Information on the prices of goods - check the regulations!

It entered into force on 25 July 2014Act on providing information on prices of goods and services. In these provisions, the legislator defined the price of a good or service, specified the methods of informing about its amount and presented the value of the penalty for failure to comply with the applicable standards. Read the article and find out what reliable pricing information should look like!

Information on prices - new wording of the price definition

Pursuant to Art. 3 sec. 1 The Act of May 9, 2014. the determination of prices used in the Act should be understood as follows:

• the price is the value expressed in monetary units that the buyer is obliged to pay to the entrepreneur for the good or service. The unit price is expressed in units of measure and refers to a good (service), the quantity or number of which is also expressed in units of measure within the meaning of the provisions on measures,

• the price includes the tax on goods and services and excise duty,

• the price should also be understood as the tariff rate.

Information on prices must be made visible

The entrepreneur is obliged to show the price and the unit price of the goods (services) in an unambiguous, clear manner and in a way that allows price comparison. If the seller makes a repricing, reduction or increase in the price of a good (service), he should provide information about the reason, indicate the period of validity and leave the original price crossed out.

The regulations allow for the display of prices on: a tag, a price list, a tag permanently attached to a product or a catalog. The price must be clearly legible. Importantly, in the case of a larger number of goods, you do not need to show the price on each product separately. Information about the price must be generally available and communicated to the customer in such a way that it cannot be confused with the price of another good (service).

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What is the risk of failure to comply with the price information obligation?

Any errors in the prices quoted are considered in favor of the buyer. Let's assume a situation in which the price on the receipt is different from the price on the display - in this case, the customer has the right to purchase the goods or service at the most favorable price for him. The right to choose is guaranteed by the provision in Art. 5 of the Act of July 9, 2014 on informing about prices of goods and services:

"In the event of discrepancies or doubts as to the price for the offered good or service, the consumer has the right to demand the sale of the good or service at the most favorable price for him."

Information on prices, which is regulated in the act, must be strictly observed by the seller. Otherwise, he is threatened with a financial penalty for failure to comply with the information obligation. The monetary sanction limit is PLN 20,000. zloty. In a situation where the entrepreneur fails to fulfill the obligation to inform about prices at least three times within 12 months from the date on which the breach of these obligations was found for the first time, he may face a fine of up to PLN 40,000. zloty. When determining the amount of the fine, the following factors are taken into account:

• the degree of breach of obligations by the entrepreneur,

• the entrepreneur's previous activity,

• the entrepreneur's turnover.

The directives on information on prices are included in Act of July 9, 2014 on informing about prices of goods and services. The obligation to inform about prices and the ways in which this should be done are to ensure consumer protection. The entrepreneur may be punished for any deviation from certain rules.