Following suggestions from traders, this circular will briefly address the issue of indicating prices of products when offering and selling them on the internet, particularly the obligation to state so-called unit prices together with the selling price, which also applies to internet shops.

Section 1811 of Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, as amended (hereinafter referred to as “NOZ”), is generally applied to cases of contracts concluded between a trader and a consumer, which in paragraph 2(c) stipulates the trader’s obligation to inform the consumer, inter alia, of the price of goods or services, or the method of calculating it, including all taxes and fees. Furthermore, pursuant to section 1814 NOZ, agreements are prohibited which postpone the determination of the price until the time of performance or allow the trader to increase the price without the consumer having the right to withdraw from the contract in the event of a substantial price increase.

The Consumer Protection Act in section 12 establishes the seller’s obligation to inform the consumer of the price of products sold or services provided by clearly marking the product with the price or by making information about the price of products or services accessible to the consumer in another suitable manner, whilst referring to Act No. 526/1990 Coll., on Prices, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Act on Prices”). It is precisely the Act on Prices in section 13 that imposes on the trader (seller) the obligation to mark pre-packaged products with both the price of the pre-packaged product (the so-called selling price) and the price per unit of quantity of the product (the so-called unit price). The unit of quantity under the Act means 1 kilogram, 1 litre, 1 metre and further 1 square or cubic metre, unless otherwise provided. However, in cases where it corresponds to general custom or the nature of the product, 1 piece, 100 grams, 100 millilitres, etc., may be stated as the unit of quantity.

However, the obligation to state both the selling price and the unit price of products, pursuant to section 13(7) of the Act on Prices, applies only to pre-packaged foodstuffs which are marked with information on the quantity, volume or weight of the product and further to types of non-food products according to a special legal regulation (this was Decree No. 330/2000 Coll., which was repealed in 2009). It follows that this obligation remains with the seller only for pre-packaged foodstuffs and does not apply to medicinal products or tobacco products (the sale and marking of tobacco products with a price for the final consumer is governed by the Excise Duty Act), nor to non-food products.

In conclusion, we note that by failing to comply with the obligation to mark products with their selling price and unit price, the trader commits an administrative offence pursuant to section 16(1)(h) of the Act on Prices, for which a fine of up to CZK 1,000,000 may be imposed. Inspection is carried out and any fine is imposed by the Specialised Financial Office.

Barbora Chvalinová Law Firm Mašek, Kočí, Aujezdský www.e-Advokacie.cz – on-line legal advice

This text was originally prepared by the law firm Mašek, Kočí, Aujezdský in cooperation with the Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK) as legal circular No. 1/2015 intended for members of this association.

This text was translated from Czech to English using an AI translator.