Consumers have to pay extra to watch FIFA World Cup

Nepali television viewers have to pay extra to watch the world cup football unlike previous years, according to an apex court decision.

The Supreme Court today issued a ruling in support of imposing extra charges on customers to give them access to the live broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

An advertising agency, Media Hub had earlier claiming that it has obtained exclusive broadcast rights to the FIFA World Cup, has decided to collect Rs 565 extra (including VAT) per set-top box stating that domestic advertisements do not cover their costs. 

But advocates Kishor Poudel and Anupam Bhattarai filed a writ petition stating that Nepalis didn’t have to pay extra to watch previous World Cups. They also claimed that the additional fees this time was unlawful. On November 8, a single bench of Justice Prakashman Singh Raut has issued the interim order asking the concerned not to charge the customers until the final verdict is made.

But justice duo Prakash Kumar Dhungana and Manoj Kumar Sharma today said that there is no need to continue the short-term interim order issued on November 8. “Watching the World Cup football by paying extra is not a regular but an optional issue for the viewers,” reads the Supreme Court verdict. The matches will be shown live on Himalaya TV.

There also appears to be an option in the agreement between Himalaya TV and Media Hub that some important matches would be broadcast free of cost, which means that customers, who do not pay extra too can watch at least four important matches. 

“We welcome the court’s verdict,” said marketing director at Media Hub Siddhartha Dhital. “All the work for broadcasting the world cup matches had been halted after the court’s interim order,” he said, adding that they will now work 24/7 to ensure the broadcast. 

The 2022 FIFA World Cup – to be hosted by Qatar – kicks off from November 21, and will continue until December 18. A total of 64 matches will be played during a month-long championship. The first match will be played between the host Qatar against Ecuador. Worldwide, billions of soccer fans watch the live coverage of the four-yearly football extravaganza on TV.

According to Dhital, Worldlink and Vianet Communication, two of the leading internet and television services providers, have already signed agreements with Media Hub to broadcast the matches.

Claiming that Media Hub has bid for the broadcast rights for around Rs 250 million for the month-long event, Dhita,l said that an additional Rs 150 million will be spent for promotion and technical support. 

For the first time in history, a Middle Eastern country is hosting the World Cup football. 

According to the international media reports, the Qatar World Cup will be the most expensive event as it will cost around $220 billion to Qatar, some 20 times more than the cost of last World Cup in Russia. Criticising the high prices of the tickets to the World Cup matches football fans around the world accused FIFA.

The most expensive tickets on general sale for the December 18 final at Lusail Stadium cost 5,850 Qatari riyals (£1,179), which is 46 per cent higher than the £807 ticket price for the 2018 final match that France won.

Reuters reports that While fans in Russia paid an average of 214 pounds for a seat, tickets to matches in Qatar cost an average 286 pounds, according to a study by Keller Sports.

Government fixes price of bottled water

As the traders started charging rampant prices for the bottled water, the government has fixed the price at a maximum of Rs 16 per liter. However, the government has fixed the maximum retail prices of a pet bottled water and a jar at Rs 20 and Rs 60, respectively for outside the Kathmandu Valley.

The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection (DoCSCP) today directed the traders not to charge more price than the fixed. Retailers have been charging between Rs 20-30 for a liter bottled water.

According to director general of the department Mahesh Bhattarai, the department will speed up the market inspection as there are complaints that low quality bottled-water is being sold at higher prices in the market.

The department has also fixed the price of a 20 liter jar full of water at Rs 47. Currently, retailers have been charging Rs 60 per jar of water, in the valley.

Most of the local levels fail to bring law to protect consumers

 Some 746 local governments have yet not brought Consumers Protection Act, though the Constitution has given them the right to bring the law to protect consumer, according to the chair of the Consumer Welfare Protection Forum Jyoti Baniya, speaking at a programme today.

Highlighting the need to enforce Local Market Management Act as provisioned in the Constitution, he said that the Constitution has also recognised consumers’ welfare under the fundamental right providing sufficient grounds to enforce effective measures to protect their rights. ”The local governments’ apathy to introduce necessary laws has left consumers helpless across the country.”

Although it has been almost five years since the new constitution was endorsed – in 2015 – and the local governments had their elected representatives a year later, only 7 local governments – out of a total 753 – including Damak, Kalaiya, Bhimeshwor, Waling, Tansen, Birendranagar and Tikapur municipalities have so far brought the Act. The law paves way for forming a powerful committee under leadership of the deputy mayor, Baniya added.

The law delegates full authority to the committee to oversee almost all market related activities that include cross inspection, provision of selling points and budget management to conduct research and raise awareness among general people. Each of these 7 municipalities are reported to have allocated up to Rs 5 million to carry out these activities.

The delay in formulating necessary laws by the local governments has created severe problem in effective market inspection and monitoring,” he said, adding that the market inspection being conducted by mayor, deputy mayor or high ranking government officials, in the absence of necessary law have failed to provide any relief to the consumers. “The market, however, has become largely unsafe for consumers as they are being cheated.”

The concern for consumers’ right protection started in Nepal some two-and-a-half decades ago.

Government to shorten supply chain

Though the traders have been opposing claiming most of the people will be out of business, the government is planning to lessen the supply chain for the welfare of consumers and also to check the unnatural price hike in the market.
A draft regulation prepared by the Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection has proposed to shorten the layers of intermediaries to three from the current up to seven layers of middlemen. “The goods and services normally pass through up to seven layers of middlemen, each adding a hefty markup, forcing consumers to pay unfairly high prices,” a report prepared by the department reads, adding that multi-layered supply chains are mostly seen in the trade of agricultural goods, which the buyers are paying high price but the farmers get peanuts. “Neither the farmers nor the consumers are benefitting from the current supply chain.”
Generally a product passes from the manufacturer to the dealer, main distributor, national distributor, local distributor, wholesaler and retailer before reaching the final user. But there is no regulation to control the unnecessary layers of middlemen. The department has prepared a preliminary draft of the regulation – in line with the Consumer Protection Act 2018 – which has recommended to fix the market price of all essential goods and services with having only three layers of middlemen between producer and consumer, according to former director general of the Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumer Protection Yogendra Gauchan, who has been hired as an expert member in the task force to prepare the regulations.
The regulation has also recommended legally recognising the layers of middlemen to make the market’s supply chain transparent, he said, adding that such mechanism will ensure that consumers can get quality goods and services at reasonable prices. “The proposed regulations will also include standards of profit margin on essential goods and services.”
The list of essential goods and services is also being revised as there are 29 listed daily essential items, according to the department. “Essential consumer goods or services means goods or services that may be bought or acquired primarily for personal, family or household purposes.”
The traders have, however, opposed the proposed regulations claiming that minimising the layers will put many, who have been acting as a chain to supply goods in the market, out of employment. “It will be difficult to sell goods and services in rural areas without a dealer, distributor, retailer and national distributor,” traders claim.
But, a study of nine edible oil factories revealed that there are six layers of middlemen, a product goes from the producer to the dealer or distributor, and then passes through the wholesaler to semi-wholesaler and retailers before reaching the consumer, according to the department. “Likewise, drinking water factories have five layers of middlemen in the jar and bottled water business.”
There are five layers of middlemen in the medicine business, whereas there are six layers of middlemen in cement factories. “Likewise, there are four layers of middlemen in the steel business,” according to the department's report.

Government intensifies market monitoring

The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection (DoCSP) has fined 140 stores – out of 298 – in course of market monitoring before the festivals.
According to the department, the stores were fined Rs 2.38 million for charging customers arbitrarily, failing to furnish required documents, and selling sub-standard products. The government has intensified market monitoring for the festive season as many traders are blamed to overly charge and sell substandard or adulterated products to the customers.
Though, the department is criticised for its monitoring only during the festive season, it has started market monitoring from August 18 with an aim to check unscrupulous practices in the market during the Dashain, Tihar, and Chhath festivals, the department said, adding that it carried out market monitoring between mid-August and the last week of September.
According to director general at the department Yogendra Gauchan, some traders even shut down their stores as soon as they see market monitoring team.
Though, half a dozen agencies are working under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies to check the market distortion and to protect the interest of consumers, the consumer rights activists say that the market monitoring has not been able to curb malpractices and anomalies in the market.
The Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, Department of Livestock Department, DoCSP, and local governments among others work for consumer protection.
Following the implementation of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 in February, the market inspectors have got the authority to impose fine on the spot, if any producer, transporter, importer, seller or service provider is found to be violating rules. Earlier, the market inspectors did not have any authority to penalise those, who were flouting the rules.

Consumer body flays decision to hike cooking gas price

Consumer rights activists today urged the government to roll back its recent decision to hike price of cooking gas. Submitting a memorandum ot the Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal at his office, National Consumers Forum (NCF) has also condemned the decision to hike price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas.
The forum has demanded that the government rollback the decision immediately. "The decision has hit consumers hard as the price of cooking gas has been increased twice in the past one and half months," it said in a press note. The government fuel monopoly has jacked up the price of cooking gas by Rs 25 per cylinder on Friday citing price hike in the international market.
The country is observing the World Consumer Rights Day on February 15. And the government and various organisations working for consumer rights have announced series of programmes to mark the World Consumer Rights Day.
But on one hand, the government talks about safeguarding the rights of the consumers and on the other hand it increases price of essentials like cooking gas when the World Consumer Rights Day is just around the corner, the consumer right activists blamed.
According to president of National Consumer Forum (NCF) Prem Lal Maharjan, the government should review its decision before announcing any awareness programmes targeting the World Consumer Rights Day.
He also threatened the government that consumer rights activists would boycott all government events to mark the World Consumer Rights Day, if the Supplies Ministry does not bring down the price of cooking gas as soon as possible.
As NOC has been logging profit in recent months, the decision to increase price cannot be justified,” the memorandum to the premier reads.
The forum has also argued that the intention behind increasing price of cooking gas is to fleece consumers.
Cooking gas now costs Rs 1,375 per cylinder.
The NOC had claimed that the price of cooking gas was increased because its sole supplier – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) – increased price of the cooking gas. "NOC will suffer loss of Rs 291.50 per cylinder even after the fresh adjustment in price," according ot the corporation.
According to the new rates forwarded by IOC, the corporation would have suffered loss of Rs 313.51 per cylinder, had it not hiked the price.
NOC, however, has kept the price of diesel, petrol and kerosene unchanged. Earlier in February also the NOC had increased the price of cooking gas by Rs 25 per cylinder, citing price hike in the international market. The NOC is logging profits in sale of petrol, kerosene and aviation turbine fuel, while it is suffering loss in diesel and cooking gas, it claimed.
The corporation however has been selling petrol at a profit of Rs 1.23 per liter in March, while it has been facing loss of Rs 4.07 per liter in diesel. NOC has also claimed that it will suffer a loss of Rs 414.4 million in March.

Government bows down to illegal strike by bottlers

The government has bowed down to the 'illegal strike' by the gas bottlers and revoked its earlier decision to suspend the product delivery order PDO of Himalayan Petrochemicals, the company that manufactures HP brand of gas cylinders.
Gas bottlers have been protesting by refusing to take PDO to import cooking gas since yesterday forcing to withdraw the government decision against the HP gas.
Supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) – popularly known as cooking gas – comes under the essential service and the bottlers' refusal against the Essential Service Act was against the law of the land. Essential Services Operation Act, 2014, states that no one shall disrupt the supply of essential consumer goods or services by exercising a monopoly or through any other means. But the LPG bottlers have challenged the government by refusing to take PDO of the cooking gas. The bottlers have declared to indefinitely stop collecting PDO from Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) from yesterday. PDO is a document needed for importing cooking gas from India.
The weak governance, lack of political will power due to rising corruption and red tape and illegal syndicate of gas bottlers forced the government to bow down against the illegal strike putting thousands of lives at danger. The cooking gas cylinders – that are virtually bombs as they have not been undergone hydro-static test regularly as it should have been – has already taken three lives a month ago.
The talks between Supply Ministry and Nepal LP Gas Industry Association (NLPGIA) held today at the ministry concluded after the government took its earlier decision to suspend PDO of HP gas.
Consumer Protection Council – led by the supply minister – had suspended the PDO of HP gas last week. Three people were killed around a month ago on May 20, after the fatal explosion of HP Gas cylinder in Haugal tole of Lalitpur sub-metropolis.
Reacting to the government decision of PDO suspension, the association had appealed to all the bottling plants to stop buying cooking gas from India from yesterday to put 'illegal' pressure on the government to roll back its decision.
A government-formed investigation team has said in its report that further investigation is required to look into the thickness of the metal of the gas cylinder. The team has, however, ruled out the possibility of the explosion being caused due to lack of hydro-static tests.
After receiving the report on Sunday, the government had called the NLPGIA for talks on the condition that HP gas clears the compensation to the victims’ families.
The association and the victims' family today afternoon agreed on Rs 4.1 million 'blood money', and the government put stamp on the illegal deal. "There is no law and order in the country," according to consumer rights activist Jyoti Baniya, who termed the government and association deal, an illegal compromise. "This is the height of lawlessness in the country," he said, adding that government has bowed down in front of illegal strike, which will encourage the people to break the law. "Anyone can pay compensation and kill people and go unpunished, what kind of governance is it?"
The government has lifted the ban on the import of HP gas cylinders going against the recommendation of a committee of experts it had hired to probe the incident of gas cylinder explosion last month in Lalitpur that killed three people.
The ministry – which had banned the import of HP Gas last week after the probe committee blamed the poor quality of cylinders for the explosion – lifted the ban saying that the probe committee's report did not define the defects in HP Gas cylinders in concrete terms.
However, the report had clearly mentioned that many details of the exploded HP Gas cylinder and its quality could not be traced and further expert inquiry may be required to arrive at a definite conclusion. It means that the government has bowed against the pressure from the bottlers.  Weak laws and government's unwillingness to take any action had emboldened the gas bottling companies in the country to unlawfully halt the import of cooking gas, an essential commodity.
The ministry has also cited the bottlers' willingness to provide Rs 4 million as compensation apart from 0.1 million provided by the HP gas to be divided among the families of the deceased, as the justification for lifting the ban.
The association and the ministry team sat for talks after the company handed over the Rs
4.1 million compensation to the victims’ families, according to the joint secretary of the ministry Anandaram Regmi. "The Ministry will write to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to issue the PDO to HP gas on a regular basis as earlier from tomorrow."
After the agreement, the bottlers have agreed to resume imports of cooking gas.