KATHMANDU, Sept. 20: After being overwhelmed by complaints against the operations of network marketing companies, the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection warned against taking tough action against those who do such businesses.
The department recently issued a public notice, saying that the department has received “remarkable numbers” of complaints against many individuals, including Nepalis and foreign nationals, as well as against local businesses. Noting that the Ordinance of the Direct Selling Goods (Management and Regulation) Act of 2018 prevented everyone from doing pyramid-based network marketing, the department has advised that anyone involved in the deal should have a A fine of up to Rs 1 million and a maximum of five years in prison.
In the past, the department itself licensed many of these companies to run their networking business. The division got into a difficult position after the parliamentary committee on industry, trade, labor and consumer protection questioned the division’s role in the matter.
