Retailers must state the total price when selling goods. But what about products with a deposit? Should the price be shown with or without a deposit? The Federal Court of Justice has now decided this question.
According to the Price Indication Ordinance, retailers are obliged to indicate the total price to the consumer. The total price within the meaning of the regulation is the price to be paid for a product or service, including VAT and other price components. But what about the deposit for drinks?
A retailer had advertised drinks in returnable bottles and yogurts in returnable jars, among other things. The associated price did not include the deposit amount, but instead included the addition “plus …€ deposit”.
A competition association took action against this as it saw this as a breach of the PAngV.
BGH on price with or without deposit
The BGH had initially suspended the proceedings and referred them to the ECJ. The ECJ had ruled Judgment of 29.06.2023 – Ref. C-543/21 ruled that the sales price did not include the deposit that the consumer had to pay at the time of purchase.
In its ruling of 26.10.2023 – Ref. I ZR 135/20, the BGH ruled logically in favor of the retailer.
The deposit amount should be shown separately. The total price to be indicated in accordance with the PAngV does not include the deposit amount to be paid when purchasing goods in deposit containers. The PAngV transposes the Price Indication Directive into German law and must therefore be interpreted in accordance with the Directive. According to the ECJ’s preliminary ruling, the term “selling price” in the Price Indication Directive, which corresponds to the term “total price”, does not include the deposit amount. This must therefore be indicated in addition to the sales price or the total price. The separate indication of the selling price and the deposit amount enables consumers to better assess the prices of goods and compare them more easily.
Conclusion
The deposit is not part of the total price and is therefore not included in it. The deposit can not only be indicated separately, but according to the BGH it must be. Retailers may have to adjust their pricing here.
