This law, as explained by Federal Minister of Trade Amir Hasičević, brings greater transparency, more control and digitalization of procedures that until now were manual and often unclear for customers, writes Večernji.ba.
Minister Hasičević says that the goal is clear: to protect the consumer and prevent misleading discounts.
The new law, harmonized with the standards of the European Union, brings a higher degree of protection of citizens, greater transparency in the formation of prices and control of false discounts – and this at a time when the Federation still functions according to the outdated law from 2006,” he states, emphasizing that it is a European standard.
He adds that this solution introduces for the first time the obligation that the customer can see the average price of the product in the last 30 days.
I think it will be one of the best in the region, and in that law we paid special attention to the transparency of price formation. The merchant should provide, and the customer should have, information on what the average price was in the past 30 days in order to control false discounts. With that law, we also provided for the submission of the price difference to the Federal Ministry of Trade.”
One of the biggest novelties is the introduction of the so-called digital prices. Instead of retailers changing the slips on the shelves manually (which often results in a different price at the register than on the shelf), the prices will be synchronized with the retailer’s system.
The minister explains that this solution is important for both merchants and customers:
The law will enable forms of digital narrative, starting from the very identification of the product that can be found on legal sale, so that by entering a barcode, QR code or 2D barcode – Digital link (mandatory in the EU from 2027) in a specific application or on a specific website, each consumer will be able to check which product it is, what its characteristics are, how it is used, raw material composition, digital guarantee, instructions for use and the place where that product can be found and buy.”
He emphasizes that digital prices, which the current regulations do not know at all, will mean that “the price marked on the shelf will reflect the price from the system used by the retailer, the so-called ERP, and manual price changes on the shelves, which was mainly the cause of price inequality on the shelf and at the POS cash register, will go down in history, as well as checking prices at the point of sale using specialized devices, so-called price checkers.”
The law also provides for a digital product declaration. Citizens will be able, literally from home, to scan a QR code and find out everything they are interested in about a particular product, including composition, method of use and warranty. “The law will enable a digital declaration with all the elements prescribed by law, which will enable the consumer to scan the QR code, 2D barcode – Digital link of the product from the comfort of his home to get all the essential information about the product.” This will also help inspectors to more easily check products that are on legal sale.
In addition, complaints should begin to be filed and tracked electronically. “The law should enable digital channels for reporting complaints through the web platforms of FUZIP and ŽUZIP, which will enable inspections to monitor which products are advertised the most on the market. This will enable targeted controls in the field. It will leave the possibility of legally prescribed data storage and monitoring of what the merchant has done regarding the complaint.”
According to the minister, this means that the process from the application to the resolution of the complaint will be visible to both the consumer and the competent authorities.
Finally, he highlights the broader political and economic dimension: “This law not only modernizes the consumer protection system, but also digitalizes the entire trade chain – from price formation to the monitoring of complaints. Its importance is twofold: European harmonization – BiH thereby approaches the standards of the EU’s single market. There is also digital transparency – for the first time, citizens get tools to check information about products and prices in real time. Ultimately, this makes the Federation of BiH a regional leader in the digitalization of trade and consumer protection in 21st century.”
One of the topics that is also being discussed is the non-working Sunday in trade, a measure that, according to the Ministry, allowed workers a day off, and did not lead to a drop in turnover or the loss of a large number of jobs, as some employers previously claimed.
The Minister says that the message of workers from the trade sector is clear and that they will not deviate from it:
Every day we receive messages from them with words of praise and hope that the political pressures we are exposed to will not affect the non-working Sunday and I can certainly say – the non-working Sunday will remain.
In other words, the Government of the Federation of BiH does not plan to withdraw the measure of a free week in trade, even if part of the sector puts pressure on it, writes Hayat TV.
