The Price Information Ordinance (PAngV) is intended to strengthen the transparency and clarity of price information for consumers. In principle, it does not apply to purely entrepreneurial business transactions. The LG Darmstadt recently decided whether PAngV regulations, for example on basic prices, should be observed in B2B shops if they are generally available and do not clearly restrict offers to a group of entrepreneurial buyers.
I. The facts
The subject of the dispute was an offer without a basic price. On March 23, 2023, the defendant, a production and trading company in the confectionery industry, offered the product “Yogurette Strawberry 300g” on an internet platform.
The filling quantity of 300g and the purchase price of €5.69 were stated, but no price per unit.
The plaintiff, an association that combats unfair competition in Germany, then warned the defendant in a letter dated April 13, 2023 and asked it to comply with a penalty for failing to provide mandatory basic price information in the future.
After the defendant did not respond, a lawsuit was finally filed.
The defendant claimed that the offer was only aimed at entrepreneurs. However, the PAngV and therefore also the basic price obligation would not apply to purely entrepreneurial business transactions.
II. The decision
In its judgment of February 19, 2024 (Az: 18 O 18/23), the LG Darmstadt rejected the defendant’s arguments and sentenced them to cease and desist as requested.
What is crucial is that the offer was available to everyone and was therefore also aimed at consumers.
1.) General information on the obligation to state the basic price
The decisive factors for specifying the basic price are § 2 PAngV and § 5 PAngV, according to which the basic price is to be understood as the price per unit of quantity.
Tipp:
The IT law firm provides a comprehensive guide to the mandatory basic price information with concrete implementation examples here.
2.) Result in the specific case
The defendant published an offer for “Yogurette Strawberry 300g” on the Internet, which was visible to everyone and, contrary to Section 4 PAngVO, did not contain any information about the basic price within the meaning of Section 2 No. 1 PAngVO and Section 5 PAngVO.
In the case of generally accessible Internet offerings, it can be assumed that they are at least also aimed at consumers if they do not clearly and unambiguously express a limitation of the group of buyers to entrepreneurs.
Such a restriction is not apparent in the present case. In particular, the indication of a minimum order quantity of “6” does not mean that the average private customer who comes across the defendant’s offer assumes that this offer is aimed exclusively at entrepreneurs.
Rather, a consumer orientation and a corresponding understanding are additionally indicated by the display of prices including VAT, which are generally not applied in business transactions.
Technical inadequacies of the online platform used did not change these findings. The defendant’s argument that there is no switch for the marketplace seller to determine whether a basic price should be displayed or not is not valid. A platform that does not ensure that an offer (also) to private customers includes the basic price should generally not be used.
III. Conclusion
An internet offer that can be accessed by anyone and is not restricted to entrepreneurs also falls within the scope of the PAngV even if the advertiser does not intend to conclude contracts with consumers. The only decisive factor is the objective overall impression of the offer and the orientation that can reasonably be derived from it. The indication of a basic price in the sense of Section 4 PAngV is therefore also required for such offers.
Anyone who wants to make offers exclusively to entrepreneurs and thus exclude the application of consumer protection regulations must therefore take appropriate measures to ensure that the circle of buyers is visibly limited.
The IT law firm provides practical instructions for legally compliant limitation of the circle of buyers for B2B sellers here.
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