Specifying the new measures on the rationalisation and transparency of prices

On 30 January 2024, Ministerial Decision 6969/30.1.2024 (GG B’640/30.1.2024) was issued pursuant to article 38 par. 8 of Law 5082/2024, specifying the new measures for transparency in the consumer goods market, as said measures were introduced in the Greek legislation by virtue of Law 5082/2024 (GG A’9/19.1.2024). 

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In summary, the following were specified:

• the categories of promotional ac­tivities prohibited for the prod­ucts referred to in article 38 par. 1 of Law 5082/2024;
• the concepts of discounts, credits or other allowances taken into ac­count for the application of the price reduction of the products re­ferred to in article 38 par. 2 of Law 5082/2024;
• the categories of products falling within the scope of article 38 par. 2 of Law 5082/2024;
• the audit procedure and the pro­cedure for applying sanctions; and
• the gradation of the fines was also determined.

1. Pursuant to article 38 par. 1 of Law 5082/2024, any promotional activity for consumer products of businesses for which a price increase is an­nounced, according to article 15 of Law 5055/2023, is prohibited for 3 months from the date on which the price increase is applied. Promotional activities for the implementation of the provision shall mean the following activities:

a. the sale of a product for which it is stated in any manner that it is sold at a lower price than any reference price;

b. the sale of a product for which it is stated in any manner that it is sold in a package containing an addi­tional quantity as a “gift” for the consumer;

c. the sale of a multi-pack, consisting of more than one packaged prod­ucts identical to each other, for which it is stated in any manner that it contains one or more “BONUS” packs or that it is offered at a lower price than any reference price;

d. the sale of a product for which it is stated that it is sold together with another, different, product as a “BONUS”;

e. the sale of a product at a discount or offer granted by a discount voucher, gift voucher, reward points or other reward schemes;

f. the inclusion in any brochure or ad­vertisement of a retailer which states or implies that the product is offered at a price advantageous to the consumer.

It is noted that the foregoing also ap­plies to products put on the market for the first time, under the same or another name, with the same or an­other packaging and a different bar­code, following the withdrawal of another product of the same business with the same or similar properties, or which contain less or more than fifty percent (50%) of another identical or similar product marketed by the same business, with an increased unit price, or which are marketed by another new business that cooperates with or is linked to a business that has already been selling products of the same cat­egory to consumers.

2. Moreover, the “categories of prod­ucts” under article 38 par. 2 of Law 5082/2024 are being specified, for which the businesses supplying the re­tail trade reduce the initial price, i.e. the price before discounts, credits or other allowances, as of 01.03.2024, by a minimum of 30% of the total of cred­its, discounts or other allowances:

General cleaning products: Laundry detergents (powder, liquid or tablets), hand laundry detergents, dishwasher detergents (powder, liquid or tablets), hand dishwashing detergents, all types of surface cleaners, bleaches.

Personal hygiene products: Sham­poos and conditioners, shower gels, liquid soaps, solid soaps, toothpastes, baby and children's nappies.

At the same time, the concepts of dis­counts, credits or other allowances re­ferred to in article 38 par. 2 of Law 5082/2024 are defined, which have the meaning of discounts on invoices and/or credit invoices issued by the business to the retailer.

3. Finally, a system of gradation of fines is established, according to which the fines imposed in cases of infringe­ments of par. 1, 2 and 3 of article 38 of Law 5082/2024 will be calculated on the basis of the following formula:

Π = d/365 x Kι x (1 + p)

Π: The amount of the fine;

d: the number of days elapsed since the date on which the price increase was first applied for par. 1 or since 1 March 2024 for par. 2 and 3, until the day on which the in­fringement was ascertained by the com­petent audit authorities;

Kι: the amount of gross profit of the busi­ness in the product category for which the infringement was ascertained in the last fi­nancial year for which financial statements have been published; and

p: the percentage of the penalty on the business’s sales in the product category for which the infringement was ascer­tained in the financial year starting in 2022, set at one hundred percent (100%);

At the same time, further minor adjust­ments to the fines are specified, based on, inter alia, percentages of reduction of the initial price when the infringement re­lates to article 38 par. 2 of Law 5082/2024, and compliance or non-compliance with a relevant recommen­dation, and in the case of article 38 par. 7 of Law 5082/2024, based on the com­pany’s turnover.