Dual pricing guidelines

Earlier this month the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC) issued a set of guidelines on the optional display of a price in euro. The purpose of these guidelines is to clearly outline how a trader is to display prices of goods and/or services should he/she opt to translate prices in Maltese lira into euro.

The NECC noted several letters on the subject (The Sunday Times, January 8) and would like to reaffirm that the guidelines are specifically meant to suggest a best practice to ensure transparency on euro pricing in trading. The guidelines stress that consumers are not obliged to pay in euro and traders are not obliged to accept payment in euro at that price.

The dual pricing guidelines state that when a trader intends to accept payment in euro, he/she should make sure that the display of the price in euro should not be more prominent than the price in Maltese lira. The price displayed in euro should be the price of the good and/or service in Maltese lira at the central parity rate of Lm0.4293 for every euro.

If a trader intends 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."

Such a charge is also to be clearly and prominently displayed at the point of sale.

The guidelines are available on the NECC Website (www.euro.gov.mt).