Putting much-awaited consumer protection law in perspective

Putting much-awaited consumer protection law in perspective

JAKARTA (JP): The situation is changing for consumers who have
long lacked recourse concerning dud products and shoddy services.

With the consumer protection law set to take effect on April
21, the public hopes they will no longer be ignored, exploited or
harassed by producers and service providers. Violators of the law
are subject to a maximum Rp 2 billion fine or five-year jail
term, in addition to the revocation of the business permit.

Under the law, the first of its kind, both customers and
producers/service providers are on an equal footing, something
which was neglected for many years.

Consumers gained a strong position years ago in many
countries. Then U.S. president John F. Kennedy declared four
basic rights of consumers on March 15, 1962: the right of
security, accurate information, to be heard and to make a choice.
The rights have been internationally recognized; the 1985 UN
Guidelines for Consumer Protection stated that consumers from all
nations have certain basic rights regardless of their wealth or
social status.

Law No. 8/1999 on consumer protection will be implemented in
Indonesia a year after it was approved legislators. The initial
bill was proposed to the House of Representatives by the
Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) in 1981.

The 15-chapter, 65-article law is expected to protect the
country's 210 million people who -- as stated in YLKI's statement
when the law was signed by then president B.J. Habibie last year
-- have been systematically oppressed in the political, legal,
economic and cultural spheres.

Here are pertinent articles from the law.

Article 4 governs consumer rights, such as the right for
comfort, security and safety in consuming a product and/or
partaking of a service; and the right to receive correct, clear
and honest information about products or services.

Article 5 regulates consumer obligations, including paying
according to the agreed exchange value.

Article 6 defines businesspeople's rights, including obtaining
legal protection from unscrupulous consumers.

Article 7 states businesspeople's obligations, including to
provide correct, clear and honest information about the state of
a product and/or service; to treat consumers without
discrimination; and to provide compensation and/or substitution
if a product and/or service is not as agreed.

Article 8 defines prohibitions against businesspeople in
marketing their product.

In the first subarticle, businesspeople are prohibited from
producing and/or marketing a product and/or service that, for
example, lacks an expiry date.

Other subarticles prohibit businesspeople from marketing
damaged or tainted products, including pharmaceuticals and food
supplies.

Article 9 prohibits businesspeople from offering, promoting or
advertising a product and/or service inappropriately through,
among other things, using exaggerated endorsements, such as
stating a product is safe and carries no risks or side effects,
without providing complete information.

Article 10 bars businesspeople from offering, promoting or
advertising a product and/or service through false or misleading
statements.

Article 11 bans businesses from using auctions or bargain sale
marketing to mislead consumers by, for instance, hiking the price
or rate of the product and/or service prior to the sale.

Article 12 prohibits businesspeople from offering, promoting
or advertising a product and/or service at a special rate or
price and in a certain quantity and time, if they do not intend
to carry it out as offered, promoted or advertised.

Article 13 bars businesspeople from, among other things,
offering, promoting or advertising drugs, traditional medicine,
food supplements, medical equipment and health services by
promising gifts in the form of other products and/or services.

Article 14 regulates the use of a lottery system in marketing.

Article 15 bars businesspeople from coercing customers,
physically or mentally, in offering their product and/or service.

Article 16 controls the offering of products by mail.

Article 17 regulates advertisements, including banning ads
which could deceive consumers.

Article 18 bans businesspeople from using fixed clauses in a
document and/or agreement. All fixed clauses are annulled under
the law and businesspeople are required to make necessary
adjustments.

Article 19 states that businesspeople are responsible to
compensate consumers who suffer losses due to their products or
services.

Article 20 holds advertisers responsible for the impact of
their ads.

Article 25 obligates producers of products with long-term use
to provide spare parts and/or after-service facilities.

Article 26 obligates businesspeople to honor the guarantee
and/or warranty of their products.

Article 29 makes it the government's responsibility to
supervise the execution of consumer protection and to guarantee
that both customers and businesspeople obtain their rights and
fulfill their obligations.

Article 30 states that the government, community members and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for consumer protection
should monitor the execution of the law.

Articles 31 through 43 regulate a national body for consumer
protection, which is situated in the capital and answers directly
to the president. The body has a maximum of 25 members,
representing the government, businesspeople, NGOs on consumer
protection, experts and academicians.

Articles 49 through 58 rule on the establishment of an
arbitration board in charge of solving consumer complaints. The
body, which will be available at the regional level, will have
five members at most and be accountable to the minister.

Article 55 states that the body in charge of solving consumer
complaints should make a decision within 21 days after receiving
the complaint.

Article 56 stipulates, among other things, businesspeople's
obligation to execute the body's decision within seven days.

Article 60 defines administrative penalties. The body in
charge of solving consumer complaints will impose penalties to
those violating articles 19 (subarticles 2 and 3), 20, 25, and
26. Violators face a maximum fine of Rp 200 million.

Article 62 states criminal penalties. Businesspeople violating
articles 8, 9, 10, 13 (subarticle 2), 15, 17 (subarticle 1: a, b,
c, e and subarticle 2), and 18 will face a maximum fine of Rp 2
billion or prison terms of up to five years.

Businesspeople who violates article 11, 12, 13 (subarticle 1),
14, 16, 17 (subarticle 1: d and f) will face up to Rp 500 million
in fines or prison terms of up to two years.

Article 63 states criminal charge as stipulated in article 62
might lead to, among other actions, the revocation of business
permits. (ste)