Mauritius
Fair Trading Act
Act 26 of 1979
- Commenced on 16 June 1980
- [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Fair Trading Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act—"code of practice" means the rules relating to the methods to be adopted in connection with the promotion and conduct of trade or the provision of services;"consumer" means an individual to whom goods or services are supplied;"consumer trade practice" means any practice carried on in connection with the production and supply of goods, whether by way of sale or otherwise, to consumers or in connection with the supply of services for consumers and which relates to—(a)the terms and conditions, whether as to price or otherwise, on or subject to which goods or services are supplied;(b)the manner in which those terms and conditions are communicated to consumers;(c)methods of promotion of the supply of goods and services;(d)methods of salesmanship employed in dealing with consumers;(e)the way in which goods are packed, bottled, canned, labelled, marked or otherwise prepared for the purpose of being supplied;(f)methods of demanding or securing payment for goods or services supplied; or(g)any matter connected with the practices specified in paragraphs (a) to (f);"Court" has the same meaning as in the Consumer Protection (Price and Supplies Control) Act;"goods" means any article which is the subject of trade or business;"Minister" means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of consumer protection is assigned;"prize competition" means a lottery organised under Part XVII of the Gambling Regulatory Act;"promotion", in relation to the supply of goods and services, means promotion whether by way of advertising, canvassing, labelling, organising of prize competitions or otherwise;"services" means services specified in the Schedule;"supply", in relation to supply of goods, includes supply by way of sale, lease, hire or hire purchase;"trade" means the production, distribution, sale, transfer, import, export, use or other dealing in goods and includes the provision of services;"trader"—(a)means a person engaged in any trade; and(b)includes the agent of any such person.3. Authorised officers
The Minister may designate any public officer to be an authorised officer for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act.4. Prohibited consumer trade practice
No person shall, for the purposes of trade or promotion, carry on a consumer trade practice which has the effect or is likely to have the effect of—5. Unlawful conditions
No trader shall, when supplying goods or services, impose any condition in connection with such supply except—6. ***
[S. 6 amended by Act 33 of 1988 w.e.f. 3 December 1988; Act 18 of 1998 w.e.f. 8 July 1998; repealed by s. 73 of Act 25 of 2007 w.e.f. 25 November 2009]7. Technical committees
8. Regulations and amendment of Schedule
9. Declaration of compulsory code of practice
10. Power to make test purchases
Notwithstanding any other enactment, the Minister may, for purposes of analysis and control, require an authorised officer to purchase on his behalf such goods as may be necessary for the purpose of determining whether or not this Act is being complied with.11. Powers of authorised officers
An authorised officer may—12. Seizure and forfeiture
13. Offences
Any person who—14. Repetition of offences
Any person convicted more than once under this Act shall, on the second and every subsequent conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 100,000 rupees together with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.[S. 14 amended by Act 33 of 1988]15. ***
History of this document
30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
16 June 1980
Commenced