The Competition Council (the CC), taking into account that the Prohibition of Unfair Trading Practices Law entered into force on November 1, 2021, has prepared a self-assessment tool for food and beverage suppliers who produce, sell food products and/or beverages to consumers, so that they to verify in a convenient way whether traders implement fair trading practices.
The Prohibition of Unfair Trading Practices Law prohibits unfair trading practices throughout the agricultural and food supply chain, as well as the use of purchasing power by non-food retailers against suppliers.
The self-assessment tool lists the seemingly most common situations that qualify as prohibited activities, thus enabling food and/or beverage suppliers to assess whether traders are implementing fair trade practices. For example, a situation where a trade network unreasonably returns unsold goods without paying for them or for their destruction, if they are destructible, is considered unfair trade practice. Likewise, the situation when the sales network demands payments that are not related to the sale of the food and/or beverage supplier's goods is considered an unfair trade practice.
The law provides the possibility for the CC to make a decision on imposing a legal obligation, imposing a fine and issuing a warning if it detects violations in the cooperation of market participants. The CC, after evaluating the circumstances of the committed violation, the nature of the violation and other circumstances, is entitled to replace the decision on a fine with a warning.
Regarding the determination of the fine, the CC has the right to impose a fine of up to 0.2 percent of its net turnover in the last accounting year, but not less than 70 euros, for the violation mentioned in the law to the buyer and the retailer of non-food goods.