Inspections of e-shops during first wave of pandemics

(Prague, September 18, 2020) During the pandemic period, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority responded to some of the restrictions adopted in connection with the occurrence of the coronavirus, when the marketplaces and ordinary shops were closed for most of the second quarter of 2020. This resulted in a change of purchasing habits of Czech consumers and thus an increase in the volume of online trading. During this period, CTIA carried out 15 percent more e-commerce inspections than in the 1st quarter of 2020. In total, it carried out 193 inspections and found violations of the legislation within the scope of the surveillance authorizations of the CTIA in almost 80 percent of cases. "The results of the inspections have reaffirmed that, in the area of online sales, the applicable consumer legislation and thus consumer rights are still being violated. As a result of the occurrence of the coronavirus, CTIA saw an increase in the number of new business entities engaged in this modern form of trading," said Mojmír Bezecný, the Director of CTIA.