A businessman alerted through BizProtect.am website informing that this summer the Market Surveillance Inspection Body (MSIB) fined some businessmen this summer for having no labels for some of the economic products.
“However, we have studied and found that other large business entities still have no labels on these products. The problem here is the fact that the importer and not the shop is obliged to put the label. Thus, unequal competition conditions are created when one business entity is penalized for the same act and the other is not,” reads the note.
It should be noted that on 7 July, the RA Law on Whistleblowing System was adopted. The law envisages the creation of an anonymous information platform in 2018. However, within the framework of the “Evidence-based Advocacy for Reform” project, Bizprotect.am website has already been created. This is a platform to tackle any issues, risks and problems that hinder the business sector, including corruption. The website also provides opportunity to inform about a problem anonymously. Relevant steps are taken to verify the authenticity of these reports and to provide solutions.
Mariam Zadoyan, the Project Lawyer said that a note on this issue had been sent to the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments. In response, Mr. Levon Khalikyan, Head of the Market Surveillance Inspection Body, mentioned that the basis for the inspections of the Inspectorate’s 2017 audit program was the information on the product subject to mandatory conformity assessment provided for by technical regulations by customs authorities as well as the results of monitoring carried out by the Inspection Body in the market pursuant to the requirements of the 9 August, 2012 Government Decision N 1010-N on “Approval of the Procedure for submitting information on the subject of compulsory valuation of conformity assessment provided by the Technical Regulations of the Customs Authorities and on repealing the Decision No. 1016-N of July 21, 2011 of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.”
“As a result of the aforesaid, the inspections’ program of the Inspection Body for 2017 included economic entities engaged in production of non-food supplements and importing goods on periodic basis and large volumes.
Moreover, the Inspection Body conducted an inspection of one economic entity importing and selling economic products in the period of June-August, 2017, and as a result no failure to meet the labeling requirements was recorded,” the official response of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments reads.
