On 30 April 2025, the Hellenic Parliament voted on the draft law: “Establishment and organization of a legal entity under public law under the name ‘Hellenic Dietitians-Nutritionists Association’ and other provisions”, which includes, inter alia, provisions extending the duration of several key market control measures in Greece.
In particular, the draft law, now officially passed, provides for the following extensions:
- Extension until 30 June 2025 of: the cap on gross profit margins for basic goods and fuel (Art. 54, Law 5045/2023), and of the price control mechanism on infant formula (Art. 39, Law 5082/2024).
- Extension until 31 October 2025 of: 1) the “Household Basket” measure (Art. 55, Law 5045/2023), 2) the obligation for supermarkets to notify price increases to the Ministry of Development (Art. 15, Law 5055/2023), 3) the obligation to submit indicative retail prices of fruit and vegetable products to the Ministry (Art. 17, Law 5055/2023), and 4) the three-month prohibition on promotional offers on products whose price has been increased in the previous three months (Art. 38, para. 1, Law 5082/2024).
It is recalled that these measures were due to expire on 30 April 2025, having been gradually introduced between 2020 and 2024 – with the gross profit margin cap first adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic via an Emergency Decree-Law. As a result, their eventual continuation has attracted considerable attention among market participants over the past period.
According to the explanatory report, the primary objective of said extension is to protect citizens’ income while providing sufficient time to transition from emergency interventions to permanent mechanisms of effective market supervision and consumer protection.
It is noted that according to the Minister of Development’ statement, the profit margin cap measures will not be extended further after 30 June 2025. This was a particularly strict measure, not to be found in other jurisdictions.
However, with regard to the three-month restriction on promotional activities following price increases, the Minister expressed a clear intention to maintain the measure beyond the current extension period stating that it is necessary to combat misleading pricing practices, such as unjustified price hikes followed by artificial discounts, and that it aligns with the Code of Conduct on Price Reduction Announcements.
On a final note, the Ministry of Development has already prepared a new framework of structural reforms for consumer protection and market supervision, which are highly anticipated and will be announced in the forthcoming period.