Omnibus Directive

What it means

The Omnibus Directive is a 2019 European Union directive that modernised and tightened consumer protection rules, especially for online sales. It amended several older directives at once, hence the name, and in Slovakia it was implemented through the Consumer Protection Act and related legislation.

The best-known change is the rule on discounts. When announcing a price reduction, the trader must show as the prior price the lowest price at which it offered the product in the 30 days before the discount. The aim is to prevent prices being artificially raised just before a sale. Other rules cover reviews, ranking of offers on online marketplaces and personalised pricing.

The directive also raised penalties significantly. For widespread infringements with a cross-border dimension, fines can reach a percentage of the trader's annual turnover. Consumers harmed by unfair commercial practices are entitled to proportionate remedies, such as a price reduction or termination of the contract.

How it works in practice

For an online store this means keeping the price history of every product so the correct reference price can be shown when discounting. Many platforms do this automatically, but the settings should be checked. Special rules apply to continuous, progressive price reductions.

If a store displays reviews, it must state whether and how it verifies that they come from real customers. Fake reviews, buying them or hiding negative ratings are prohibited. Online marketplaces must explain the main parameters for ranking offers and state whether a seller is a trader or a private individual.

In a compliance review we recommend going through the terms and conditions, price and discount display, the reviews section, seller information and the complaints policy. The Slovak Trade Inspection focuses on these areas because breaches can be checked directly on the website.

What to watch out for

The most common mistake is a struck-through price at which the product was never sold in the last 30 days, or a comparison with the manufacturer's recommended price without clear labelling. Such discounts are misleading and are among the most frequent reasons for fines in online retail.

The rules also cover companies that sell to consumers only marginally, for example through their own website alongside B2B trade. What matters is not company size but whether it offers goods or services to consumers. Where anything is unclear, it pays to have the terms and website checked by a specialist.