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Drive against fake products intensified in Sharjah

The drive will continue throughout the year to control the market, rein in frauds and the sale of counterfeit, restoring consumers’ confidence in the emirate’s market.

An intensified campaign launched by the Sharjah Economic Development Department to crack down on counterfeit products in the local markets has resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of fake goods and their subsequent destruction by the department. The haul included car spare parts and personal care items like perfumes and skin and hair creams.

A senior officer at the department, who declined to be named, said the drive will continue throughout the year to control the market, rein in frauds and the sale of counterfeit, restoring consumers’ confidence in the emirate’s market. Besides inspection of markets and shopping centres to ensure they are not selling fake products, the department is also seeking to raise public awareness of duplicate products and the harms they can cause.

For instance, the official said, fake auto spare parts smuggled in from other countries could be defective and lead to accidents resulting in casualties. Fake personal care items could endanger buyers’ health by causing allergies.

The department has established a mechanism to control serial commercial frauds and counterfeit goods sales. The mechanism helps detect trademark forgery and piracy.

Various government agencies are working together to prevent the trade in fake goods and piracy.

Sharjah Ports officials have stepped up vigil to detect the entry of fake goods while Sharjah Customs is working with international companies to control the sale of duplicate goods. Omar Al Sharji, head of inspection at Sharjah municipality, said the municipality too has intensified its inspections. When inspectors detect fake products in some shopping centres in Sharjah, the traders pretended to be ignorant that they are selling fake products. Some also pretend that they are not aware of the ban on such goods. Traders will be held accountable for the fake products they sell, Al Sharji said.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

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