DTI Reminds Online Sellers To Disclose The Prices Of Their Products
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reminded online sellers to disclose the prices of their products as online buying and selling has picked up since the lockdown.
Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said in an interview that Republic Act No. 7581 or the Price Act stipulates that products being sold without a price tag can be used as evidence of profiteering. She also added that advertising or offering a product for sale without disclosing its price is also an act of profiteering itself.
Another law also flags such act as illegal, the R.A. No 7394 or the Consumer Act stipulates:
“It shall be unlawful to offer any consumer product for retail sale to the public without an appropriate price tag, label or marking publicly displayed to indicate the price of each article and said products shall not be sold at a price higher than that stated therein and without discrimination to all buyers.”
Castelo also cited that these laws are already decades old and were legislated before the e-commerce boom. Despite that, the Price Act and Consumer Act do not make any distinction whether it’s a physical or a virtual store. These laws didn’t specifically stipulate that it only applies to physical stores, making it also applicable to virtual stores or online sellers.
The STI Undersecretary exclaimed:
“Hindi ipi-PM at hindi sikreto ang presyo”
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, on the other hand, said in a phone interview that sellers are obliged to indicate the actual price of their product under the Price Tag Law. Just like regular groceries where shelves have price tags, online sellers should also observe the same practice. He made it clear however that online prices do not include delivery charges or delivery fees.
[Source]
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