Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order, 1981

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 1981
• Citation: IR SI 69/1981

S.I. No. 69 of 1981.

RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES (GROCERIES) ORDER, 1981.

I, DESMOND O'MALLEY, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism, having considered the report of the Restrictive Practices Commission of an enquiry under section 5 of the Restrictive Practices Act, 1972 (No. 11 of 1972), into the retail sale of grocery goods below cost, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 8 of the said Act, as adapted by the Industry, Commerce and Energy (Alteration of name of Department and Title of Minister), Order, ( S.I. No. 10 of 1980 hereby order as follows: 1. This Order may be cited as the Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order, 1981. 2. (1) In this Order—

"best list price", in relation to grocery goods, means the lowest price of the goods which having regard to the statement which for the time being stands prepared and maintained by the relevant supplier in accordance with the requirements of Article 13 of this Order (no account being taken of any supplementary term, or of any allowance or discount which is not calculated by reference to the purchase concerned), may be obtained by a purchaser taking the maximum advantage of the terms and conditions specified in the said statement;

"discount" and "markup" include, respectively, a discount or markup however expressed;

"the Examiner" means the Examiner of Restrictive Practices;

"grocery goods" means grocery goods for human consumption (excluding fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, fresh and frozen meat, fresh fish, frozen fish which has undergone no processing other than freezing with or without the addition of preservatives, and intoxicating liquors) and such household necessaries (other than foodstuffs) as are ordinarily sold in grocery and provision shops;

"like goods" means similar goods which do not differ one from another as regards their nature, grade, brand, quantity per pack or packaging;

"retailer" means any person who resells grocery goods to the public;

"supplementary term" means any term or condition providing for a rebate or discount in relation to the amount payable in respect of the sale of any grocery goods by a supplier to a wholesale or retailer or an allowance by a supplier to a wholesaler or retailer, in consideration of—

( a ) the making of purchases by the wholesaler or retailer from the supplier of those goods in excess of specified quantities over a specified period of time, or

( b ) the promotion of sales of those goods by means of special arrangements carried out for a limited period by or on behalf of the wholesaler or retailer;

"supplier" means a manufacturer or importer of grocery goods for sale to wholesalers or retailers and includes any person who processes, blends, cans, packs or otherwise prepares grocery goods for sale to wholesalers or retailers and also includes any person who acts as the sole distributor of such goods to wholesalers or retailers;

"wholesaler" means any person who purchases from a supplier grocery goods for resale to retailers.

(2) For the purposes of this Order the net invoice price of grocery goods supplied by a supplier or a wholesaler to a retailer or by a supplier to a wholesaler shall be calculated having regard to an invoice relating to the delivery of like goods by the supplier or wholesaler to the warehouse or retail store concerned which is of even date with the relevant advertisement, and, in case there is not in existence such an invoice, then such net invoice price shall be calculated having regard to the invoice which relates to such a delivery and which is that issued most recently prior to the advertisement's publication, and such price shall be calculated net of any allowance or refund that is allowable on the return of the goods' container, and no account shall be taken of discounts, rebates or other deductions which are not entered on the invoice in cash terms as deductions from the sum due to the supplier or wholesaler. 3. (1) Save as hereinafter provided, a supplier or wholesaler shall not require or induce or attempt to require or induce any person (whether directly or indirectly, by withholding supplies from that other person or otherwise discriminating against him or by threatening to do so, or by any other threat or by any agreement, promise or any other means) to resell or offer for resale grocery goods—

( a ) at a fixed price specified by the supplier or wholesaler or established by agreement or otherwise, or

( b ) at a price not less than a fixed or minimum price specified by the supplier or wholesaler or established by agreement or otherwise, or

( c ) at a fixed markup or a fixed discount specified by the supplier or wholesaler or established by agreement or otherwise, or

( d ) at a markup not less than a fixed or minimum markup specified by the supplier or wholesaler or established by agreement or otherwise, or

( e ) at a discount not greater than a fixed or maximum discount specified by the supplier or wholesaler or established by agreement or otherwise.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3) of this Article, nothing in paragraph (1) of this Article shall be construed as preventing a supplier—

( a ) from advertising, or otherwise specifying resale prices for grocery goods provided such prices are maximum prices, or

( b ) from withholding grocery goods from a wholesaler or retailer who—

(i) has sold or offered for sale, grocery goods supplied by the supplier—

(I) at a price that exceeded the maximum resale price specified by the supplier, or

(II) at a price (not being a maximum price fixed for the time being by an order under the Prices Acts, 1958 to 1972) that is less than the net invoice price of the goods (including value-added tax) payable to the supplier,

and

(ii) fails to give to the supplier an acceptable undertaking to discontinue so selling, or offering for sale, such grocery goods.

(3) Where the grocery goods are sold by a retailer more than four weeks after the date on which a supplier's price list for like goods has been altered and no delivery of like goods accompanied by an invoice has been made to the retailer concerned since the date of the alteration, then, in relation to the goods, paragraph (2)(b)(i)(II) of this Article shall be construed and have effect as if "best list price" were substituted for "net invoice price". 4...