Here you will find all the basic, generally binding legal regulations which guide the Czech Trade Inspection Authority during the performance of its activities. The valid CZECH wording of these laws and standards can be found in electronic format in the Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic HERE.
Act No. 64/1986 Coll., on the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (CTIA): This regulation establishes the Czech Trade Inspection Authority as such, generally defines its supervisory jurisdiction, and delineates its authority with respect to the entities it controls. The Act also authorizes the Director of the CTIA to penalize certain infringements (for example, the use of officially unverified measuring instruments).
List of laws which the CTIA controls in its defined span of control:
Act No. 634/1992 Coll., on Consumer Protection: This Act defines certain business practices relevant to consumer protection. Non-compliance constitutes an administrative offense punishable by sanctions. It is a fairly diverse mix of business practices that includes, for example, the fair selling of goods and/or services, a ban on unfair commercial practices, the prohibition of discrimination against consumers, various obligations for product and service information, information on how to register a consumer complaint and the official complaint process (i.e. not the appropriateness of the complaint resolution – here, in the case of a dispute, the issue is handled by a court or arbitrator).
It also should be noted that the Consumer Protection Act is not a complete compilation of consumer rights or the responsibilities of entrepreneurs. Many other provisions for consumer protection can be found in other texts, whether in civil law (the Civil Code) or public law (legislation addressing specific businesses, such as the energy industry, electronic communications, etc.). The Consumer Protection Act also does not regulate all forms of business activities, i.e. self-employment professions (e.g. legal or tax advice).
The Czech Trade Inspection Authority is one of the authorities responsible for the implementation of this Act to the extent outlined in Section 23. Unlike other agencies, the CTIA’s competencies in implementing this act are not defined in a material manner. The CTIA regulates compliance with the Act as a whole, except for cases where the exclusive responsibility is given to a specialized agency. This relates to compliance with the various regulations for agricultural, food and tobacco products; goods and services covered by the Act for the protection of public health (including products that come into contact with food, products for children under three years of age, cosmetics, food services, swimming pools, drinking water supply, etc.); veterinary care; firearms, ammunition and pyrotechnics; entities under the supervision of the Czech National Bank; the energy business sphere; pharmaceuticals; electronic communications and postal services.
Act No. 102/2001 Coll., on General Product Safety: This law establishes the responsibilities and processes to ensure that products dangerous to the consumer do not appear on the market. Each product is regulated by the agency, under whose jurisdiction it falls. If the product does not fall under any specific agency, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority is the responsible entity.
Act No. 22/1997 Coll., on Technical Parameters for Products: This law, by outlining government regulations, requires that certain products groups, prior to market introduction, must be evaluated so that they do not endanger the health or safety of individuals, property, the environment, and/or other aspects of interest to the public. This process, called a conformity assessment, culminates with the product being marked with the appropriate designation, typically the letters “CE”. The implementation of the technical requirements for products law falls primarily to the Czech Trade Inspection Authority. However, if established by special law, the responsibility may fall to another agency: for example, the Czech Mining Authority (for explosives) or Railway Authorities (specific products for operations of railways), etc.
Act No. 477/2001 Coll., on Packaging: The purpose of this Act is to protect the environment by preventing wasteful packaging. The CTIA is one of the administrative government agencies supervising the given area. As such it monitors and inspects the fulfillment of obligations pertaining to prevention, the introduction or the distribution of packaging on the market, labelling and re-use (with the exception of cosmetics packaging), packaging that may come into direct contact with food, packaging of medicinal products, and the packaging of raw materials used in the preparation of medicinal products for humans. The Agency also inspects the return acceptance of the packaging by those businesses that introduced the packaging or packaged products to the market. The Agency also controls the sale of beverages in returnable packaging by those businesses or physical persons authorized to do business and who put the packaged beverages on the market or into circulation by selling to the consumer.
Act No. 201/2012 Coll., on Air Pollution: The Czech Trade Inspection Authority is one of the agencies responsible for air-pollution prevention. Specifically, its responsibilities include checking fuels on the domestic market, stationary combustion sources, and inspecting persons who handle selected paints, varnishes and products for repairing the paint on road vehicles.
Act No. 311/2006 Coll., on Fuels: In accordance with this law, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority controls and monitors the quality of fuel intended for motor vehicles. Results are reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Act No. 379/2005 Coll. – Measures to Protect against Damage Caused by Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Addictive Substances: Compliance with this regulation is partially inspected by the Czech Trade Inspection Authority. It checks for compliance with the prohibition of imitations of tobacco products and supplies and imitations of alcoholic beverages.
Act No. 353/2003 Coll., on Excise Tax: The CTIA controls compliance with the Act with respect to proper labelling of tobacco products, with respect to the ban on sale of spirits and tobacco products outside outlets approved for the retail sale of goods or the hospitality sector (Section 133), and also with respect to the marking and colour-coding of select mineral oils.
Act No. 145/2010 Coll., on Consumer Credit, etc.: The law defines the term “consumer credit” and sets all manadatory requisites for consumer credit contracts. The law defines the Effective Annual Percentage Rate (EAR) which attempts to facilitate, for consumers, the comparison of consumer credit available on the market. The law also regulates additional consumer rights associated with consumer credit. The supervisory agencies are the CTIA and Czech National Bank. In the case of a dispute, resolution by the second party can be sought through legal proceedings, which may include the determination of appropriate reductions for early repayment.
Act No. 189/1999 Coll., on Emergency Oil Stock: The CTIA is one of the agencies that would control the fulfillment of the responsibilities delineated for the event of an emergency arising from a lack of crude oil and petroleum products.
Act No. 253/2008 Coll. – Some Measures against Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism: As part of the process of executing this Act, the CTIA inspects individuals authorized to trade in used goods, to broker such transactions, to pawn goods, and to trade in cultural monuments and objects of cultural value or to broker such transactions. According to this Act, the CTIA has authority to control informational responsibilities which pertain to fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for newly manufactured personal automobiles.
Act No. 56/2001 Coll., on Operation of Vehicles on Roads: According to this Act, the CTIA has authority to control informational responsibilities which pertain to fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for newly manufactured personal automobiles.
Act No. 247/2006 Coll., on Restrictions of Night Operations of Pawnshops and other Establishments: The Act stipulates that, at night, between 10 pm and 6 am, it is prohibited to purchase and sell all used goods and goods without a proof of purchase, to receive such goods for pawning, to broker such purchase or pawning (in bazaars and pawnshops), as well as to purchase any secondary raw materials (waste metals for recycling) by facilities intended for the collection and purchase of secondary raw materials. The supervisory authority, in addition to appropriate local Trade Licencing Office, is also the CTIA.
Act No. 73/2012 Coll., on substances that deplete the ozone layer and fluorinated greenhouse gases: The Czech Trade Inspection Authority inspects the labeling of products and equipment containing the given substances.
Act No. 185/2001 Coll., on waste: The Czech Trade Inspection Authority is one of the government bodies active in the field of waste management. Its mandate includes inspecting the compliance with obligations relating to batteries and accumulators.
Act No. 156/2000 Coll., on the control of firearms, ammunition, and pyrotechnics, as well as on the proper ways of handling certain pyrotechnic products: The CTIA inspects compliance with the duties imposed by this Act on persons who handle the pyrotechnic products.
Act No. 307/2013 Coll., on mandatory labeling of spirits: The CTIA is one of the government bodies that examine and deal with various offenses in the area of handling packaged alcohol products, and the government-issued control strips.
Act No. 226/2013 Coll., on placing timber and timber products on the market: The CTIA, pursuant to this Act, requires traders in timber and timber products to provide information about their suppliers and customers.
Official CTIA procedures are delimited by:
- The procedural provisions in the above-mentioned Acts;
- Act 500/2004 Coll., the Administrative Procedure Act; and
- Act 552/1991 Coll., on State Controls.