Does the 30-Day Price Rule Apply in Austria?

Yes. Austria has transposed the Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161 into national law, so the 30-day lowest-prior-price rule applies to price reductions shown to Austrian consumers. The Directive has applied across the EU since 28 May 2022, and Austria enforces it nationally.

What the rule requires

When you advertise a price reduction, you must state the prior price, and that prior price is the lowest price you applied to the product during at least the 30 days before the reduction. This stops a trader inflating a price just before a promotion so that the advertised saving looks bigger than it really is.

The key points

• The reference price is the lowest in the previous 30 days, not simply yesterday’s price.
• You should keep price history so you can justify the reference price you display.
• Enforcement runs through Austria’s market and consumer authorities, with the VKI an active consumer body.

The Austrian process operates in German, so plan for consumer information and any enforcement correspondence to be in the language. For the wider picture, see our Omnibus law page and the complete Omnibus guide.

This answer is educational and does not constitute legal advice.