Shura Council to discuss proposal for law regulating instalment sales

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Buying on the instalment plan has become a way of life for many in Bahrain.

However, the provisions of the law specifically designed for the protection of consumers are almost barren of the provisions regulating instalment sales.

This leaves the door open for unethical practices, harming the interest of the parties involved. When Shura Council members sit together in Bahrain today for their fourth session, one of the focuses of their discussion will be this aspect of instalment sales.

The members will put their thoughts on instalment sales agreements and their regulations.

Bringing this issue to the spotlight is a proposal by Dr Bassam Ismail Al-BinMohammed, Jamila Ali Salman, Dalal Jassim Al-Zayed, Darwish Ahmed Al-Mannai, and Sadiq Eid Al-Rahma.

The law is for ending the unethical practices of outlets in selling products capitalising on people’s wish to purchase.

It is for guaranteeing the rights of all involved.

The discussion has its basis on a report by the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee regarding a previous committee report on a proposal for instalment sales.

The proposal aims at filling a legislative void in regulating the sale through instalments.

The Civil Code, Commercial laws and Consumer protection law show there is no integrated regulation for these kinds of sales in the Kingdom, despite its importance.

A report by the Services Committee says that a review of the sector revealed the legislative void in regulating these kinds of commercial sales.

Instalment sale contracts, the committee said, do not have sufficient provisions to regulate the relationship between a seller and a buyer.

It also points out that such contracts may not specify the original price of the product sold, interest rates, proceeds obtained through instalments and total sales price.

The committee also points out that the judiciary has to accept the value of the sold products as mentioned in the contract, no matter how overestimated their value is and in violation of the market price as the sales contract is on mutual consensus between the contracting parties.