Filenews 15 September 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The Government is preparing new measures to put a brake on the high prices that afflict households. This time it is preparing to impose a cap on the selling prices of bottled water, which is sold in places where there is no competition and consumers have no alternatives.
These are additional measures to support consumers, addressing negative economic conditions affecting consumer interests. A start is made with bottled water, while in the future a cap may be imposed on other products.
The Consumer Protection Service prepared a draft bill and put it to public consultation. Specifically, a ceiling will be imposed on bottled water in a package of 500 ml, bottled water in a package of 750 ml, inside and outside the refrigerator, as well as on drinking water sold in a glass.
Water price caps will apply at the following points of sale: Airports, ports, sports venues (i.e. stadiums and stadiums), indoor beaches (remote), theatres, cinemas, archaeological sites and museums.
According to the bill, a cap will be imposed on water prices also in cases where consumers serve themselves, that is, they pick up from a store and buy water without sitting in the restaurant to be offered serving services.
According to the bill, the energy minister will be able to issue a decree determining the products to be capped, in which case the price cap will apply only to water, as well as the points of sale where the measure will apply.
The maximum selling prices will be determined after an investigation by the competent authority, which is the Consumer Service, which will take into account production and import costs, a reasonable percentage for operating costs and a rate of profit.
It is worth noting that both price caps and points of sale may be revised by decree.
According to the bill, the Consumer Service will carry out ex officio or following a complaint inspections and when it is found that the business intentionally or negligently does not keep a price list and imposes higher prices than the maximum selling prices set in the decree or provides misleading information, then the competent authority will initially make a recommendation to end the infringement.
If the company does not comply, then it can impose an administrative fine of up to €10,000, while in case of continuation of the violation a fine of €1,000 is imposed for each day of the violation.
