Prices Consumer – By Jeressa L Jeremy
Prices Consumer Affairs Division
The Prices and Consumer Affairs Division (CPA) has supported a legislative overhaul of the nation’s 70-year-old price control framework, citing a critical need to move past a legal process described as a “bottleneck” for enforcement.
The CPA’s Director of Prices and Consumer Affairs, Orrin Steele, confirmed the division’s alignment with recent Cabinet discussions regarding the Distribution and Price of Goods Act (Cap. 138).
Steele revealed that the department was a key architect in drafting the proposed Price of Goods Bill 2025, which is intended to replace the 1957 legislation.
“We were a part of the drafting of the Bill,” he stated. “The division is in support because the current Act is outdated. It doesn’t give us the quick action we need. By modernizing the law, we are ensuring the department has the tools to keep pace with the 2026 market rather than being held back by a framework from 1957.”
A primary driver for the overhaul is the current requirement to funnel all enforcement matters through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Because the DPP’s office manages a high volume of criminal and state matters, price control breaches often face significant delays before reaching a courtroom.
“That report is forwarded to the DPP … we don’t have any control over how long or when a matter will be called,” Steele explained. “So sometimes it will take some time as well for matters to be heard. In the meantime, the public is left waiting for a resolution.”
To eliminate these delays, the new legislation seeks to establish a specialized Consumer Affairs Tribunal. This body will act as an independent adjudicator, allowing the CPA to finalize cases and issue administrative fines without waiting for a High Court date.
“There’s going to be a tribunal that will adjudicate on the matters for any breaches of the act,” Steele noted. “In doing that, it will eliminate and also reduce the time for us to wait for… action to be taken against a person, whether it be through a fine or otherwise.”
While Cabinet spokesperson Maurice Merchant noted instances where some retailers were “adamant” in their refusal to cooperate, Steele provided specific data to show that this defiance is localized to a small segment of the market rather than an industry-wide trend.
“We have approximately 390 retailers that we monitor across the island. And while we hear reports of conflict, I want to clarify that we are really only seeing this adamant defiance from a small group—it is at least 10 persons or businesses—that are consistently refusing to comply with the requests for invoices.”
The department also sought to clarify the nature of the “resistance” faced by inspectors. Steele emphasized that while the language and attitude of some retailers have been described as aggressive, the interactions have remained non-physical.
“It has never been physical, just verbal,” Steele added. The department maintains that the hostile tone and refusal to produce documentation are the specific behaviors the new Tribunal is designed to address through more direct and efficient adjudication.
The department plans to intensify its field operations throughout 2026. The new legislation is expected to provide the “teeth” needed to support a more robust monitoring schedule, moving the CPA toward a more proactive enforcement role to ensure transparency and invoice compliance across all sectors.
“With the new legislation in place for 2026, we are looking to increase our presence in the field,” Steele stated. “It’s not just about having the law on paper; it’s about having the teeth to back up our inspectors. This Bill allows us to move from simply identifying a problem to resolving it through the tribunal in a timeframe that actually matters to the consumer.”
