the non-discounted price must also be shown on sales – Corriere.it

Greater regulation of the online market and new rules in the Consumer Code. this which provides for the legislative decree approved by the Council of Ministers for the implementation of EU directive 2019/2161 (amending that of the Council 93/13/EEC, and those of the Parliament and the Council 98/6/EC, 2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU). The provision intervenes on consumer law with four points.

The price during the sales

The first establishes the new measures regarding promotional campaigns: when the discounted price is indicated, the price previously applied must be indicated at the same time, so as to ensure that consumers receive correct information and an immediate assessment of the effective convenience of purchasing. The second one introduces an innovative regulation of online markets: the obligation is inserted for the website manager to guarantee that the reviews sent by consumers on a product or service come from subjects who have actually used or purchased that product or service, but also to specify whether the order of the answers searching online for a product or service that is effective or the result of a paid agreement reached with the advertiser.

The sanctions

The scheme of the decree also provides for an extension of the withdrawal period up to 30 days for contracts stipulated by the consumer in the context of visits by the professional to the consumer’s home, not requested by the latter. Finally, it is updated the disciplinary treatment of companies that commit violations of consumer legislation, with the statutory increase from 5 to 10 million euros of the sanctions imposed by the Competition and Market Authority (Agcm) in the event of unfair commercial practice. The maximum sanction that can be imposed in the EU will be equal to 4% of the turnover achieved in Italy or in the Member States involved for cross-border or nationwide violations. The implementation of this European directive guarantees greater protection for consumers and a homogeneity of sanctions within the EU – commented the Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Uso -. Furthermore, thanks to its transposition we were able to close an infringement procedure.

Deceptive practices

Among other innovations, upon approval last December, the associations of the consumer category also signaled: it then becomes a misleading practice to promote an asset, in a Member State, such as identical to a good marketed in other Member States, although significantly different by composition or characteristics (the so-called dual quality product). Furthermore, with the new rules, the lack of clear indication of paid advertisements to obtain a better classification of the products and the resale of tickets for events purchased using automated tools (online touts) will be misleading.