Unoffical translation

Lao People's Democratic Republic
Peace Independence Democracy Unity Prosperity

National Assembly                                                                                               No. 02/NA
                                                                                                                                                Vientiane Capital, Dated 30 June 2010

Law on Consumer Protection

Part I
General Provisions

Article 1 Objectives
The Law on Consumer Protection determines principles, regulations and measures for the organization, administration, monitoring and inspecting the consumer protection works in order to strengthen the consumer protection affairs, to ensure legitimate interests and safety for consumers from negative impacts as a result from consumption of goods and services, to promote the domestic production, the importation, the distribution of goods and the services with good quality, according to the standards, properly and accordance with the laws and regulations, aiming at maintaining the justice, peace and public orders of society, to make the living standard of the people of all ethnics being better, contributing to the national socio-economic development.

Article 2 Consumer Protection
Consumer protection shall be the use of measures to protect life, health, properties, legitimate rights and interests of consumers as a result of impacts from the consumption of goods and services, such as food, medicines, cosmetics, health treatments, as well as the settlement of disputes occurred between the consumers and the supplier as stipulated in the laws and regulations

Article 3 Definitions
The terms used in this Law shall have the meanings as described below:

1. Consumer means an individual, a legal entity or an organization who buys and uses the goods and the services legally without trading purpose;
2. Supplier means an individual, a legal entity or an organization, which produces, sells, distributes, buys for re-selling, and provides services, imports for selling and delivering.
3. Label means a picture, a creation, a paper or any mark that showing the statements which describing about the goods which required to be appeared on the goods, the container, the packaging or be inserted in or put together with the goods, including the documents or the user manual come along with the goods;
4. Service means the serving, the permission for using, the giving of benefit in the property with the purpose of receiving compensation in forms of cash or any other kinds of benefits.
5. Contract means the agreement between the consumer and the supplier for purchasing or selling the goods or using and providing the services;
6. Horizontal advertising means different types of billboard advertisements in public areas and at launching ceremony of new goods and services.

Article 4 State Policy on Consumer Protection
The State promotes the consumer protection affairs by defining laws and regulations, providing educations, recruiting personnel, allocating budget, providing materials to the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization in order to facilitate such organization performing its duties effectively, ensuring the safety for life, health, properties, legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

The State encourages all sectors in society, individuals, legal entities, and domestic and foreign organizations to contribute to the consumer protection affairs.

Article 5 Basic Principles of the Consumer Protection
The consumer protection shall comply with the following principles:

1. The protection of consumers shall be conducted in parallel with the promotion of the domestic production, ensuring that the production, the importation, the distribution of goods and services were meet the quality, the standards as stipulated by the relevance organizations;
2. Ensuring the safety for life, heath, properties, legitimate rights and interests of consumers, the protection of environment and the promotion of sustainable consumption;
3. Ensuring the equality, transparency, justice between the consumers and the supplier in execution of the contract;
4. Ensuring the participation of people and societies in the administration, monitoring, inspection of the price, the labelling, the advertising of goods and services;
5. Respecting and abiding by the international agreements and treaties of which Lao PDR is a party to.

Article 6 Obligation Concerning the Consumer Protection
Lao citizens, aliens, foreigners, non-citizens residing in the Lao PDR shall have the obligations to respect, to abide by this Law and other relevant laws, as well as to facilitate, to provide information and to cooperate with the consumer protection Officials while they are on duties.

Article 7 Scope of Application
This Law shall be applied to individuals, legal entities including domestic and foreign organizations that hold the business licensing and performing the production, the importation, the selling, the distribution of goods and services and the consumers in the territory of Lao PDR.

For those suppliers without the business licensing shall be regulated by other laws.

Article 8 International Cooperation
The State promotes foreign, regional and international cooperation in the consumer protection affairs by exchanging the lessons, the information, the scientific, the technology and the trainings, upgrading the technical capacity for ensuring the effective performance of consumer protection and the conformity with the international agreements and treaties in which Lao PDR is a party to.

Part II
The Consumer Protection

Chapter 1
Types of Consumer Protection

Article 9 Types of Consumer Protection
Consumer protection is categorized into two types as follows:

• The protection for the consumption of goods;
• The protection for the consumption of services

Article 10 The Protection for the Consumption of Goods
The protection for the consumption of goods means the use of measures to enable consumers to utilize goods with good quality, with standards as defined by relevant organizations, without negative impacts on life, health, properties, legitimate rights and interests of consumers and the environment.

Article 11 The Protection for the Consumption of Services
The protection for the consumption of services means the use of measures to enable consumers to receive the services with good quality, with standards as defined by relevant organizations and with the fairness.

Chapter 2
The Production, Importation, Selling, Distribution of Goods and Services

Article 12 The Production of Goods
The production of goods must be strictly conducted in accordance with conditions, standards and regulations as defined by relevant sectors in order to avoid the contamination, the danger of improper production of goods, aimed at ensuring the safety for life, health, properties, rights and interests of the consumers and the environment.

Article 13 The Importation, Selling, Distribution of Goods and Services
The Importation, the selling, the distribution of goods and services must be conducted strictly in accordance with the conditions, the standards and pass through the inspection from the relevant sectors in order to ensure quality, safety, convenience, reasonable price and without taking advantage of the consumers.

Chapter 3
Advertisement

Article 14 Principles and Types of Advertisement
Advertisement must be conducted in accordance with the following principles:

• Ensuring the content of advertisement is precisely, in according to the truth about the category, type, characteristic, quality of goods, trademark and services;
• Ensuring the sufficient information about goods and services were provided;
• Ensuring the advertisement is without satirizing, slandering on the goods and services of others.

Advertisement can be conducted in all forms such as: horizontal advertising, advertisement through mass media.

Article 15 The Permission for Advertisement
Individuals, legal entities and organizations intending to advertise goods and service must seek an approval from information and culture sector in accordance with laws and regulations.

For the contents of the advertisement on goods and services shall be in accordance with the regulations as stipulated by the relevant sectors.

Article 16 Modification of the Advertisement
Where it deems that any advertisement is untrue causing any impact on interests of consumers, the relevant consumer protection Officials must inform the supplier who is conducting that advertisement to stop that advertising and to make the correction the concerned advertisement prior to continuation of such advertisement.

Article 17 The Accession to the Information
In order to facilitate the consumers to access to information, acknowledge, understand about goods and services that are dangerous, the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization or suppliers must inform about such information in various forms through mass media, horizontal advertising as follows:

1. Inform about any risks that are harmful to life and heath from the consumption of goods and services;
2. Inform about the types of goods and services which are under inspecting or re-testing to certify the qualities, standards of such goods and services, and after received the results from such inspection and testing consumers must be informed about that results;
3. Once after goods and services are being distributed, if suppliers found information of the harmful from such goods, the suppliers must inform the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization and the consumers in due time as well as taking appropriate resolving measures.

All Expenses for the inspection, re-testing of goods and services, the notification of the danger of goods and services through mass media and horizontal advertising are under responsibilities of the suppliers.

Chapter 4
Labelling and Contract

Article 18 Labeling
Goods which are manufactured, imported and distributed by licensed suppliers must be labelled in Lao language, particularly for goods that have potential risks to life, health and the safety of consumers.

Article 19 Contents of Label
Label of goods must include the following main contents:

1. Type or category of goods;
2. Registered trademark of manufacturer or of importer for the distribution of such products;
3. Place of manufacturing or address of the distributing importer, , the name of the manufacturing country;
4. Price, amount, quantity, quality, volume, components, instructions manual, warning, date of manufacturing and expiry date.

 

Article 20 Editing the Contents of Label
If it is deemed that any goods is not labelled or the contents of label is incorrect and insufficient in accordance with the usefulness and characteristic of such goods, the relevant consumer protection Officials must inform the supplier to suspend the importation, distribution of such goods in order to make the correction of the contents of label prior to continuation of importation and distribution.

Article 21 Contract
For the business operation on any type of goods and services, the suppliers and the consumers must sign a contract in accordance with the Law on Obligation under the Contract and outside the Contract and must execute the contracts accurately, fully and in timely manner.

Part III
The Implementation of Consumer Protection Affairs

Chapter 1
Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection

Article 22 Consumer Protection Implementing Organization
The Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection from central to local levels comprise of the key sectors as follows:

• Industry and Commerce Sector;
• Public Health Sector;
• Forestry and Agriculture Sector;
• Science and Technology Sector.

The organizational structure and personnel of the Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection shall be determined in other specific regulations.

Article 23 Industry and Commerce Sector
For the implementation of consumer protection affairs, the industry and commerce sector shall have the centralized role in coordinating with the relevant authorities and shall focus and take whole responsibility on industrial and commercial fields which relating to the manufacturing, the marketing, the price and the services including other fields that are not falling under the responsibilities of any other sectors.

Article 24 Public Health Sector
For the implementation of consumer protection affairs, the public health sector shall focus and take whole responsibility on public health fields which relating to foods and drugs, medical equipment and health care services.

Article 25 Forestry and Agriculture Sector
For the implementation of consumer protection affairs, the forestry and agriculture sector shall focus and take whole responsibility on the forestry and agriculture fields which relating to processing of agricultural production, fertilizers, chemical substances used in agriculture, insecticide, animal drugs, animal feed, agricultural products, seeds, animal species, agricultural tools and machinery.

Article 26 Science and Technology Sector
For the implementation of consumer protection affairs, the science and technology sector shall focus and take whole responsibility on science, technology, quality, standard, measurement, weight, and intellectual property fields.

Article 27 Rights and Duties of the Consumer Protection Implementing Organizations
The Consumer Protection Implementing Organizations shall have the main rights and duties as following:

1. To execute policies and regulations on consumer protection accordingly and strictly;
2. To settle the disputes between consumers and suppliers, provide counselling on legal matters concerning consumer protection;
3. To examine contents and forms of advertising, labelling, packaging, measurement and price on goods that manufactured, imported, and mainly distributed in the markets;
4. To examine the certification of quality, standards of goods and services, enterprise registrations and other relevant documents on goods and services;
5. To collect samples of products or goods or other materials used for manufacturing, trading, services and other objects for examination purpose;
6. To seize or sequester goods, containers or packaging of goods, label or other incorrect documents, as well as making the record as evidence for further legal proceeding;
7. To inspect the places, the buildings, the houses which relating to the production, the processing or the improvement of the products and goods, the distributing places, shops, stores and services places;
8. To interview individuals, representatives, legal entities or organizations about quality, standards of goods and services and the environment;
9. To propose or to withdraw certificates, enterprise registration or any relevant documents related to goods and services if it is deemed violation of laws under its own responsibility;
10. To coordinate with each other’s, with relevant organisations, with local administrations at all levels for the implementation of consumer protection affairs;
11. To communicate, cooperate with foreign countries on consumer protection affairs as assigned by supervisory level;
12. To summarize, evaluate and report the implementation of consumer protection affairs to supervisory level regularly.

Article 28 Other Sectors
For the implementation of consumer protection affairs, the other sectors shall take responsibilities for conducting consumer protection affairs in accordance with its own roles, rights and duties.

Article 29 Consumer Protection Officials
Consumer protection Officials are government officials which are appointed by the relevant ministers.

The qualification, rights and duties of consumer protection officials shall be determined in other specific regulations.

Chapter 2
Consumer Protection Association

Article 30 Status and Roles of the Association
The Consumer Protection Association is a non-profit social organization established in accordance with the laws and regulations; it has the roles to assist, to provide consultation and advices, and to protect legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

Organizational structure and activities of the Consumer Protection Association shall be determined in other specific regulations.

Article 31 Rights and Obligations of the Association
The Consumer Protection Association  shall have the following rights  and duties:

1. To receive, study, consider the proposals from the consumers and organize the mediation for consumers and suppliers in accordance with regulations and laws;
2. To be a representative for consumers in settlement of disputes and sue the suppliers;
3. To put the proposal to the Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection on the violation of suppliers against the laws and regulations;
4. To present about impropriate acts of consumer protection Officials to the Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection;
5. To provide comments to the Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection about the measures and the development of legislations related to consumer protection;
6. To provide advice, to assist the consumers when the consumers have problems from the consumption of goods and services and ensure the transparency and fairness when represented during the mediation.
7. To perform other rights and duties in accordance with laws and regulations as assigned by relevant governmental bodies.

Part IV
Rights and Obligations of the Consumers and the Suppliers

Chapter 1
Rights and Obligations of the Consumers

Article 32  Rights of the Consumers
Consumers shall have the main rights as following:

1. To choose and to make decision whether to buy goods or services at its own will;
2. To know precise information and advisory about the quality, the price, the place of manufacture, the producer, usage or user manual special feature, ingredients, date of manufacture and expiry date, certificate of product, after sales services and other necessary information;
3. To receive the safety relating to life, health and properties when consuming the goods and services;
4. To request or to claim for compensation on the damaged occurred from the consumption of goods and services with poor quality and non-standard which having negative impacts on their life, heath, and properties;
5. To present to the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization on the production activities, business and services which violating laws and regulations, such as counterfeiting goods, creating environmental affects that exceed the defined standards.

Article 33 Obligations of the Consumers
Consumers shall have the main obligations as following:

1. To make the payment for goods and services in Lao currency;
2. To use the goods and services in accordance with the instructions or user manuals properly;
3. To provide information on poor quality and non-standards of goods and services to relevant officials.

Chapter 2
Rights and Obligations of the Suppliers

Article 34        Rights of the Suppliers
Suppliers shall have the main rights as following:

1. To operate the production, the trading, the distribution and the services in accordance with laws and regulations;
2. To determine, to show the price of goods and services in Lao currency;
3. To advertise about the quality of goods and services precisely, based on the truth;
4. To lodge complaints, proposal on consumer protection activities and the infringement of reserved rights of the goods and services to the relevant Consumer Protection Implementing Organization.

Article 35 Obligations of the Suppliers
Suppliers shall have the main obligations as following:

1. To ensure quality, standards of goods and services as stipulated in relevant laws and regulations;
2. To ensure that the manufacturing, the importations, the distributions of goods and services were not causing the environmental effects that exceed the defined standards;
3. To provide precise and based on the truth information concerning the production, the importations, the distributions of goods and services to the consumers;
4. To take responsibility for the damages occurred due to the supply of lower quality and non-standards of products, goods and services;
5. To strictly follow the terms under the contracts with the consumers and to label goods in accordance with regulations;
6. To provide cooperation and information about their own goods and services to relevant officials.

Part V
The Settlement of Disputes between the Consumers and the Suppliers

Chapter 1
Settlement of Disputes

Article 36 Principles for the Settlement of Disputes
The settlement of disputes must comply with the following principles:

• Accuracy and alignment with the laws and regulations;
• Equality;
• Transparency and fairness;
• Speediness.

Article 37 Methods for the Settlement of Disputes
Disputes concerning consumer protection can be settled through the following methodologies:

1. Compromise;
2. Mediation;
3. Administrative remedy by the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization;
4. Settlement by the Organization of Economic Dispute Settlement or by the People’s Courts.

In the settlement of disputes relating to consumer protection, the disputants shall have the rights to choose any methodology of settlement based on the satisfaction of both sides.

Chapter 2
Compromise

Article 38 Compromise
In case of a dispute occurred between consumers and suppliers, the disputants shall endeavour to resolve that dispute through consultations and compromises in accordance with the following steps:

1. When their rights and interests have been violated, damaged due to consumption of goods and services, the consumers shall have the rights to complaint or request for compensation directly from the suppliers, as well as the individuals or legal entities who obtained such goods and services from the suppliers;
2. The suppliers shall response to the complaint or requests from the consumers no later than three days after receipt such complaint or requests;
3. The suppliers shall solve the issue within appropriate period of time but not later than seven days from the date of response;
4. The consumers shall have the rights to use other methodology of settlement when the compromise failed.

Article 39 Record of the Compromise
The consumers and the suppliers must make a record of compromise in writing, unless both sides reach agreement in other means.

Each side shall have the obligations to comply with the record or agreement of such compromise.

Chapter 3
Mediation

Article 40 Mediation
In case of a dispute occurred between consumers and suppliers, the disputants shall have the rights to propose as following:

1. To choose an individual or legal entity which is accepted by both sides to conduct the mediation;
2. To mediate in accordance with laws and regulations.

Article 41 Principles of Mediation
The Mediation should be carrying on in accordance with the following principles:

1. Equality, transparency, subjective, fairness, without coercion and without deception;
2. Un-revelation and insurance of confidentiality of information of each sides, unless both sides reached the agreement for revealing or stipulated in other means by laws;
3. No mediation of dispute that against the laws.

Article 42 Mediation Units
The Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection shall establish its mediation units which comprise of one to three officials; those officials shall have duties to mediate disputes between consumers and suppliers within their responsibilities.

The Consumer Protection Association can also conduct mediation based on the agreement between the consumers and the suppliers.

Article 43 Timeframes for the Mediation
The mediation shall be taken according to the following time period:

1. Mediation units must issue the notification to both sides within seven days after receiving a request for mediation in order to conduct mediation;
2. Duration of mediation shall be determined based on the agreement from both sides but no later than one month after issuing the notification for the mediation;
3. Disputant shall have the rights to withdraw from mediation at any time, but notice must be made available in written form to the mediation units.

Article 44 Contents of Mediation Record
There must be a record of mediation with the following substantive contents:

1. Names and Surnames of the disputants;
2. The issue to be mediated;
3. Name and Surname(s) of mediator(s) and all participants;
4. Date and place of mediation;
5. Outcomes of the mediation;
6. Timeframe for the implementation of mediation record;
7. Signatures and fingerprints of disputants;
8. Signature (s) of mediator (s).

Article 45 The Implementation of Mediation Record
Mediation record must be implemented as follows:

1. Disputants must voluntarily implement a mediation record, except in case there is an appeal to cancel such record with sufficient reasons;
2. In case one disputant does not voluntarily implement the mediation record without reasons, another disputant shall have the rights to propose to the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization for consideration.

Article 46 Procedure for the Implementation of Mediation Record
The procedure for the implementation of mediation record is as follows:

1. The mediation units must send the mediation record to the relevant Consumer Protection Implementing Organization within three working days;
2. The relevant Governmental Implementing Organizations for Consumer Protection must give a notice and remind each side to implement such mediation record within five working days after received the mediation record;
3. In case of the disputant who has obligations to implement the mediation record refused to do so, the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization shall have the rights to propose to a competent authority for impose any measure in accordance with the laws and regulations.

Article 47 The request for cancellation of Mediation Record
In case a disputant found that the mediation were violated the mediation principles stipulated in article 41 of this Law and created the loss of benefits to that disputant, this disputant shall have the rights to request for cancellation of the mediation record to relevant Consumer Protection Implementing Organization.

Within five days after received the request for cancellation of mediation record, the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization must issue the notification Note of the cancelation or no-cancelation of the mediation record and provide explanation to both sides. .

Chapter 4
Administrative Remedy by the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization

Article 48  Administrative Remedy
When there is a dispute between consumers and suppliers, the disputants shall have the rights to request the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization or relevant sectors to consider settlement of dispute through the administrative remedy in accordance with regulations.

Article 49 The Submission of Complaints Application
The submission of complaints application shall be undertaken as following:

1. The consumers can submit their complaints application to the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization within their locations;
2. The  consumers  has  the  obligation  to  provide  documents,  evidences  as follows:

• Evidence of purchasing-selling with the suppliers;
• Evidence of behaviour of suppliers concerning the violating of the contracts.

Suppliers who are facing the damages also have the rights to submit complaints application.

Article 50 Timeframes for Addressing the Complaints of Consumers
Timeframe for addressing the complaints of consumers are as follows:

 

1. Within ten working days after received the complaints from the consumers, the Consumer Protection   Implementing Organization must invite the suppliers to the office for explanation and clarification to the complaints of consumers.;
2. The suppliers must clarify such complaints no later than seven days after received the invitation from the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization.
3. The Consumer Protection Implementing Organization must issue a decision to solve the complaints no later than thirty days after receiving the clarification from the suppliers;
4. If necessary the Consumer Protection Implementing Organization may invite the disputants to office for further clarification or invite relevant sectors or experts to participate in solving of the dispute.

 

Article 51 Scope of Rights to Solve the Complaints Application

The Consumer Protection Implementing Organization shall have the rights to considering and solving the complaints application as follows:

 

1. The Consumer Protection Implementing Organization at district level shall have the rights to consider and solve the complaint on goods and services with total values below one hundred million kip;
2. The Consumer Protection Implementing Organization at provincial level shall have the rights to consider and solve the complaint on goods and services with total values above one hundred million kip.

 

Article 52 The Content of Decision for Addressing the Complaint

The content of decision for addressing the complaint, in case the supplier is violator, , shall include the followings:

1. The suppliers shall perform their obligations toward the consumers in accordance with the contract;
2. The suppliers shall compensate for the consumers;
3. The  suppliers  shall  remedy  those  impacts  on  consumers  in  case  of violation.

The decision for addressing the complaint of consumers, in case supplier was not a violator, shall be terminated with reasonable clarification.

The decision for addressing the complaint of supplier shall also follow the above-mentioned principles.

Chapter 5
Settlement of Disputes by the Organization of Economic Disputes Settlement or by the People’s Courts

Article 53 Settlement of Disputes by the Organization of Economic Disputes Settlement
When there is a dispute between consumer and supplier, the disputants shall have the rights to request to the Organization of Economic Disputes Settlement to resolve the dispute in accordance with laws and regulations.

Article 54 Settlement of Disputes by the People’s Courts
When there is a dispute between consumer and supplier, the disputants shall have the rights to bring a legal action to the People’s Court for consideration in accordance with laws and regulations.

 

Article 55 Settlement of Disputes Related to International Laws
The disputes on consumer protection which related to international laws shall be settled in accordance with laws of Lao PDR or international agreements and treaties which Lao PDR is a party to.

Part VI
Prohibitions

Article 56 Prohibitions for Officials or Staffs
Officials or staffs are prohibited to act as follows:

1. Perform  their  duties  unfairly,  biasedly,  illegally  with  consumers  or suppliers;
2. Abuse of their positions, powers, and functions for their own benefits, take bribes related to consumer protection affairs;
3. Falsify or use falsified documents, disclose confidentiality, hold back, delay or destroy documents related to goods and services;
4. Perform any other practice which contradicting the laws related to consumer protection.

Article 57 Prohibitions for the Consumers
Consumers are prohibited to act as follows:

1. Promote unqualified and non-standardized goods or services;
2. Advertise in which discredit the goods and services or commit any act causing the damage to suppliers;
3. Execute the contracts toward the suppliers improperly and partially;
4. Ignore the violations of laws of Officials, staffs or suppliers;
5. Utilize goods and services that are harmful to environment, violate the laws and regulations, traditional culture, caused harmful to life, heath, and properties of other persons and society;
6. Use foreign currencies to pay for goods and services without permission;
7. Perform any practice contradicting with the laws related to consumer protection.

Article 58 Prohibitions for the Suppliers
Suppliers are prohibited to act as follows:

1. Manufacture, import, distribute unqualified and non-standardized, counterfeit, copied and prohibited goods;
2. Provide unqualified and non-standardized services and violate laws and regulations and the traditional culture;
3. Execute the contract toward the consumers improperly and partially;
4. Supply goods which causing pollutions that exceed the defined standards, causing harmful to life, health, and properties of consumers;
5. Advertise or provide  untrue or over-claimed information  on goods and services;
6. Falsify or use falsified documents on goods and services;
7. Misdirect,  deceive,  offer  bribes  due  to  illegal  supplying  of  goods  and services;
8. Attaches, display price and receive payments for goods and services in foreign currencies;
9. Perform any practice contradicting with the laws related to consumer protection.

Article 59 Prohibitions for Individuals and other Organizations
Individuals and other organizations are prohibited to act as follows:

1. Create obstacles, intervene the activities of suppliers while conducting consumer protection activities;
2. Advertise incorrect information about quality, standards of goods and services which causing other people misunderstanding or discrediting the suppliers;
3. Assist, protect the supplier who violated the laws and regulations;
4. Abuse, frighten, create obstacles toward the performance of consumer protection officials;
5. Be intermediaries for offering and taking of bribes related to consumer protection;
6. Perform any practice contradicting with the laws related to consumer protection.

Part VII
Administration and Inspection of Consumer Protection Affairs

Chapter 1
Administration of Consumer Protection Affairs

Article 60 Consumer Protection Administrating Organization
The Government shall administer consumer protection affairs centrally and uniformly throughout the country, delegating the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to be the central body in coordinating with the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the National Science and Technology Authority, and other sectors as well as relevant local administration authorities.

The Consumer Protection Administrating Organization is the same as Consumer Protection Implementing Organization as stipulated in article 22 of this Law.

Article 61  Rights and Duties of the Consumer Protection Administrating Organization
The Consumer Protection Administrating Organization shall have the main rights and duties as follows:

1. Study the policies, the laws and regulations, the strategic plans and programmes relating to consumer protection affairs propose to the Government for consideration;
2. Advocate, disseminate the policies, the laws and regulations, the strategic plans and programmes relating to consumer protection to society within their responsibilities;
3. Issue the decisions, the orders, the instructions and the notices relating to consumer protection works within their responsibilities;
4. Coordinate with other relevant sectors and relevant local administration authorities in order to supervise and monitor the implementation of consumer protection works within their responsibilities;
5. Suspend, change, and cancel the decisions, the orders, the instructions, the notices that are conflicting with laws and regulations relating to consumer protection within their rights and duties;
6. Propose for the establishment or withdraw and monitor, administer the activities of the Consumer Protection Association;
7. Enhance capacity, maintain, improve the knowledge, appoint or dismiss the consumer protection Officials within their sectors;
8. Receive and resolve the proposal from the people toward the performance of the consumer protection Officials who violating the laws and regulations;
9. Coordinate and cooperate with foreign countries on consumer protection affairs within their rights and duties;
10. Summarize and report the results of the implementation of consumer protection affairs to supervisory levels regularly.

Chapter 2
Inspection of Consumer Protection Affairs

Article 62 Consumer Protection Inspecting Organization
The Consumer Protection Inspecting Organization shall consist of:

1. Internal inspection organization which is the same as the Consumer Protection Administrating Organization as stipulated in article 60 of this Law.
2. External inspection organizations which are National Assembly, State Inspection Authority, and State Audit Organization who shall inspect the implementation of consumer protection affairs in accordance with their roles, rights and duties as stipulated in the laws and regulations.

Article 63 Contents of the Inspection
The contents of consumer protection inspections shall include the following:

1. The  implementation  of  policies,  laws  and  regulations  on  consumer protection;
2. The organizational structure and the performance of the Consumer Protection Organization;
3. The performance, the responsibilities, the practices and the work plan of consumer protection Officials.

Article 64 Types of the Inspection
The consumer protection inspection shall conduct in three following types:

1. Regular inspection;
2. Inspection by advanced noticing;
3. Dawn raids inspection.

Regular inspection refers to an inspection according to the plans and within specific timeframe which is at least twice a year.

Inspection by advanced noticing refers to an ad hoc inspection deemed as necessary and at least twenty-four hours in advance noticing is required.

Dawn raids inspection refers to an ad hoc inspection deemed as necessary and urgent, and advance noticing is not required.

The inspection shall conduct in both documentation and on-field inspection. The inspection shall be conducted in accordance with laws and regulations strictly.

Part VIII
Policies towards Persons with Outstanding Achievement and Measures against Violators

Article 65 Policies toward Persons with Outstanding Achievement
Individuals, legal entities or organizations with outstanding achievement in the enforcement of this Law shall be praised or granted benefits according to laws and regulations.

Article 66 Measures against Violators
Individuals, legal entities or organizations violating laws or regulations on consumer protection shall be re-educated, disciplined, fined or punished depending on the seriousness of the violation.

Article 67 Re-education Measures
Individuals, legal entities or organizations violating laws and regulations on consumer protection, particularly prohibition provisions deemed as minor violation and as first violation, shall be warned and re-educated.

Article 68 Disciplinary Measures
Government officials and consumer protection officials who violating laws and regulations on consumer protection and the prohibitions deemed as non-criminal offence and caused damage to consumers or suppliers without precise reporting, hiding their offences shall be disciplined in case by case basis as follows:

1. Be criticized, warned about the violation in accordance with regulations on civil servants and recorded such offence in their biographic records;
2. Be suspended from the promotion, salary advancement and praise;
3. Be demoted or reshuffled to other lower position;
4. Be dismissed from civil servants without receiving any beneficial policy.

Disciplined persons must return all properties acquired illegally to the organization.

Article 69 Fines Measures
Individuals, legal entities or organizations who violating laws and regulations on consumer protection particularly the prohibitions deemed as non-criminal offence, after two times of warning, shall be fined in case by case basis which stipulated in specific regulations.

Article 70 Civil Measures
Individuals, legal entities or organizations who caused the damages to other persons from the production, importation, selling, distribution of goods and services which are unqualified and non-standards shall compensate for the damages they caused.

Article 71 Criminal Measures
Individuals who forced, abused of their powers, positions, duties to take or offer bribes, adjusting weight scales or measurement equipment, falsifying documents, using falsified documents, disclosing confidentiality for its own benefits, manufacturing, selling prohibited goods, distributing goods and services that create serious pollution to the environment, cause harmful to life, health, properties of other persons greatly, and other acts related to consumer protection which deemed as criminal offences shall be subjected to punishments in accordance with the Penal Law.

Article 72 Additional Penalty Measures
In addition to the measures as stipulated in articles 71 of this Law, the violators may be subjected to additional penalty measures such as: suspension or withdrawal of Enterprise Registration Certificate, other documents, confiscate the materials or the profits gaining from the offences.

Part IX
Final Provisions

Article 73 Implementation
The Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic shall implement this Law.

Article 74 Effectiveness
This Law shall become effective after ninety days from the date of the promulgating decree issued by the President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Any terms, provisions or other legislation that contradict to this Law shall be repealed.

President of the National Assembly

Thongsing THAMMAVONG