From 28 May 2022, several consumer protection laws will be amended in Hungary following the implementation of Directive 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 (“Omnibus Directive”).
The Hungarian Competition Authority has already started bringing the new rules on price display, sale prices, reviews and endorsements to the attention of market players and consumers.
The most important changes concern the following Hungarian regulations:
Under the new rules, consumers must be informed on the criteria used to determine how the products are ranked when using online marketplaces and comparison websites that allow consumers to search and compare products offered by different traders. The information must be drafted in plain language and made publicly available on the respective website.
Further, the existing list of commercial practices that are viewed as prima facie unfair will be extended to include the following:
The Price Decree implements Article 2(1) of the Omnibus Directive and sets out the rules to be followed in regard to a price reduction announcement. Under the new rules,
These rules do not apply to perishable products or products which retain their quality for a short period.
The modifications concern two areas:
The B2C Government Decree grants new consumer rights in regard to “free” digital services and increases transparency in online marketplaces. Consumers must be informed when buying digital services whether the third party offering the products is a trader or not and whether the transaction is to be regarded as a B2C contract with consumer rights. Further, consumers will have the same rights to withdraw from or cancel a contract within 14 days after the contract was made, this includes “free” services where consumers provide personal data, but no financial payment is made.
In terms of the application of these new rules there are a number of legal and practical questions that are yet to be answered. For example, whether the changes to the Price Decree will also apply to services offered on special prices or to services where the prices cannot be determined in advance. Nonetheless, the already strong consumer rights will be extended from 28 May 2022 and market players will be required to ensure that their commercial practices are compliant with the new rules.
The act modifying the Unfair Commercial Practices Act and the Consumer Protection Act is available in Hungarian here, the ministerial decree modifying Price Decree is available in Hungarian here and the government decree modifying the B2C Government Decree is available in Hungarian here.
For more information, please contact Dániel Arányi, Gábor Kutai or Rebeka Szopkó and visit our Competition & EU homepage.