"OMNIBUS" law : regulations on price display

On November 23, 2022, the so-called “OMNIBUS” law was adopted which results from  the transposition of the European directive “OMNIBUS” 2019/2161 into the law of Luxembourg .

As a reminder, this law stipulates several obligations regarding consumer information on the price of products and services.

This means that the price must be indicated unequivocally, it must be easily identifiable, freely readable and fair.

There is a double obligation for the price of products and services :

- price per unit of measurement (€/kg, €/m, €/m², €/m3, €/washing unit)

- and sales price including tax

Concerning the indication of price reductions, a new rule applies :

- in the event of a price reduction announcement, the reference price must be displayed

- the displayed reference price must be the lowest price applied for at least 30 days prior to the reduction

It is therefore prohibited :

- display discounts on products that have never been on sale in the store concerned ;

- display fanciful reductions, without reference prices, or

- to increase the price to be able to display a greater reduction in a second step

Exceptions :

- For perishable products, if the commercialization period is less than 30 days, the reference price will be the lowest price applied since the beginning of the commercialization

- Reduction in the 30-day reference period for newly commercialization products: the reference price shall be the lowest price applied since the beginning of the commercialization

-  In case of successive reductions,  the reference price shall be the one before the first reduction

Punishments :

In the event of non-compliance with legal provisions, there are two types of sanctions:

- Penal sanctions :

• Contraventional : tax warnings/reports

• Torts: reports

- Cessation/prohibition actions (penalties and fines)

For violations with a large scale under EU rules, fines can be up to 4% of turnover or up to 2 million euros. This concerns cross-border violations, affecting at least 3 Member States or the largest part (2/3) of the EU population.

The display of the price must be unambiguous, easily identifiable and easily readable, whether it is the price, the reduced price, the previous price or another price.

The price can be displayed on each product or at the front of the shelf (bulk, identical products) or using a list.

The rules are the same for windows, shelves, traditional advertising, online sales and online advertising.

Some examples of price reductions :

Example No. 1 :

Offer 1 + 1 free: should we apply the reference price ?

No, it is enough to display the price of a product, without reference to a previous price

Example No. 2 :

Reduction in the price of a prepackaged food product: the reference price refers to the selling price in euros including tax. It is therefore necessary to indicate :

- The reduction

- The sale price

- The previous price

- The price per unit of measurement (€/kg, €/m, €/m², €/m3), calculated in relation to the selling price

Example No. 3 :

“Customer card advantages: permanently benefit from 5% at checkout on all your purchases! or pay with the points accumulated on your customer card ! »

Do we have to respect the previous price display?

No, because this is not an announcement of a price reduction for a product itself, but an advantage linked exclusively to holding a customer card and a permanent discount at the checkout.

Example No. 4 :

“This week: - 10% on the toy department with your customer card ! »

The display of the previous price must be respected, particularly if the customer card is made available free of charge or used by the majority of customers.

Example No. 5 :

Offer No. 1 :

“This week : - 25% on milk! »

Three weeks later, offer n°2 :

“this weekend : -15% on the dairy section”

The reference price for milk is :

Price = X = sales price during offer n°1

Reference price of milk = X-(0.25 * X) this is the selling price during the offer n°1

This is not a successive reduction in the present case.

Furthermore, even for fresh products, the principle of displaying the previous lowest price applies.

From the consumer's point of view, the promotion concerns dairy products in general and not one or more bottles in particular.

Example No. 6 :

Saint-Nicolas offer from 1/10 – 6/12: - 15% on all toys with your customer card »

Should we set a reference price for all toys which represents their lowest price applied between 09/01 and 09/30 ?

Yes, because the announcement is potentially addressed to all customers. Otherwise, a customer holding a member card could request the application of a lower price (for example displayed without a promotion for the reference period)

Example No. 7 :

“Free VAT offer! On all our perfumes. »

Should we display a reference price for all perfumes, which are the previous prices VAT included?

Yes, because technically this is a -17% price reduction announcement.

Example No. 8 :

Our permanently low price guarantee: - 40% compared to the recommended retail price.

In this case, can we continue to attract the consumer's attention to good deals by using other reference prices ?

Yes, if it can be documented that this is indeed the supplier's current recommended resale price and that the reference used does not lead to consumer confusion.

Example No. 9 :

“Receive your free glass with the purchase of a pack of 6 bottles ! “

Can we still display promotions on the glasses concerned for 30 days ?

Yes, you can launch a promotion on glasses independently,  because this is a conditional offer, and not a price reduction announcement.

Example No. 10 :

Can I offer spontaneous discounts to my customers at checkout ?

Yes, this is not a price reduction announcement, but a commercial gesture to the individual customer. Please note, the price at the checkout can never be higher than that displayed on the shelves.