The Book of Complaints and Suggestions has been completely abolished in Ukraine

13/ 10/ 2020

In early October, with the official entry-into-force of the order №1130 of the Mineconomy of June 16, 2020, all acts regarding the obligation to keep a Book of Complaints and Suggestions were repealed. It is worth noting that the abolition of the mandatory application of this Book will not affect the issues of consumer protection or change the obligation of the business to consider consumer complaints. Thus, consumers still have the tool to appeal to the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection regarding the violation of rights in writing, the possibility of electronic communication, or hotline calls. At the same time, some businesses can keep this Book as a convenient element of communication with consumers, however, from now on the business will not pay fines for incorrectly bounded or numbered Books. Unfortunately, some parts of the population and managers believe that the Book was an effective tool. In fact, entrepreneurs were forced to spend time and considerable money on its maintenance at every sales department and in every hall of the catering establishment. Such expenses reached more than 44 million hryvnias. This amount included organizational costs, the appointment of the person responsible for it, and consideration of complaints. At the same time, this was not a guarantee of resolving the issues. Thus, the consumer, in the absence of a response to the complaint, had to apply to the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection with a relevant statement. According to the European Business Association, the Governments decision opens new opportunities for communication, promotes the use of various communication tools between business and consumers, which will improve the business climate and reduce the number of formal business inspections. Therefore, the business welcomes the final point in resolving this issue. It will be recalled that the decision to abolish the mandatory use of the Book of Complaints and Suggestions by businesses was made by the Government on March 6, 2019. At the same time, the requirements and mentions of the Book of Complaints remained in a number of normative documents, namely, orders of the Mineconomy. Be the first to learn about the latest EBA news with our Telegram-channel – EBAUkraine.

It is worth noting that the abolition of the mandatory application of this Book will not affect the issues of consumer protection or change the obligation of the business to consider consumer complaints. Thus, consumers still have the tool to appeal to the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection regarding the violation of rights in writing, the possibility of electronic communication, or hotline calls. At the same time, some businesses can keep this Book as a convenient element of communication with consumers, however, from now on the business will not pay fines for incorrectly bounded or numbered Books.

Unfortunately, some parts of the population and managers believe that the Book was an effective tool. In fact, entrepreneurs were forced to spend time and considerable money on its maintenance at every sales department and in every hall of the catering establishment. Such expenses reached more than 44 million hryvnias. This amount included organizational costs, the appointment of the person responsible for it, and consideration of complaints. At the same time, this was not a guarantee of resolving the issues. Thus, the consumer, in the absence of a response to the complaint, had to apply to the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection with a relevant statement.

According to the European Business Association, the Government’s decision opens new opportunities for communication, promotes the use of various communication tools between business and consumers, which will improve the business climate and reduce the number of “formal” business inspections. Therefore, the business welcomes the final point in resolving this issue.

It will be recalled that the decision to abolish the mandatory use of the Book of Complaints and Suggestions by businesses was made by the Government on March 6, 2019. At the same time, the requirements and mentions of the Book of Complaints remained in a number of normative documents, namely, orders of the Mineconomy.

Be the first to learn about the latest EBA news with our Telegram-channel – EBAUkraine.