NATIONAL CONSUMER COMMISSION EMBARKS ON COUNTRY-WIDE INSPECTIONS TO ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH THE CPA

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has embarked on compliance inspections to ensure that unsafe and expired goods (goods that have passed their shelf-life) are removed from the shelves. This is meant to retain consumers’ confidence in the food and foodstuffs they buy from the shops. The first stop is the Capricorn District Municipality in Limpopo.

The NCC has joined forces with the Departments of Labour, Health and Home Affairs (Immigration Office), South African Police Services, Environmental Health Practitioners, and Waste Management under Capricorn District Municipality to inspect various retailers in Seshego, Mankweng, Turfloop, Lebowakgomo and Polokwane.

In the areas inspected, the team discovered that there is widespread non-compliance especially of goods that have passed their sell-by, use-by or best before dates. The non-compliant goods were duly removed from the shelves and confiscated. The non-compliant goods include baby food, sweets, cool drinks, noodles, snacks, tinned foodstuff, juices, and other consumables. These items had the potential of causing harm and compromising the health of consumers. There is an equally reprehensible practice that the inspection uncovered which is retention of the goods past date markings and continuing to sell them to consumers at “discount prices”.

The NCC maintains that these suppliers are self-serving and are not driven by consumer interest. No “discount” is worth the health or well-being of consumers. Section 55 of the CPA provides that every consumer has a right to goods that are of good quality, safe, and comply with applicable standards or any other public regulations. The confiscated items will be destroyed. The other common practice discovered is suppliers that do not display the prices of goods, making it difficult for consumers to know the price beforehand to exercise their right to choose. Section 23(3) of the CPA provides that “suppliers of goods and services must not display any goods for sale without displaying to the consumer a price in relation to those goods. The Act further states that a price must be adequately displayed, expressed in the currency of the country, affixed to, written, printed, stamped, located upon, or applied to the goods or the band.”

The team has also discovered that suppliers do not issue sales records/receipts or that their sales records/receipts are not consistent with the provisions of the CPA. A sales record/receipts, according to the CPA, must have the following information: the name of the supplier or registered business name, VAT number (if any), address of the premises, date on which the transaction occurred, name and description of any goods or services supplied, unit price of the goods, quantity, total price before any applicable taxes, and total of the transaction, including applicable taxes. There are also incidents of bundled goods wherein consumers do not enjoy the benefit of savings when buying in bulk as envisaged by the CPA.

Consumers are urged to look for date markings (best before / use by dates), as buying and consuming these goods may lead to health complications. The NCC’s Acting Commissioner, Mr Hardin Ratshisusu, said “failure to issue sales records deprives the consumer of their right to return the goods in a case of a product failure where quality is compromised. We want to remind suppliers to comply with the provisions of the CPA. The NCC will continue with its efforts to ensure a fair marketplace by taking non-compliant suppliers to task,” he concluded.

The NCC will continue partnering with the stakeholders and visiting other provinces throughout the country to ensure compliance with the law. Where goods do not meet required standards, those goods will be removed from the shelves to minimise exposure to consumers, and further enforcement action will also be taken.


Issued by: National Consumer Commission (NCC)