The consumer relations are presented as a specific legal issue, whereby they are different from the other obligations.
Since the implementation of the first Consumer protection law the Consumers have been recognized as the weaker party in the consumer relations.
Considering the fact that Republic of North Macedonia tends towards full implementation of the European laws, the new Consumer protection law compliance with the European directives. Also, Republic of North Macedonia is a member of ANEC, BEUC and Consumers International, represented by the Consumers Organisation of Macedonia.
The new Consumer protection law further strengthens the protection of the consumer rights, and from there foresees and imposes even stricter and more extensive obligations for the Traders. The provisions of the Consumer protections law have an imperative nature and the same cannot be modified or changed by the parties in the consumer relations.
The Consumer protection law must apply in every civil-legal relation where one of the parties is a Consumer, and from there the same relation has the nature of a consumer relation. The special forms of placing on the market are one of the biggest key novelties of the Consumer protection law.
When implementing the special forms of placing on market, the products/services are placed on the market WITH LOWER PRICES.
The consumer protection law regulates 7 (seven) special forms of placing on the market, which differ from each other:
Each special form of placing on the market imposes separate obligations for the Trader, but also there are unified obligations regulated for all special forms of placing on the market together. When implementing the special forms of placing on the market, the Trader is obliged to specify and point out the type of the special form of placing on the market.
According to the Consumer protection law the Trader must point out the duration of the special forms of placing on the market in a clear and visible way. When implementing the special forms of placing on the market the Trader is obliged to clearly label the products or separate them from the others.
During the special forms of placing on the market, besides the reduced sale price the Trader is also obliged to point out the PREVIOUS SALE PRICE of the products/services.
The obligation to point out the previous sale price has imposed the question „ which price should be considered as the previous sale price? “. THE LOWEST PRICE that the Trader has labeled AT LEAST 30 DAYS before applying the special form of placing on the market is considered as THE PREVIOUS SALE PRICE.
Hence, the previous sale price does not match the last price at which the product is regularly placed on the market. On the contrary, the previous sale price identifies with the last lowest price at which the product has been labeled in the last 30 days.
The Trader’s obligations during the special forms of placing on the market would not apply in case of the Distance contracts and the Off-premises contracts. Also, the above obligations would not be applicable in case of applying a special form of placing on the market which lasts less than 3 days.
The frequency of the special forms of placing on the market it is not clearly regulated with the provisions of the new Consumer protection law. Hence, with the aim of greater protection of the Trader, it is necessary the Trader to request legal services by an appropriate Attorney at Law or by a Law Firm.
The Consumer protection law of the Republic of North Macedonia imposes delicate obligations for the Traders during the special forms of placing on the market. At the same time the State market inspectorate is promptly executing inspections and imposing appropriate fines for non-compliance with the obligations.
in case of failure to comply with the obligations during the special forms of placing on the market, the Traders can face monetary fines and temporary prohibition on performing a particular activity.
Bearing in mind the foregoing it is necessary the Trader to request appropriate legal protection from a Law firm that has professional training to provide in-depth and logical interpretation and counseling regarding the provisions of the law.
Our Law Firm has experienced Lawyers which can provide you with appropriate and quality legal protection for the easy and safe fulfillment of your obligations.
EVERY COMPLIANCE WITH THE OBLIGATIONS DERIVED FROM THE CONSUMER PROTECTION LAW MEANS AVOIDING FINES, AND SO EVERY AVOIDANCE FROM FINES MEANS GREATER PROFIT FOR YOUR COMPANY!
Branko Kostovski
