The government has announced a consultation period on a series of grocery goods regulations, following on from the enactment of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014.
Consultation and submissions on the draft regulations are being sought from interested parties until 27 February 2015.
Among the areas the draft regulations address are requirements for grocery goods contracts to be in writing, restrictions on unlilateral changes to grocery goods contracts, restrictions on payment for shelf space, marketing costs, advertising costs, wastage and shrinkage and requirements for records to be retained for inspection and regular compliance statements to be made.
“Relationships will continue to be based on commerce and prices will continue to be set by hard negotiations – this is in the interests of consumers," said Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD.
"However new legal provisions will require that in future, contracts must be in writing, certain terms must be included, records must be retained for inspection and a compliance statement must be made. These measures together with strong enforcement powers will ensure that these relationships are fair and sustainable."
The Minister added: “I look forward to hearing feedback from all stakeholders in this area before making decisions on the final regulations for implementation during 2015”.
For further information, visit http://www.djei.ie/publications/commerce/2014/ggu_consultation_dec_2014.pdf
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
