eight chambers of commerce throughout the Kingdom have been told by the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) to either pay SR20 million in attestation fees or else face prosecution. The warning was made in a letter in which the CPA threatened to demand that chambers disclose their secret budgets and demanded a 10-percent share of attestation fees. The CPA has only 15 staff to monitor prices all over the Kingdom. Its low budget prevents it from protecting Saudi consumers and expatriates from skyrocketing prices and the greed of some merchants. CPA President Dr. Nasser Al-Tweam said if the chambers of commerce do not respond to this warning, the CPA will go to court to claim its rights, according to a report in Asharq newspaper. “Article (18) of the Articles of CPA Incorporation states that the CPA has the right to go to court if chambers do not comply with the decision of the Council of Ministers which stipulates that all chambers of commerce around the Kingdom give the CPA 10 percent of attestation fees,” he said. However, Dr. Al-Tweam says the CPA has not received its share of this percentage since 2008. “The amount due to the CPA cannot be determined because the budgets of chambers are secret. If the CPA files a lawsuit, it will ask the chambers to disclose their budget,” he said. The CPA has ambitious plans to benefit consumers and merchants alike, however its low budget of SR5 million cannot cover the costs. “This budget is already earmarked to cover salaries and rents and the remainder is not enough to implement price monitoring programs,” Dr. Al-Tweam said.
