Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers

• Celex Number: 31998L0006
• Coming into Force: 18 March 1998
• End of Effective Date: 31 December 9999
• ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/1998/6/oj
• Published date: 18 March 1998
• Date: 16 February 1998
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee, L 80, 18 marzo 1998,Journal officiel des Communautés européennes, L 80, 18 mars 1998,Diario Oficial de las Comunidades Europeas, L 80, 18 de marzo de 1998

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31998L0006

Directive 98/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers

Official Journal L 080 , 18/03/1998 P. 0027 - 0031

DIRECTIVE 98/6/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 February 1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 129a(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (3), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 9 December 1997,

(1) Whereas transparent operation of the market and correct information is of benefit to consumer protection and healthy competition between enterprises and products;

(2) Whereas consumers must be guaranteed a high level of protection; whereas the Community should contribute thereto by specific action which supports and supplements the policy pursued by the Member States regarding precise, transparent and unambiguous information for consumers on the prices of products offered to them;

(3) Whereas the Council Resolution of 14 April 1975 on a preliminary programme of the European Economic Community for a consumer protection and information policy (4) and the Council Resolution of 19 May 1981 on a second programme of the European Economic Community for a consumer protection and information policy (5) provide for the establishment of common principles for indicating prices;

(4) Whereas these principles have been established by Directive 79/581/EEC concerning the indication of prices of certain foodstuffs (6) and Directive 88/314/EEC concerning the indication of prices of non-food products (7);

(5) Whereas the link between indication of the unit price of products and their pre-packaging in pre-established quantities or capacities corresponding to the values of the ranges adopted at Community level has proved overly complex to apply; whereas it is thus necessary to abandon this link in favour of a new simplified mechanism and in the interest of the consumer, without prejudice to the rules governing packaging standardisation;

(6) Whereas the obligation to indicate the selling price and the unit price contributes substantially to improving consumer information, as this is the easiest way to enable consumers to evaluate and compare the price of products in an optimum manner and hence to make informed choices on the basis of simple comparisons;

(7) Whereas, therefore, there should be a general obligation to indicate both the selling price and the unit price for all products except for products sold in bulk, where the selling price cannot be determined until the consumer indicates how much of the product is required;

(8) Whereas it is necessary to take into account the fact that certain products are customarily sold in quantities different from one kilogramme, one litre, one metre, one square metre or one cubic metre; whereas...