Case law

  • Case Details
    • National ID: 30.9-56/2000
    • Member State: Austria
    • Common Name:link
    • Decision type: Other
    • Decision date: 13/06/2001
    • Court: Unabhängiger Verwaltungssenat (Others)
    • Subject:
    • Plaintiff:
    • Defendant:
    • Keywords:
  • Directive Articles
    Price Indication Directive, Article 3 Price Indication Directive, Article 8
  • Headnote
    2. If a manager is listed as a licensed trader in the official traders’ register, then, under § 15 para 2 PrAG, he must answer for any alleged offence.
    1. Under § 10 para 1 PrAG, the package price must be displayed on pre-packed and pre-portioned goods. Thus, if strawberries are pre-portioned and pre-packed into plastic punnets with a clingfilm covering and then offered for sale, and the punnet is labelled as containing 380 grams, but gives the price as 29.90 Austrian Schillings per 100 grams, this does not constitute proper price labelling. The justification that these goods are weighed when bought and the price only calculated at this point contravenes § 10 para 1 PrAG, which explicitly stipulates the requisite labelling conventions.
  • Facts
    The appeal applicant, as a manager licensed to trade on behalf of a limited company, was found guilty by the mayor of Graz of selling pre-packed and pre-portioned punnets of strawberries with the price label “29.90 Schillings per 100g”, where the law requires pre-packed and pre-portioned goods to display the package price. In accordance with § 15 PrAG, he was handed a 3,000-Schilling fine for this offence (with a one-day custodial sentence for non-payment).
    In his appeal against the fine, the defendant argued that only part portions had been prepared in plastic containers. When purchased, these had to be weighed and the price calculated according to weight.
  • Legal issue
    The Independent Court of Administration for Styria (UVS Steiermark) rejected the appeal. The information provided by the reporting police authorities had made it clear that the defendant had offered for sale on his market stall strawberries pre-packed in individual containers with a clingfilm covering. There was a price label on the plastic container for “29.90 Schillings per 100g” and the punnet was marked as containing 380 grams. The court had seen no reasonable grounds to doubt the veracity of this information.
    From a legal perspective, the UVS ruled in essence that, at the time the offence was committed, the defendant had been listed as a legally registered trader with the magistrate of Graz. He therefore had to answer for the alleged offence. It had been proven that he had committed the offence. Moreover, his argument that the goods were weighed at the time of purchase and then the price calculated according to weight did not justify his actions since §§ 10 and 15 PrAG explicitly stipulated a different labelling procedure. The defendant was thus liable for the offence.
  • Decision

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