The European Commission has given Portugal two months to correctly implement EU rules on price reductions in services aimed at safeguarding consumer protection, citing the country’s failure to comply with regulations on commercial practices.
In its October infringement package announcement, the European Commission stated that it had initiated a process “by sending a formal notification to Portugal for not correctly transposing the rules concerning price reductions” that amended directives on consumer rights, abusive contractual clauses, and price indication.
“The Commission considers that the Portuguese national provisions transposing the amendments to the price indication directive exceed its scope, encompassing not only movable goods, as required by the price indication directive, but also services,” the institution explained.
As a result, Portugal is accused of failing to comply with “the directive on unfair commercial practices, which covers all commercial practices, including advertisements of price reductions for services, and prohibits member states from adopting stricter rules that exceed its requirements.”
This infringement process is thus initiated with a formal letter of notification to Portugal, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings pointed out by the European Commission.
In the absence of a satisfactory response, Brussels may decide to issue a reasoned opinion, the next stage of an infringement.
The concerned European legislation aims to “ensure a high level of consumer protection while simultaneously harmonizing national rules for the benefit of the internal market,” the institution added.
EU rules on price reductions also apply to services and aim to ensure transparency and protect consumers from misleading commercial practices.
It is stipulated that whenever a service provider announces a price reduction, the previous price applied during a given period must be clearly indicated.
This obligation prevents companies from artificially inflating prices before announcing discounts.
Moreover, all information regarding reductions must be presented clearly, truthfully, and unambiguously, allowing consumers to assess the authenticity of the promotion.
