The rapidly developing area of e-commerce is regulated on European level as well as by Czech legislation. If you want to operate your business activities through an e-shop, you shall comply with all relating legal conditions. What are the most important you should be aware of?
Check the most important issues that shall matter to you when operating an eShop in the Czech Republic
- OPERATE YOUR BUSINESS ON LEGAL GROUNDS. You shall operate you business as an entrepreneur registered in the Trade Register or through the company registered in the Trade and Commercial Register.
- DOCUMENTATION . For lawful functioning of an e-shop you will need comprehensive documentation, as for example, proper and detailed General Terms and Conditions, Complaints procedure, Document on Purchase of Goods, or documents regarding the Warranty of Goods.
- INFORMATION OBLIGATION. Consumers are widely protected with respect to your information obligation as an operator of an e-shop. Among all of the information, you are obliged to provide the consumers with, let us emphasis on proper labeling of goods, or accurate determination of prices.
- PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS. Moreover, consumers have special rights just from the fact that they are buying goods through the means of distance communication and they have to be informed about them by an operator of an e-shop. The most important of them is the consumer’s right to withdraw from a purchase contract (return unused and undamaged goods) in 14 days statutory period without reasoning and get money back.
- CONSUMERS' PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION. If you are processing personal data of your clients, you need to fulfil the requirements of personal data protection regulations, in particular of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Please remember that failure to comply with the GDPR provisions bears a risk of a incurring financial penalty.
- REPUTATION. You can be voluntarily registered with associations to obtain a certificate of creditability (e.g. APEK – Association for Electronic Commerce).
- TAX QUESTIONS. As the tax payer you must in particular duly inspect your tax duties, especially potential value added tax liabilities. Special attention should also be given to documents to be issued and handed over to the end consumers.
- PENALTIES. Relating to operating an e-shop, there are very strict penalties, in particular to protect consumers rights (for example, breaching the information obligation to the consumer could be fined up to the CZK 50,000,000).
CONTACT
Jan Roub
Legal Partner | Czech Republic
Tel: +420 222 753 480
E-mail: jan.roub@accace.com
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