§2.1 General rules

Paragraph 1 of Article 6a requires the trader who announces a price reduction to indicate the ‘prior’ price. Paragraph 2 of Article 6a defines the ‘prior’ price as the lowest price applied by the same trader during a period of time not shorter than 30 days prior to the application of the price reduction. Paragraphs 3 to 5 of Article 6a give Member States regulatory choices allowing them to derogate from this general rule in case of goods that are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly, goods that have been on the market for less than 30 days and goods for which the price reduction is progressively increased, respectively (see section 4). Except for the goods covered by the regulatory choices referred to in paragraphs 3 to 5 of Article 6a, Member States may not provide for a shorter period than 30 days for establishing the ‘prior’ price. The purpose of this reference period of at least 30 days is to prevent traders from juggling with prices and presenting fake price reductions, such as increasing the price for a short period in order to decrease it afterwards by presenting it as a (significant) price reduction that misleads consumers. The 30-day period for setting the reference ‘prior’ price, therefore, ensures that the reference price is real and not merely a marketing tool to make the reduction seem attractive. Paragraph 2 of Article 6a does not prevent traders from indicating as ‘prior’ price the lowest price applied during an even longer period than 30 days (for example, as part of the marketing strategy). It will not be contrary to the requirements of Article 6a if the ‘prior’ price indicated is actually lower than the lowest price in the 30 days immediately preceding the price reduction announcement. In contrast, national legislation requiring a longer period than 30 days to establish the ‘prior’ price would need to be assessed as to its compliance with EU Law. According to Article 10 of the PID, any national rules going beyond the requirements of this directive must be more favourable as regards consumer information and comparison of prices, without prejudice to the Member States’ obligations under the TFEU (16). To comply with Article 6a, the trader announcing the price reduction must identify the lowest price that it charged for the respective good or goods during at least the last 30 days before the application of the price reduction. Such lowest price shall include any previous ‘reduced’ price during that period. Failure to take into account the prices applied during any previous promotional periods in the 30 days before the price reduction announcement will be contrary to Article 6a of the PID. The same rule applies where a trader initially presents the price reduction by referring to a forthcoming increased price, then applies the increased price for less than 30 days and then announces a price reduction. Regardless of how the price reduction was marketed, the prior price for the subsequent price reduction still has to be the lowest price in the last 30 days, i.e. in this case the initial starting price (see also section 4.2. on ‘new arrival’ goods). Accordingly, the price reduction must be presented using the indicated ‘prior’ price as reference, i.e. any indicated percentage reduction must be based on the ‘prior’ price as established in accordance with Article 6a: — For example, where the price reduction announcement is ‘50 % off’ and the lowest price in the 30 previous days was EUR 100, the seller will have to present EUR 100 as the ‘prior’ price from which the 50 % reduction is calculated, despite the fact that the last selling price of the good was EUR 160. At the same time, Article 6a does not prevent the seller from indicating other reference prices when announcing the price reduction, provided that such additional reference prices are clearly explained, that they do not create confusion and do not detract the consumer’s attention from the indication of the ‘prior’ price in accordance with Article 6a. — For example, a trader that practices price reductions more often than once every 30 days could additionally inform the consumer about its other previous prices as follows: ‘20 % off from [starting date] to [end date]: EUR 80 instead of EUR 100, our lowest price in the past 30 days. Our regular price, outside promotional periods, during the past 30 (or 100 days etc.) was EUR 120’ In general, the manner in which any such other reference prices are presented and calculated are subject to the UCPD. In this respect, traders must always make sure that it is clear to the consumer what the other indicated reference prices represent. Article 6a of the PID does not require the traders to indicate for how long they have applied the indicated ‘prior’ price. Furthermore, it does not affect the duration of the price reduction campaigns. It simply requires traders to indicate the ‘prior’ price at the start of each price reduction and they can keep it throughout the entire period of the price reduction. Traders may announce a price reduction for the goods over a longer time-period, including for more than 30 days. Also, where the price reduction lasts longer than 30 days without interruption, the ‘prior’ price to be indicated remains the lowest price applied during at least 30 days before the price reduction. The fairness of excessively long price reduction periods in comparison with the time when the good is sold at the ‘full’ price remains to be assessed under the UCPD (see also section 3 on the interplay with the UCPD). Where a trader sells goods through different sales channels/points of sale (e.g. different physical and/or online shops) at different prices and those different sales channels/points of sale are the object of a general announcement of a price reduction, the trader must indicate, as ‘prior’ price for the relevant goods in each sales channel/point of sale, the lowest price that it applied in that respective sales channel/point of sale during at least 30 past days. Misleading price reduction announcements that create the impression that the reduction applies in all the given trader’s sales channels/points of sale whereas in reality only some of the sales channels/points of sale are subject to the price reduction are to be assessed against the UCPD. Article 6a does not prevent traders from extending a price reduction campaign as long as consumers are clearly informed that it is an extension and not a new price reduction campaign and the overall presentation of the campaign is not susceptible to create a false impression on consumers.

← 2 · All articles · 2.2 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07