JEDDAH – All products in the market should have Arabic labels on them as of the beginning of the new Hijri year (15/12/2012), said sources at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Invoices, price tags, advertisements, contracts, quotations, all printed materials and warranties should have a printed Arabic version as well, the sources added. The move comes in line with the ministry's efforts to provide consumers with Arabic information and details about products available in the market, the sources noted. Violators face fines up to SR100,000 which will be doubled and the business shut down for a year in case of repeated violation, a local newspaper reported. In a circular sent to chambers of commerce and industry, the ministry called upon all establishments and businesses to comply with the new regulations. Nashwa Taher, chairwoman of the commercial committee at Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the ministry has given businesses and establishments some time to comply with the new regulations. “About 90 percent of the products available in the market do have Arabic information on them because the Customs Department does not clear any product without Arabic labels,” she said. “Everywhere in the world one finds labels in native language,” she noted. — SG
