PROVIDING RULES ON PRICE TAGS/LABELS AUTHORIZING THE USE OF SHELF PRICING IN COMBINATION WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY FOR AUTOMATIC PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the State
to protect the interest of the consumer, promote his general welfare
and to establish standards of conduct for business and industry;

WHEREAS, developments in the
technology and industry dictate that we encourage business to adopt
modern electronic technology to cope with the demands of business as we
join a new world trade order without sacrificing the right of consumers
to obtain accurate information on the price of each consumer product
offered for retail sale to the public;

WHEREAS, Article 83 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines provides that “(t)he concerned
department shall prescribe rules and regulations for the visible
placement of price tags for specific consumer products and services x x x .”;

WHEREAS, Section 1 of R.A. 71 as
amended provides that the Secretary of Commerce and Industry (now
Secretary of Trade and Industry) may, upon recommendation of the
Director of Commerce (now Director of Bureau of Trade Regulation and
Consumer Protection), exempt from time to time certain articles of
commerce and trade or certain classes of establishments from the
provisions of this Act;

WHEREAS, pursuant to the
aforementioned provisions, the following rules and regulations on price
tags/labels authorizing the use of shelf pricing under certain
conditions are hereby issued for the information, guidance and
compliance of all concerned:

SECTION 1.       Coverage —
These rules shall apply to all consumer products offered for retail
sale except those which are too small or the nature of which makes it
impractical to place an  individual price
tag/label thereon: Provided, that said products (too small or the nature
of which makes it impractical to place an individual price tag/label
thereon) shall continue to be required to have a price list or price
poster placed at the nearest point where the goods are displayed
indicating the retail price of said articles with the specification of
their size, volume, content, diameter, etc.

SECTION 2.       Manner of placing price tags/labels —
Price tags must be written clearly, indicating the price of the
consumer product including VAT and other types of charges per unit in
pesos and centavos.

SECTION 3.       Establishments allowed to use shelf price —
Establishments that comply with all the following requirements are
allowed to use shelf price to indicate the price of the consumer product
offered for retail sale:

a)      Use
of itemized receipt or cash register tape which states the description,
size, quantity and individual price of the consumer goods purchased; and

b)      Each establishment shall install at least one (1)  Price
Verification Counter or similar electronic system strategically located
therein to augment shelf pricing: Provided, That for a multi-storey
establishment, at least one (1) Price Verification Counter shall be
installed per storey: Provided, further, That for
purposes of determining the effectiveness of the usage of Price
Verification Counters, the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer
Protection (BTRCP) shall conduct a quarterly survey to determine the
necessity of installing additional Price Verification Counters for each
establishment.

SECTION 4.       Policy on price tag
— Establishments that cannot comply with the foregoing shall be
governed by the policy on individual price tagging or the requirement on
price list/poster as the case may be.

SECTION 5.       Shelf price in combination with codes
— Shelf price may be used provided that it is in combination with the
use of product identification codes when scanned will show the price of
the item.

SECTION 6.       (a) Shelf Price
— The shelf price that shall be written clearly, indicating the retail
price of the consumer product per unit in pesos and centavos, the brand
name, product description, net quantity of contents, in terms of weight
or measure in the metric system or the numerical count of the product.  The tag shall be strategically posted beneath or above the shelf on which the goods are on display.  A
sufficient number of similar price tags shall be strategically attached
in case the goods on display cover a wide area of the shelf.

b.  Minimum Size — The
price displayed on the shelf shall have a measurement of at least 8 mm
high; other labeling information must be at least 4 mm high.

c.  The size
of the display area of a specific consumer product shall be considered
in determining the number of shelf prices required.  There
shall be one (1) shelf price for each brand displayed in every one (1)
meter, Provided, that a fraction in excess thereof shall warrant the
placement of another shelf price of the same type.

d.  The price
tag sign shall be attached to the shelf and properly secured in order to
minimize the tampering, misplacing, transfer, or loss of the same.  The
establishment shall ensure at all times that the price indicated on the
shelf is the same and/or consistent with the price as stated in the
Price Verification Counter and/or the Cash Register counter upon
payment.

In case of inconsistencies in the
price shown on the shelf, on the product itself or in the database
price, which appears when the item is scanned, the price which appears
the lowest shall prevail.

SECTION 7.       Any violation of these rules and regulations shall be dealt with in accordance with the Consumer Act of the Philippines and Executive Order No. 913.

SECTION 8.       Separability Clause — In the event that any provision of these rules and regulations or the application of any of such provision/s to any person or circumstances, is declared invalid, all other provisions unaffected shall continue to remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 9.       Repealing Clause — All previous rules and regulations which are inconsistent with this Order are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SECTION 10.    Publication and Effectivity — These
rules and regulations shall be published in two (2) newspapers of
general circulation and shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication.

Adopted: 10 Sept. 2002

(SGD.) MAR ROXAS
Secretary

Recommending Approval by:

(SGD.) JESUS L. MOTOOMULL
Caretaker
Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection

(SGD.) ADRIAN S. CRISTOBAL, JR.
Undersecretary, CWTRG