Following the decision to limit the profit margin for 102 product groups, the Parliament of North Macedonia on Tuesday also approved amendments to the Law on Consumer Protection, imposing an obligation on retailers to publish product prices on their websites.
The law requires medium and large retailers to publish product prices on their websites, in a clear and legible manner, enabling consumers to more easily compare with previous prices, as well as with daily updates for any changes.
"Large, medium and small traders engaged in retail trade, with the number 47 in accordance with the National Classification of Activities, are obliged to publish on their websites, separately for each item of sale, the current selling price, i.e. the unit price at the time of publication of each product they offer for sale," the law states.
The law will apply to large chain stores, while micro-traders and individual traders are exempt from this obligation.
"As a governing majority, we will impose the obligation for all small, medium and large traders to create a website where they will list the prices of products for each of their stores on a daily basis, while the State Market Inspectorate will punish if they do not do so," declared Bojan Stojanovski, chairman of the Commission and one of the proponents of the law.
The Macedonian government argues that this measure will strengthen competition and could lead to lower prices, especially in the food sector.
The legal amendments provide for fines for traders who act in violation of the provisions of this law and the provisions on the powers of state market inspectors.
Meanwhile, the Commission for the Protection of Competition has initiated infringement proceedings against four large supermarket chains and an economic chamber to which they belong, accusing them of price coordination and boycotting suppliers with new prices. If the violation is confirmed, the four supermarkets could face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual revenue, based on Article 59 of the Law on the Protection of Competition.
Otherwise, from February 20, over 1,000 food and non-food items must be sold at lower prices, following the Government's decision to limit profit margins and freeze prices.
According to the decision, for eight basic products, including bread, flour, oil, eggs, the margin should not exceed 5 percent. For 55 other products, such as meat and canned goods, the limit is 10 percent, while for 39 other products such as fruits, vegetables and hygiene items, the margin is allowed up to 15 percent./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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