Act No. 403 / 2009 Coll.
Act amending Act No. 526 / 1990 Coll., on Prices, as amended, and Act No. 265 / 1991 Coll., on the Jurisdiction of the Bodies of the Czech Republic in the Price Field, as amended
Valid
Law
Effective from 18.11.2009
Text versions:
01.01.2025
18.11.2009
403
THE LAW
of 8 October 2009
amending Act No. 526 / 1990 Coll., on Prices, as amended, and Act No. 265 / 1991 Coll., on the Jurisdiction of the Bodies of the Czech Republic in the Price Field, as amended
Parliament has decided on this law of the Czech Republic:
Amendment to the Price Act
Act No. 526 / 1990 Coll., on Prices, as amended by Act No. 135 / 1994 Coll., Act No. 151 / 1997 Coll., Act No. 29 / 2000 Coll., Act No. 141 / 2001 Coll., Act No. 276 / 2002 Coll., Act No. 124 / 2003 Coll., Act No. 354 / 2003 Coll., Act No. 484 / 2004 Coll., Act No. 217 / 2005 Coll., Act No. 377 / 2005 Coll., Act No. 230 / 2006 Coll., Act No. 261 / 2007 Coll., and Act No. 183 / 2008 Coll., is amended as follows:
1. In Paragraph 1 (5), the words ", federal central government bodies and competent authorities of the Republics' are replaced by the words" and the powers of administrative authorities'.
2. Paragraph 1 (6), including footnotes 2a and 2b, reads:
"(6) The administrative authorities responsible for price regulation under the law governing the competence of the authorities of the Czech Republic in the field of prices (" price authorities') may regulate prices under this law
(a) where the market is threatened by the effects of restrictions on competition;
(b) if an exceptional market situation so requires,
(c) for the purposes of the payment of excise duty on cigarettes in accordance with special legislation2a),
(d) if the provisions of the European Communities so require (2b); or
(e) where this requires a public interest in maintaining the balanced position of the seller and buyer for goods wholly or partly subsidised by State budget funds or other public budgets.
2a) Act No 353 / 2003 Coll., on excise duties, as amended.
(2b) For example, Commission Regulation (EC) No 657 / 2008 of 10 July 2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234 / 2007 as regards Community aid for the provision of milk and certain milk products in schools. '
3. In Paragraph 1, paragraphs 7 and 8, including footnotes 3 and 4, are deleted.
4. Paragraph 2 (3) reads as follows:
"(3) Neither the seller nor the buyer may abuse its more favourable economic position in order to obtain disproportionate assets. '
5. In Article 2, paragraphs 4 to 8 are added:
"(4) The seller or buyer who negotiates prices on the market shall have a more favourable economic position as referred to in paragraph 3 without being exposed to significant price competition. The economic position of the seller or buyer shall be assessed in particular on the basis of the volume of goods sold or purchased, market share, economic and financial strength, legal or other barriers to entry and the degree of horizontal and vertical interconnection with other persons on the market.
(5) Inadequate property gain
(a) the seller if he sells the goods at a price
1. Including unjustified costs or disproportionate profit obtained by applying a higher sales price than normal, in the event of abuse of a more favourable market position,
2. higher than the maximum or fixed price officially fixed; or
3. higher than would be consistent with the rules of price regulation,
(b) Buyer if he purchases goods at a price
1. significantly below the eligible costs or below the normal price in the event of abuse of a more favourable market position;
2. lower than the minimum or fixed price officially fixed. ';
(6) The normal price for the purposes of this Act shall be the price of the same or, in terms of the use of comparable or interchangeable goods, freely negotiated between sellers and buyers who are economically, capital or personnel independent of each other on a given market which is not jeopardised by the effects of the restriction on competition. If the normal market price cannot be established, the price shall be determined to assess whether there is an abuse of a more favourable economic position, a calculation of economic eligible costs and a reasonable profit.
(7) For the purposes of this Act:
(a) economically justified costs shall consider the costs of acquiring an adequate quantity of direct material, wage and other personnel costs, the technologically necessary other direct and indirect costs and the costs of circulation; the assessment of economic eligible costs is based on the long-term normal level of such costs in similar economic activities, taking into account the specificities of the goods in question,
(b) a reasonable profit shall be considered as a profit linked to the production and sale of the goods in question corresponding to the normal profit achieved in the long term in comparable economic activities which ensures a reasonable return on the capital used within a reasonable period of time.
(8) The provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 shall also apply to the price of commercial or intermediary output, even if it is not separately negotiated. "
6. Paragraph 3 (1) reads as follows:
"(1) Price regulation means the fixing of prices, the limits in which prices may be negotiated, the regulation of price levels or the establishment of a procedure for the negotiation, application and accounting of prices of real estate, parts thereof and services associated with their use by price authorities. ';
7. In Article 3 (2), the words "and local authorities' are deleted.
8. in Article 4 (1), point (c) is deleted;
Point (d) shall be renumbered (c).
9. In Paragraph 5 (1), the words "or local authorities as maximum 'are deleted.
10.Paragraph 5 (5) reads as follows:
"(5) The regulation in the form of a maximum, fixed or minimum price applies to all sellers and buyers of a specified type of goods. In order to apply the different forms of price regulation, price authorities may lay down other substantive conditions, including rules and procedures for determining these prices, their changes and, in the case of leases of real estate or parts of property and services associated with their use, the way in which they are negotiated, applied and accounted for. Price authorities may at the same time fix a maximum and a minimum price for the same goods. ';
11. in Article 6 (1) (c), "its" is deleted and at the end of the text of the letter the words "prices, including the inclusion of a reasonable profit in the price," are added.
12. in Article 6 (2), the words "and the buyer" shall be deleted;
13. in Article 7 (1), the words "have been agreed before the publication of the relevant price regulation decision" shall be inserted after the words "which" are inserted. "
Article 14 (8) is deleted, including the title.
15. Paragraph 9 (2) reads:
"(2) The price moratorium shall be determined by the Government by a regulation."
16. in Article 11 (1), point (c) is deleted;
Point (d) shall be renumbered (c).
17. in Article 11 (1) (c):
"(c) the price of goods sold to the consumer to whom the person buying the goods is for purposes other than business."
18.Paragraph 11 (2) reads as follows:
"(2) The seller shall keep a record of the prices referred to in paragraph 1, the price fixing proposals referred to in paragraph 1 (a) and the calculation of the prices referred to in paragraph 1 (b). (b) demonstrating compliance with the regulatory rules three years after the expiry of the price of the goods. The implementing act shall specify the scope of the data demonstrating the level and duration of the application of the prices and, for goods subject to material price guidance, the structure of the price calculation. '.
19. in Paragraph 12 (1), the words "federal central government bodies and competent authorities of the Republics" shall be replaced by the words "and administrative bodies" and the words "local authorities" shall be replaced by the words "authorities authorised to control prices under the law governing the competence of the authorities of the Czech Republic in the area of price 8c) (hereinafter referred to as" price control authorities. "
Footnote 8c reads:
"8c) Act No. 265 / 1991 Coll., on the competence of the Czech authorities in the field of prices, as amended."
20. in Article 13 (1), the words "consumer" and "final" shall be deleted;
21. in Paragraph 13 (2), including footnotes 8d and 8e:
"(2) The seller shall, when offering and selling goods, provide information to the consumer in such a way as to be able to familiarise himself with the price before negotiations on the purchase of goods, unless otherwise provided for in this Law, and:
(a) indicate the price applied at the time of the offer and in relation to the unit quantity sold and the conditions laid down;
(b) make information about this price available in a visible place in the form of price lists;
(c) make this price available in another reasonable manner, unless the goods cannot be marked with the price in the manner referred to in (a) or (b);
(d) submit the tender price list for parts and activities where the goods are compiled from ordinary parts or activities on the basis of the specific requirements of the buyer; or
(e) to notify the buyer of the estimate of the price (8d), unless it is possible to provide information on the price in the ways referred to in (a) to (d);
the price referred to in this paragraph shall be the final offer price for the products, which shall include all taxes, duties and charges 8e).
8d) § 636 of Act No. 40 / 1964 Coll., Civil Code, as amended.
(e) Directive 98 / 6 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the labelling of the prices of products offered to consumers. '
22. in Article 13 (5) and (10), the word "final" shall be deleted;
23. in Article 13 (11), the words "tobacco products" are replaced by the words "cigarettes."
24. After Paragraph 13, the following Section 13a is inserted:
Information on prices for the provision of travel agency services
When offering and selling a trip (9e), the seller must provide the consumer with information on the final price of the trip to be paid. If the travel price information is made up of multiple folders, the seller shall also indicate the current price of all separate folders. If it is not possible to specify the price of one of the components of the trip, the tour must inform the consumer of the time and place of making this price available to the consumer in another appropriate way.
9e) § 1 of Act No. 159 / 1999 Coll., on certain conditions of business in the field of tourism and amending Act No. 40 / 1964 Coll., Civil Code, as amended, and Act No. 455 / 1991 Coll., on Business Enterprise (Trade Act), as amended. '
25.
(1) The price control provided for in this Act is carried out by the price control authorities according to their respective competence as laid down in the specific legislation8c).
(2) The price control consists of:
(a) in determining whether the seller or buyer does not infringe the provisions of this law and the price regulations;
(b) in verifying the accuracy of the supporting documents submitted for the purposes of assessing price developments, price regulation and infringement procedures;
(c) control of compliance with the measures imposed to remedy.
(3) If a check gives rise to a suspicion that the person checked has received an excessive asset benefit that can be quantified, the inspector shall indicate it in the price control report. For its quantification, no compensation for positive and negative differences between controlled goods is permitted. Where the seller or buyer has obtained a disproportionate asset benefit, which itself finds and proves that it has been repaid immediately before the start of the check to the person at whose expense it was acquired, it shall not be included in the calculation of the disproportionate asset benefit referred to in the Protocol.
(4) The Seller shall obtain a disproportionate asset benefit on the date on which it is credited to the account or, where appropriate, on the date of receipt of the cash. The buyer shall obtain a disproportionate asset benefit on the date on which it received the performance in question.
(5) Prior to the initiation of the price control, the evidence necessary for the infringement proceedings may be provided for in retail and services, even without the presence of a controlled person or a person authorised to act on behalf of a controlled person, with the participation of persons providing the sale of goods or the provision of services. Such evidence and the course of the price control may be made by the price control authorities using sound and visual records.
(6) The Government submits to the Chamber of Deputies by 30 April each year an overview of the activities of the price control bodies for the previous calendar year. '
(26) footnote 10 is deleted.
27. After Paragraph 14, the following designation of Part V is inserted:
ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS '.
To date V shall be referred to as Part VI.
28. Paragraph 15 to 17, including the headings, read:
Transfers
(1) A natural person as a seller commits an offence by:
(a) offer, negotiate or require a price which does not comply with the price officially determined in accordance with Article 5 (1);
(b) fails to respect the price laid down for sale in accordance with Article 5 (1);
(c) fail to comply with the substantive conditions, rules or procedures for the establishment of official prices, their changes and the way in which they are negotiated, applied and charged, laid down by the price authorities in accordance with Article 5 (5);
(d) negotiate or require a price the amount or calculation of which does not comply with the terms of the price direction in question pursuant to Article 6 (1);
(e) fails to respect, on sale, a price which is in accordance with the terms of the price control in question pursuant to Paragraph 6 (1);
(f) fails to respect the price moratorium referred to in Article 9 (1);
(g) does not keep or maintain a record of the prices referred to in Article 11;
(h) infringes any of the obligations laid down in paragraphs 2 to 11 of Paragraph 13 when marking goods at prices;
(i) does not provide information on the price under Section 13a;
(j) if the goods are sold, they do not comply with the conditions laid down in Article 2 (1);
(k) in contravention of Article 2 (3), abuse its economic status; or
(l) does not provide the price authority with the information or background provided for in Article 12 (1) free of charge or provides false information.
(2) A fine may be imposed for an offence
(a) up to 1 000 000 CZK if the offence referred to in paragraph 1 (g) to (j) or (l) is committed;
(b) at a rate of between one and five times the disproportionate asset benefit, if quantified, recorded in the audited period, not exceeding the period of its last three years, or up to CZK 1 000 000, if the amount of the disproportionate asset benefit is less than CZK 1 000 000, if the offence referred to in paragraph 1 (a) to (f) or (k) is committed;
(c) up to 10 000 000 CZK if the amount of undue asset benefit cannot be ascertained if the offence referred to in paragraph 1 (a) to (f) or (k) is committed.
Administrative offences against legal persons and business natural persons
(1) A natural person, whether legal or business, as a seller, commits an administrative offence by:
(a) offer, negotiate or require a price which does not comply with the price officially determined in accordance with Article 5 (1);
(b) fails to respect the price laid down for sale in accordance with Article 5 (1);
(c) fail to comply with the substantive conditions, rules or procedures for the establishment of official prices, their changes and the way in which they are negotiated, applied and charged, laid down by the price authorities in accordance with Article 5 (5);
(d) negotiate or require a price the amount or calculation of which does not comply with the terms of the price direction in question pursuant to Article 6 (1);
(e) fails to respect, on sale, a price which is in accordance with the terms of the price control in question pursuant to Paragraph 6 (1);
(f) fails to respect the price moratorium referred to in Article 9 (1);
(g) does not keep or maintain a record of the prices referred to in Article 11;
(h) infringes one of the obligations laid down in paragraphs 2 to 11 of Paragraph 13 when marking goods at prices; or
(i) does not provide information on the price under Section 13a.
(2) A legal or business natural person as a buyer commits an administrative offence by:
(a) purchase of goods at a price which does not comply with the price officially determined in accordance with Article 5 (1); or
(b) purchase of goods from resources provided to it by the State budget at a price higher than the price regulated under § 5 or 6.
(3) A legal or business natural person, as a seller or buyer, commits an administrative offence by:
(a) if the sale or purchase of goods fails to comply with the specified conditions agreed pursuant to Article 2 (1);
(b) in contravention of Paragraph 2 (3), abuse its economic status; or
(c) does not provide, free of charge, the information or background referred to in Article 12 (1) to the price authority or provide false information.
(4) A fine shall be imposed for the administrative offence:
(a) up to CZK 1 000 000, if it is an administrative offence referred to in paragraph 1 (g), (h) or (i), paragraph 2 (b) or paragraph 3 (a) or (c),
(b) at a rate of between one and five times the disproportionate asset benefit, if quantified, recorded in the audited period, not exceeding the last three years, or up to CZK 1 000 000, if the amount of the disproportionate asset benefit is less than CZK 1 000 000, if the administrative offence referred to in paragraph 1 (a) to (f), paragraph 2 (a) or paragraph 3 (b),
(c) up to 10 000 000 CZK if the amount of undue asset benefit cannot be ascertained if the administrative offence referred to in paragraph 1 (a) to (f), paragraph 2 (a) or paragraph 3 (b) applies.
Common provisions on administrative delicacies
(1) The legal person shall not be liable for an administrative offence if he proves that he has made every effort to prevent an infringement.
(2) In determining the amount of the fine to a legal person, account shall be taken of the seriousness of the administrative offence, in particular the manner in which it was committed and the consequences thereof and the circumstances in which it was committed.
(3) The liability of a legal person for an administrative offence shall cease if the administrative authority has not initiated proceedings against him within 3 years of the date on which the price control authority became aware of the infringement, but no later than 5 years from the date on which it was committed.
(4) The provisions of this Act on liability and sanctions of a legal person shall apply to liability for acts which have taken place in or directly related to the business of a natural person.
(5) Administrative offences under this law are dealt with at first instance by price control authorities.
(6) The fine shall be payable within 30 days of the date on which the decision to impose it became final.
(7) The fine shall be collected and enforced by the authority which imposed it, except for fines imposed by the Financial Directorate, collected and enforced locally by the competent Financial Office and fines imposed by the Customs Directorate, collected and enforced by the competent customs office. ';
(29) footnotes 10a and 11 are deleted.
30. The following Section 17a is inserted after Section 17:
An overview of the price controls carried out and decisions to impose a fine which has acquired legal authority shall be published by the price control authority at least once a year in the Price Bulletin, indicating the person checked, the amount of the fine and the provisions of the price law which have been infringed. The implementing act shall set out a model of the inventory of the price controls carried out and the manner in which they are to be submitted. ';
Article 31 (20) reads:
Authorisation provisions
The Ministry of Finance shall issue a decree for the implementation of Sections 11 (2) and 17a. '
Transitional provisions
1. The obligation to provide information on the final offer price, which includes all taxes, duties and charges pursuant to § 13 (2) of Act No. 526 / 1990 Coll., as effective from the date of entry into force of this Act, applies to the seller of electrical equipment, which was placed on the market until 13 August 2005, only after the expiry of the time limits laid down in § 37n (3) of Act No. 185 / 2001 Coll., on waste and on the amendment of certain other laws, as amended by Act No. 7 / 2005 Coll.
2. The price controls and proceedings for the imposition of a fine initiated before the date of entry into force of this Act shall be completed in accordance with existing legislation.
EFFECTIVE
This Act shall take effect on the day of its publication.
Wolf
Klaus v. r.
Fischer v. r.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Act No. 403 / 2009 Coll., amending Act No. 526 / 1990 Coll., on Prices, as amended, and Act No. 265 / 1991 Coll., on the Jurisdiction of the Bodies of the Czech Republic in Prices, as amended |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | Law |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 18.11.2009 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 18.11.2009 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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