The ASEAN Guidelines on Consumer Impact Assessment (CIA) were endorsed on January 2023 and were expected to support consumer protection authorities in ASEAN Member States (AMS) in systematically assessing the impacts of policies, laws, and/or regulations on consumers, their rights, and legitimate interests. This, in turn, would contribute to a stronger anchoring of consumer perspectives in national policies, laws, and/or regulations, in a similar manner as such mainstreaming is foreseen at the regional level.

The application of a CIA methodology in policymaking is also aligned with the ASEAN High-Level Principles on Consumer Protection (AHLPCP), specifically Principle No. 6 on the promotion of consumer advocacy, which entails accounting for consumer views and representation by governments before decisions are taken on relevant industrial, trade and social policy issues.