New law changes rules for retailers in Romania

Supermarkets and hypermarkets in Romania will remain open during weekends but will have to drop the “shelf taxes” and to sell more local products, according to a draft law approved by the Chamber of Deputies’ Agriculture Committee. The new law still needs to be voted by the Chamber of Deputies. The new supermarkets bill encourages the sale of local products by imposing big hypermarket and supermarket chains to get at least 51% of the food they sell from “short supply chains”. This means that local retailers would have to sell more food (meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, honey, dairy, and bakery products) produced in Romania or the region. The Government should come up with more clarifications on how this rule applies after the Parliament casts the final vote on this bill. The new law also eliminates the “shelf taxes” and the other fees that hypermarkets and supermarkets charge for promoting the products they sell. The big retailers risk fines of RON 150,000 (EUR 33,000) and may also have their activity suspended for up to six months, if they fail to comply with the new rules. editor@romania-insider.com