Filenews 28 April 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Every day by 8.00am, or at a time determined by the Director of the Consumer Protection Service, supermarkets with an annual turnover of at least €2 million will have to submit a notification in the Official Gazette of the Republic. They will have to submit to the e-kalathi digital platform the prices of products that will be determined by the decree of the Minister of Energy, according to the bill submitted yesterday to the Plenary of the Parliament.
In the first phase, 350 products will be included in e-kalathi while in the future their number will be expanded as initially it was thought to include 1500 products. The bill allows five product categories to be included in the platform, such as food, baby items, household items, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, water and juices, personal care items and pet food. Initially, the first three categories will be included, namely food, baby items and household items, but with this provision in the future products from the other categories will be able to be included.
The e-kalathi is essentially a digital tool for presenting the prices of consumer products on a daily basis, which will provide the consumer with price transparency. The consumer will have the opportunity to compare prices and direct information on prices and availability of products important to households. In parallel with the bill, the Consumer Protection Service of the Ministry of Energy is given the power to monitor the market in order to better safeguard the interests of consumers. The bill also provides for severe administrative fines to be imposed on companies that intentionally or negligently, fail to submit data or submit false or misleading price information. A fine will also be imposed in cases where the competent authority is prevented from performing its duties as well as in companies that do not comply with the law. Initially, the competent authority will call on the offender to end the illegality and then will be able to impose an administrative fine of up to €50,000. In case of continuation of the violation, a fine of €1,000 per day will be imposed for each day of the violation.
The Ministry of Energy considers that the digital tool is particularly important in times of negative economic conditions that affect consumers' interests. It also believes that it will strengthen the efforts of the competent authority to educate consumers and develop a rational consumer culture. However, the Ministry of Energy, in order to dispel the concerns of supermarkets and other businesses engaged in retail activities, assures that they will continue to operate in conditions of full competition where prices will be formed as today freely, depending on supply, demand and market conditions.
