(MENAFN- Arab News) Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said commercial fraud and counterfeiting have serious impacts on consumer health and safety.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the 4th Arab Forum on Combating Commercial Fraud and Counterfeiting in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Al-Assaf outlined the reasons behind commercial fraud and counterfeiting and their negative effects on the economy. The minister added that the forum is an extension of the efforts of the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to protect the rights of consumers and producers besides maintaining transparency in all manufactured items.
Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah stressed the importance of combating commercial fraud and counterfeiting and the protection of intellectual property rights saying that counter moves aim to protect consumers producers and merchants.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry conducts regular inspections in all factories throughout the Kingdom as part of its anti-fraud campaign. Thousands of counterfeit products are seized during inspections and owners charged daily.
Others present included Director General of Customs Saleh bin Mania Al-Khaliwi and Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization Kunio Mikuriya who praised the contributions of the Kingdom toward combating commercial fraud and counterfeiting and protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) by raising consumer awareness of these dangerous trends.
Al-Khaliwi said the forum was being held at a time when Saudi Customs has started reaping fruits of the efforts in the field of combating commercial fraud counterfeiting and IPR protection. 'As a result Saudi Customs is honored by occupying advanced ranks among peer countries of the world in this field' he said pointing out that total seizure of counterfeit and fake goods during the year 2014 reached 109 million standard units decreasing by 13 percent compared to 2013 when it was 125.5 million units.
Moreover around 90 million units were refused entry into Saudi Arabia during 2014 on the grounds of nonconformity to standard specifications decreasing by 26 percent compared to 2013 when it stood at 122 million units.
'Such a decline is attributed to stringent measures and procedures adopted by Saudi Customs thanks to the provisions of control and audit through automated applications and risk management systems' he said.