Consumer protection in Congo Republic

In the Republic of the Congo, a consumer is generally a natural or legal person who uses goods or services for non-professional needs. A legal person can receive protection case by case when economic weakness or vulnerability justifies it. The national framework is Loi n°36-2024 of 11 October 2024, published in Journal officiel 2024-51 on 19 December 2024. Sector rules continue to apply to food, pharmaceutical and health products, banking and insurance, water, electricity, transport and electronic commerce. This framework concerns the Republic of the Congo, also called Congo-Brazzaville, and must not be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Consumers have rights to clear and adequate information, quality, essential services, health and safety, protection of economic interests, repair, privacy and personal-data protection, food safety, withdrawal where the applicable rule provides it, representation, a healthy environment and sustainable consumption. Professional suppliers must use French contract terms, provide truthful advertising and essential information before contracting, show prices transparently, issue an invoice or ticket, state delivery dates, provide conformity and guarantee information, offer after-sales service where functionality requires it, and warn about risks or withdraw dangerous products from the market. Prices are generally freely set, although the government may create special regimes for essential goods. A displayed price should be in FCFA and should show special sale conditions. A quotation is normally free when requested; if a charge applies, the supplier should disclose it beforehand. Labels for prepacked goods should be in French and state the price, quantity, name, composition, origin or provenance, lot, manufacturer, production or use dates and relevant risks. Keep the invoice, ticket, contract, label and payment record because these documents support a later complaint. Consumer contracts must not contain misleading, aggressive or restrictive practices. An abusive clause is not binding, and unclear or contradictory terms are interpreted in favour of the consumer. Adhesion contracts must be readable and visible. A supplier may refuse a sale only for a justified reason such as insolvency, safety, health or public morality. Tied sales, stock speculation, sales linked to recruitment and exploitation of weakness are prohibited. A non-immediate delivery contract must state its deadline. If delivery is delayed by more than 20 working days, the consumer may cancel in writing without penalty; immovable-property transactions use a 120-working-day threshold. A reasonable additional period may be allowed before cancellation. For conformity problems, the seller should repair or replace the product at the seller's cost. If neither is possible, the consumer may return it and request a price refund. The seller must disclose whether goods are defective, used, reconditioned or repaired. The statutory guarantee duration remains subject to implementing regulation. A contractual guarantee should state its scope, duration, territory and activation conditions, so its promises cannot be assessed from advertising alone. Distance and e-commerce offers must identify the seller and provide contact details, product characteristics, the exact designation, price, validity period, payment method, delivery terms, complaint procedure and withdrawal conditions. The offer must be provided in durable written form and allow the consumer to correct an error or refuse the transaction. The withdrawal period is 14 working days. After exercising withdrawal, the consumer normally returns the goods within 7 days; return shipping is generally the consumer's cost. The seller refunds within 14 days after receiving the goods or the withdrawal decision, subject to the applicable evidence and timing rules. A non-conforming distance purchase can be returned within 15 working days without a penalty other than return cost. Exceptions include a fully performed service accepted in advance, market-linked prices, custom-made goods, rapidly perishable goods, unsealed hygiene goods, unsealed software or information technology products and public auctions. Door-to-door selling is allowed only after an express consumer request. The canvasser should carry an identification card and provide a contract copy at signing. Withdrawal is available for 7 working days, and a deposit should be refunded in full apart from documented operating costs. Bad or incomplete performance can support withdrawal within a maximum of 7 working days. Credit information should state the price before and after tax, the total amount payable including fees and interest, and the instalments. Total interest may not exceed the cash price; other consumer-credit requirements also apply. Financial-services complaints can involve national rules and the CEMAC framework, including Règlement n°01/20/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC. Bank-consumer rules mainly cover natural persons acting outside professional activity. Authorised minimum banking services are free, financial data receives protection, and complaint handling should be free and effective. The Banking Commission of Central Africa, COBAC, supervises commercial conduct, contract conformity, complaints and ethics, with possible sanctions. Keep written proof of every complaint to a bank or provider. Payment and mobile-money services also follow BEAC and CEMAC rules. For an incorrect transfer, the restitution procedure uses Lettre circulaire 004/DGE/DSMP/2023, but no universal refund guarantee or deadline should be assumed. Check that the provider is authorised. For electronic communications and digital financial services, Loi n°30-2023 requires providers and operators to maintain a complaint mechanism. A customer should report a problem within the provider's responsibility within a maximum of 3 working days. If a formal notice remains unresolved, the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts, ARPCE, can intervene; reviewed sources give conflicting handling periods of one week and one month, so the exact service time is not confirmed. The ARPCE Centre d'écoute can be reached free from a mobile phone at 5050, or by email at consommateurs@arpce.cg. Providers must notify transaction status, protect financial data through encryption, avoid storing PINs, allow activation and deactivation of the USSD financial channel, apply double authentication above 1,000,000 FCFA, permit free choice of mobile-payment network and respect the stated session and timeout limits. For electricity and water, sector rules and the electricity code protect consumers regarding tariffs, supply conditions and safety, while the Regulatory Agency for Electricity, ARSEL, provides sector oversight. A public complaint workflow and fixed handling time were not evidenced in the reviewed material, so retain supplier records and verify the current procedure with ARSEL. Transport is covered by sector rules, but the reviewed official sources did not establish a dedicated national travel-complaint system or automatic passenger compensation. Begin with a written complaint to the carrier and verify the competent transport authority before asserting a remedy. Food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, hygiene and cleaning products must meet health, safety and environmental standards. Authorities may prohibit, seize or destroy altered, falsified, toxic, expired, relabelled or thawed-and-refrozen food and other hazardous goods. A practical complaint normally begins with a written request to the supplier, supported by the invoice, ticket, contract, label, payment proof, messages, screenshots and delivery evidence. The Direction générale de la concurrence et de la répression des fraudes commerciales, DGCRFC, can inspect, record violations, seize goods and seek administrative sanctions. The Ministry of Commerce, Supplies and Consumption handles policy and consultation. Courts or the public prosecutor may address civil or criminal relief. A consumer association can act for at least two consumers affected by the same supplier and common origin. Consumer associations must be nonprofit and autonomous, receive no supplier funding, and register with the Ministry of Commerce after at least one year of effective activity; registration is exempt from the procedural advance applicable to ordinary parties in the stated circumstances. Misleading advertising is prohibited, and measurable advertising claims bind the advertiser. Counterfeiting, alteration of identity marks, abuse of ignorance or weakness, dangerous goods and planned obsolescence can trigger enforcement. Administrative measures include warnings, injunctions, suspension, withdrawal, destruction and confiscation of illicit profit. Courts may cancel contracts, close an operation or award compensation. Falsification involving food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic or hygiene products can carry 5 to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of 10,000,000 to 100,000,000 FCFA; abuse of weakness can carry the same fine range. Repeat administrative fines may be doubled. The law is broad, but some implementing details, including the operational status of the National Consumer Protection Commission, statutory guarantee duration and certain enforcement mechanisms, still require regulatory confirmation.