Moldovan Parliament has passed in the second reading a law that protects small producers from unfair commercial practices.
The MPs approved in the second reading relevant amendments to the Law on Internal Trade, the Law on Competition and the Contravention Code. As noted by the authors of the bill, unfair commercial practices often occur in the food supply chain and can cause damage mainly to small businesses: producers of agricultural products and small and medium-sized enterprises in the food industry. In this regard, the Law on Internal Trade will be supplemented with a new chapter - Contractual relationships between supplier and buyer in the supply of agricultural products and food products, which will regulate in detail the contractual relationship between supplier and buyer and payment terms, as well as describe prohibited unfair commercial practices. The proposed amendments will facilitate negotiations between suppliers of agricultural and food products and economic entities - buyers who offer these products to the final consumer. There would be liability for unfair commercial practices between businesses in the supply of agricultural products and food products. The Contravention Code will stipulate that the use of unfair commercial practices will result in a fine of 50 to 100 conventional units for individuals and 200 to 400 conventional units for legal entities. The bill is aimed at increasing the access of small producers to the placement of products in retail networks and protecting them from abusive conditions. The document was discussed earlier during public consultations with the participation of MPs, ministers and representatives of other central public authorities, the business environment - producers and trading networks, and professional associations. // 01.08.2022 - InfoMarket
