Guidelines on Lm/euro dual pricing

The National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC) yesterday published guidelines for traders who opt to display prices in euro apart from the lira on the goods or services they provide.

The guidelines are intended to serve until specific legislation is enacted and brought into force.

The guidelines say that the consumer is not obliged to pay in euro and a trader is not obliged to accept payment in euro. They also highlight the fact that the display of the price in euro should not be more prominent than the price in lira.

The price displayed in euro should be the price of the good and/or service in Maltese currency at the central parity rate of Lm0.4293 for every euro, to the nearest euro cent.

The guidelines also suggest that when a trader intends to accept payment in euro and to apply an additional charge to the translated price in euro, he/she should display clearly and prominently, at the point of sale, in both Maltese and English, a notice which states: "Prices shown in euro have been converted from the Maltese lira price at the central parity rate of one euro = Lm0.4293 for information purposes only. Any purchase carried out in euro may be subject to an additional charge associated with the exchange of the euro currency into the Maltese lira".

The guidelines say that such a charge is to be clearly and prominently displayed at the point of sale.

Dual pricing is, for the time being, not compulsory and the dual pricing guidelines are aimed at suggesting best practice thereby ensuring transparency on euro pricing for traders who choose to display prices in both currencies, the NECC said. Dual pricing is expected to become compulsory in 2007 and unless an official public statement is made, traders are not obliged to display prices in euro.

NECC chairman Joseph F.X. Zahra said: "Over the past months, NECC received several queries from both consumers and traders asking for specific guidelines on the matter. The guidelines issued today are the first in a series of guidelines to be published by the NECC that will address issues that would require clarification during the changeover period".

Mr Zahra added that such guidelines are beneficial for both consumers and traders: "Consumers shall certainly welcome the guidelines because they recommend the display of the central parity rate as well as the display for a conversion charge should this be the case. For traders, these guidelines establish a level playing field which is always desirable in business".

The guidelines are available on the NECC website www.euro.gov.mt. Hard copies can be obtained from the NECC offices or by calling 2122 4038.