The exercise of citizens' right to appeal is under special control of the KGBK

The right of citizens to petition is one of the fundamental constitutional rights, and this issue is under special control of the State Control Committee.

Legislation stipulates that the right to petition can be exercised by a citizen by submitting an oral, written, or electronic petition, as well as by entering a petition into the organization's book of remarks and suggestions.

Moreover, the latter method is no less popular among citizens than others, as the book of remarks and suggestions is an effective tool for ensuring the protection of their rights.

In the current year, the regional committee has repeatedly identified violations in the handling of the book of remarks and proposals. For example, a preventive measure was applied to the head of one of the cafes in Vitebsk in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus due to the failure to issue the book upon the first request of a visitor.

It should be noted that the book of remarks and suggestions is not required for all organizations, but only for those that sell goods, perform work, provide services, their separate divisions, as well as in places where they sell goods, perform work, provide services.

Today, it is very convenient to purchase goods on various online marketplaces, with the consumer receiving the goods at a pickup point. However, the legislation regulating the procedure for issuing, maintaining, and storing the book does not oblige entities to keep it at pickup points, which are typically just a space provided by the organizer, not owned by them, for transferring goods purchased by the customer.

For example, a citizen appealed to the Committee with a complaint that their entry in the book of remarks and suggestions at the pickup point of a major online store was not considered in a timely manner, and requested that the responsible parties be held accountable. However, the pickup point is not a retail outlet or a place of sale of goods, and therefore there were no grounds for bringing administrative charges. In such situations, citizens should contact the organization directly to protect their rights.