The Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment reminds that, on 29/12/2021, the "Law on Unfair Trade Practices in the Supply Chain of Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs of 2021" has entered into force by publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic. This Law is expected to help address unfair trade practices in the agricultural and food supply chain in the Republic of Cyprus and to contribute to the elimination of market imbalances with negative consequences for the agricultural world, agricultural and food traders and consumers.
Among the unfair trade practices prohibited are the retention and/or use of boxes belonging to another supplier or buyer. More specifically, it is prohibited:
- a buyer holding or placing agricultural products and foodstuffs of one supplier in packaging or transport boxes of another supplier;
- a buyer retaining reusable packaging or transport boxes of agricultural products and foodstuffs owned by the supplier, for a period of more than thirty (30) days from the date they came into his possession, based on the date indicated on the sales invoice,
- the supplier to place agricultural products and foodstuffs in packaging or transport boxes of another supplier.
The competent authority, which is the Department of Agriculture, has initiated inspections concerning the retention and/or use of boxes belonging to another buyer or supplier, to ascertain that the provisions of the law are being complied with, and where there is a violation of the law it has the power, inter alia, to take the following actions:
- to order the person who, in its opinion, is responsible for the violation to immediately or within a regular period of time, terminate the violation and avoid its recurrence in the future;
- to impose an administrative fine on the affected person, depending on the nature, gravity and duration of the violation, of up to five percent (5%) of his/her turnover in the immediately preceding year of the violation.
Therefore, all parties involved in the agricultural and food supply chain who engage in unfair commercial practices in violation of the provisions of the Law on Unfair Commercial Practices in the Agricultural Products and Food Supply Chain of 2021 are invited to terminate them immediately and avoid their repetition in the future.
(NΓ/IK)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
