Specify bottle deposit extra?

Probably a clear case for the Federal Court of Justice

13-Oct-2023

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Consumers have long since become accustomed to the fact that when a deposit is due on bottles or jars, the deposit is shown separately. Will it stay that way? The European Court of Justice has already given an answer. And for the Federal Court of Justice, too, the case now seems as clear as day.

The price of goods and the bottle deposit are usually shown separately - the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe did not have the slightest doubt on Thursday that this may remain so. Because the European Court of Justice (ECJ) had already clarified the issue in June. The Luxembourg judges had decided at that time that the deposit for bottles or glasses must not be included in the price. This is because it is the only way consumers can properly compare the prices of the goods themselves.

The 1st Senate responsible made it very clear that the BGH would follow this decision.

The case in Karlsruhe concerned an action brought by the Social Competition Association against a department store chain based in Kiel. In one of its brochures from the fall of 2018, it advertised beverages in deposit bottles and yogurt in jars - but the deposit money was shown separately. Specifically, the leaflet always stated the price of the product with the addition "plus ... ? Deposit". Like the Kieler handle it most food dealers.

The association considered this inadmissible and saw it as a violation of competition law. The price had to be indicated in total. As a result, the BGH had referred the issue to the ECJ after a first round of negotiations in 2021 and was now negotiating it again.

According to Union law, the department store chain had behaved completely correctly, said the presiding judge at the BGH. This is also stated in the German Price Indication Ordinance. It clearly states that "anyone who demands a refundable security, in particular a deposit amount, in addition to the total price for a good or service, must state its amount in addition to the total price and not include it in the latter."

The BGH Senate closed the hearing after only a few minutes. There were no submissions from either the BGH lawyer for the department store chain or that of the association. A judgment will be handed down on October 26. (Case No. I ZR 135/20) (dpa)

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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