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In short: since 28 May 2022, a shop in the EU that announces a price reduction has to show the prior price, which is the lowest price it applied in at least the 30 days before the reduction, and a percentage off counts from that price. National authorities enforce it, and the first large fines came in January 2026.
Directive 98/6/EC, Article 6a
law · 2022-05-28
“Any announcement of a price reduction shall indicate the prior price applied by the trader for a determined period of time prior to the application of the price reduction.”
“The prior price means the lowest price applied by the trader during a period of time not shorter than 30 days prior to the application of the price reduction.”
“Member States may provide for different rules for goods which are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly.”
“Where the product has been on the market for less than 30 days, Member States may also provide for a shorter period of time than the period specified in paragraph 2.”
“Member States may provide that, when the price reduction is progressively increased, the prior price is the price without the price reduction before the first application of the price reduction.”
Source: Directive 98/6/EC on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers, consolidated text of 28 May 2022 (CELEX 01998L0006-20220528). Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served 9f911d9628b144ddb090be91e82a51c5723840265ba4e7506514559a1a88fbd8.
Directive (EU) 2019/2161, Article 7(1)
law · 2019-11-27
“They shall apply those measures from 28 May 2022.”
Source: Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of 27 November 2019, which inserted Article 6a (CELEX 32019L2161). Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served 977c05aa9c4968d2a874601452d2fcde1597ecadf0b717e40a3b926a184beafc.
Commission Notice 2021/C 526/02, on the percentage and the fixed reference
Commission guidance · 2021-12-29
“any indicated percentage reduction must be based on the ‘prior’ price”
“where the price reduction announcement is ‘50 % off’ and the lowest price in the 30 previous days was EUR 100, the seller will have to present EUR 100 as the ‘prior’ price from which the 50 % reduction is calculated, despite the fact that the last selling price of the good was EUR 160.”
“It simply requires traders to indicate the ‘prior’ price at the start of each price reduction and they can keep it throughout the entire period of the price reduction.”
Source: Commission Notice 2021/C 526/02, Guidance on the interpretation and application of Article 6a (CELEX 52021XC1229(06)). Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served ff95270079a4edb3d195255d686ced0ce645bdada779c2d55bff3a19b4bee4bf.
Court of Justice, C-330/23, Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg v Aldi Süd
judgment · 2024-09-26
“a price reduction of a product announced by a trader in the form of a percentage, or in the form of a promotional statement intended to highlight the advantageous nature of the announced price, must be determined on the basis of the ‘prior price’, within the meaning of paragraph 2 of that article.”
Source: Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 26 September 2024, C-330/23, Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg v Aldi Süd (CELEX 62023CJ0330). Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served 051d81d3ff90e65df1d59aa22a2d3f6913ca1db15c83b4baea5cbbf7907d7b3e.
Case file: Court of Justice, case C-330/23, Aldi Süd, case file on CURIA, answered 200 on 2026-10-10.
UOKiK, decision against Zalando SE (not final)
decision, not final · 2026-01-14
“the President of UOKiK imposed a fine of nearly PLN 31 million (PLN 30,945,000) on Zalando SE, based in Berlin.”
“Repeated cases were noted in which the lowest price in the 30 days before a reduction was modified, even though the selling price of the products had not changed.”
Source: UOKiK press release: penalties for Zalando and Temu over the lowest price in the 30 days before a discount. Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served 21fb8b46041bf0b345349e7fca29e4023f64b7fc1ec85dee11be281bd650d286.
UOKiK, decision against Whaleco Technology Limited, operator of Temu (not final)
decision, not final · 2026-01-14
“The President of UOKiK imposed a fine of nearly PLN 6 million (PLN 5,910,900) on Whaleco Technology Limited for practices related to failing to provide, or incorrectly providing, the lowest price in the 30 days before a reduction.”
Source: UOKiK press release: penalties for Zalando and Temu over the lowest price in the 30 days before a discount. Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served 21fb8b46041bf0b345349e7fca29e4023f64b7fc1ec85dee11be281bd650d286.
Conventus Law, the same fines in euro
report · 2026-01-15
“Zalando - approx. PLN 30.95 million (≈ EUR 7.1 million)”
“Temu - approx. PLN 5.91 million (≈ EUR 1.35 million)”
Source: Conventus Law, Poland's first UOKiK fines for price reductions: what you need to know (2026-01-15). Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served 38286fe9a5ee40f055e5e4b853d7ee77d6f6a8479a9c2287979237a3303961d8.
European Commission, the 2025 Black Friday sweep
report · 2025-12
“25 countries and the Commission screened 314 traders”
“Only 40% of traders fully complied with EU price reduction rules.”
“The sweep was supported by the Commission's AI-powered tool, EU eLab, part of the digital toolbox available to consumer protection authorities.”
“The tool allowed authorities to monitor the price history of the selected products and establish whether the prior price stated in the discount announcement was actually the lowest price applied to the product in the 30 days preceding the price reduction announcement.”
Source: European Commission, sweeps (coordinated enforcement checks), including the 2025 Black Friday sweep. Answered 200 on 2026-10-10; SHA-256 of what it served ad5f37fe9a9fc7d464c001e710795959b2e3af4eef6c44633a2c1cd7f8c0d2d4.
The United Kingdom left the EU before Article 6a applied, and its own guidance on reference prices is a different text. Priorprice applies the EU rule only, and a receipt names the rule it applied.
These are quotations with their sources. Advice on a particular sale comes from a lawyer in the Member State concerned. Member States may set shorter periods for perishable goods and for products on the market under 30 days, and may treat progressive reductions differently; the receipt applies the 30-day rule of paragraph 2 and says so.