A reader who visited the fair in the market square in Bolesławiec drew attention to the lack of any prices at stalls offering cold cuts and bread. She says that, after asking the seller for a price list, she encountered an unpleasant reaction and was told that prices were provided verbally. In her view, the situation was uncomfortable and discouraging for shoppers.

Pursuant to the Act on Informing about the Prices of Goods and Services and the applicable Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology, an entrepreneur is required to display the prices of goods at the place of retail sale – in a clear, unambiguous manner accessible to the consumer before the purchase is made. These provisions also apply to fairs, festivals and marketplaces, if the sale is conducted by an entrepreneur rather than a private individual making an occasional sale.

The Act provides an exemption for transactions between individuals when the seller is not an entrepreneur. This means that, in the case of genuinely occasional private sales, the obligation to display prices may not apply. However, as experts and case law indicate, the absence of an entry in CEIDG does not by itself determine that someone does not have entrepreneur status.

If the sale has a organized and recurring nature, takes place using stalls, advertising banners and commercial markings, and the products offered have been prepared for sale, the seller may be considered a de facto entrepreneur, even without formal business registration. In such a case, the obligation to provide prices still applies, and failure to do so may constitute a breach of the law.

The absence of prices at a food stall – especially for food sold loose – may result in administrative liability, with penalties imposed by the Trade Inspection. The regulations do not recognize “price upon request” as an acceptable way of informing consumers.

Should the Municipal Police intervene?

The Municipal Police is not the authority responsible for imposing penalties for missing prices, but – operating within the municipality and at a public event – it has the right to take public-order action, including:

  • accepting a report from a resident (the reader called, but her request for intervention was refused)
  • determining who operates the stall,
  • informing the seller about the applicable regulations,
  • or referring the matter to the Trade Inspection or the fair organizer.

A complete refusal to respond to a report raises doubts, especially since it concerned the sale of food in a public space.

Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury – Międzynarodowe Centrum Ceramiki, the organizer of Gwiazdku Życzliwości, also failed to intervene and told the reader to contact a woman from the private company organizing the fair. However, it did not provide the woman’s telephone number.

Eventually, the reader called us.

“I am calling director Kornel Filipowicz now. We will intervene with the organizer,” says Agnieszka Gergont, spokesperson for the Bolesławiec City Office.

After several minutes, we received information from Agnieszka Gergont:

The BOK-MCC director will inform the sellers that prices should be visible at the fair stalls, because retail sales require clear information about product prices, displayed in a publicly accessible place and in a manner legible to the customer, without the need to ask. This is the seller’s obligation and protects consumer rights.