Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić stated that during January the Government should propose the new Law on Consumer Protection and forward it to the Assembly.
– The new Law is fully harmonized with international standards. We wanted a law that truly protects consumers, and that is by no means detrimental to retailers, stated Ljajić in an interview for Beta.
Ljajić highlighted that the new Law encompasses strong instruments and mechanism for consumer protection which were missing in the previous law whose many weaknesses became evident in its application.
– The new Law has several novelties, including new instruments for consumer protection in solving disputes outside of courts which is in accordance with the new EU directives. Strengthening the capacities of consumer protection organizations because we want to have a strong consumer movement with instruments of protection for the collective consumer interests, stated the Minister.
– The new Law returns jurisdiction to market inspection, particularly in the field of unfair business practices and non-market contractual obligations which will provide quality protection of consumers’ interests in everyday life, said Ljajić.
The Draft of the law on consumer protection received a lot of attention from non-government and consumer organizations, experts and the private sector during the public debate which lasted from September 27 until October 27, 2013. The final draft of that law was established at the beginning of December by the National Council for Consumer Protection.
Speaking on other topics, Prime Minister Ljajić said that this year, the German retail chain Lidl should start its operations in Serbia. For this, it is necessary to provide at least 15 locations, ten of which have already been established, while negotiations with five other local governments are in the final stage.
Lidl will construct standard facilities and a big distribution center in Belgrade, said Ljajić.
According to the Minister, the adoption of the Law on Planning and Construction should speed up the procedure and facilitate the arrival of Lidl as well as other retail chains to Serbia.
