladesh, CAB