The obligation to display anchor prices for a much wider range of products and services was due to start on 1 October. However, on 29 September, just a few days earlier, the Government amended both decisions governing the display of the additional price and the publication of price lists, and postponed the start of application to 17 November 2026. It cited the deadline being too short for businesses to adapt and announced clearer, more enforceable rules.
The postponement does not mean the measure has been abandoned. The Government still wants customers to see the price on the reference date alongside the current price, and the rules will be further clarified by 17 November. Below we outline what has changed, what stays the same and what makes sense to do now.
What is an anchor price
An anchor price, or additional price, is the regular price you charged for the same product or service on 10 September 2026, excluding promotions and discounts. On a label or price list it would look like this:
Current price: EUR 55.00
Price on 10 Sept 2026: EUR 50.00
An anchor price is not a price at which something must be sold. You can still change your prices as you wish. It is a reference value that shows customers whether the price has gone up or down in the meantime.
What has changed
The new system will be regulated in more detail by two ordinances adopted under the Consumer Protection Act (Zakon o zaštiti potrošača), which are expected to enter into force on 17 November:
- Ordinance on the Display of the Base Price of Products (Pravilnik o načinu isticanja bazne cijene proizvoda)
- Ordinance on the Content and Publication of Product Price Lists (Pravilnik o sadržaju i načinu objave cjenika proizvoda)
Before adoption, the ordinances will go through public consultation. The Ministry of Economy has announced that they will define reasonable exemptions and remove administrative obligations that bring no real benefit to consumers.
This means the final form of the rules applying from 17 November is not yet known in every detail. The guidance the Ministry published before the postponement should for now be read as an indication of direction, not as final instructions.
What stays the same: reference dates
The reference date does not change with the postponement. For products and services covered for the first time, the anchor price is still the price on 10 September 2026.
For everyday consumer goods covered earlier, the previously set reference date of 2 May 2025 remains. These are food, drinks, cosmetics, cleaning products, hygiene products and household goods. No additional price dated 10 September is introduced for these products.
Who the obligation applies to (under the rules published so far)
The obligation was to be extended from retailers to cafés, restaurants, hair salons and many other businesses. According to the Ministry’s guidance published before the postponement, it would apply to almost everyone selling goods or providing services to consumers: shops, hospitality businesses, craftspeople, repair services, family farms (OPG), financial services with a few exceptions, and partly also short-term rental hosts. The legal form did not matter, so it applied equally to limited liability companies (d.o.o.), sole traders (obrt), freelancers and family farms.
If you work only with other businesses, the obligation was not meant to apply to you.
The range of businesses covered could be narrowed by the new ordinances through the announced exemptions.
How the price would be displayed (under the guidance so far)
According to the Ministry’s guidance so far, the anchor price is shown next to the current price, on the same label or the same price list. A separate price list with the old prices is not allowed. It is enough to add the date next to the price, e.g. “Price on 10 Sept 2026”.
The same rules were to apply in online shops, on leaflets, posters, websites and in digital ads. Apps, loyalty programmes, and TV and radio ads were not covered.
Common situations, as interpreted by the Ministry so far:
- The product was on promotion on 10 September: you display the regular price before the promotion.
- The product was out of stock that day: you display the price that was in the system at the time.
- You introduced the product or service after 10 September: you display the first price at which you offered it, with the date. A new product code or name does not make a product new.
- The product is on promotion: you display three prices, the discounted price, the lowest price in the last 30 days and the anchor price.
- You price to order: you anchor the price per hour of work, per square metre or another pricing element, not individual quotes to customers.
Price lists on your website: wait for the final rules
Under the rules so far, retailers and service providers with their own website were required to publish a price list on it in a machine-readable format, i.e. .csv or .xml. According to the Ministry’s guidance, this also applied to websites that only present the company. Retailers would update the price list every working day by 8 a.m. at the latest. Service providers would update it with every price change, also by 8 a.m. on the day the change takes effect. Old price lists would remain on the website for 30 days, with a separate file for each branch and online shop.
The publication of price lists will be regulated in more detail by the Ordinance on the Content and Publication of Product Price Lists. It therefore makes sense to wait for its final text before making larger investments in building or adapting your website.
Short-term rental hosts: the obligation was announced, but details are still open
According to the guidance published before the postponement, a short-term rental host, as a provider of services to consumers, is subject to the obligation. There is, however, an important exception for accommodation: the anchor price would not be displayed on intermediary platforms such as Booking and Airbnb, or in your own booking system. It should be displayed on the price list at the property and in ads that include prices, e.g. on leaflets or on your own website outside the booking system. With dynamic pricing, the safest approach is to anchor the basic price components.
The Ministry has not specifically addressed whether short-term rental hosts must publish a .csv or .xml price list, and the new ordinances could bring further exemptions. Whatever the final decision, keep evidence of your prices on 10 September.
The cost of non-compliance
Compliance is supervised by the market inspectorate. Under the Act on Exceptional Price Control Measures (Zakon o iznimnim mjerama kontrole cijena), on which the decisions so far are based, the fines are:
- company: EUR 3,000 to 30,000,
- responsible person in the company: EUR 1,000 to 4,000,
- sole trader or freelancer: EUR 1,000 to 20,000,
- trader who is a natural person: EUR 1,000 to 6,000.
In addition to the fine, any gain obtained through the offence is confiscated. Check whether the penalty provisions will also change from 17 November.
What to do by 17 November
- Find and save your prices on 10 September right away. The reference date has not changed, and you will need the evidence.
- Follow the public consultation on the two new ordinances and check whether the exemptions apply to you.
- Prepare a list of your products and services with their prices on 10 September, but hold off on printing new labels, price lists, menus and leaflets until the final rules are known.
- If you have a website, wait for the final text of the ordinance before creating a .csv or .xml price list.
- Decide who in your company will be responsible for prices once the rules enter into force.
If you are unsure how the new rules will apply to your business, the experts at CONEO Croatia are at your disposal. We will update this article as soon as the ordinances are published.
