MLP objects to cash register exceptions

The Malta Labour Party will table a motion in Parliament to amend a legal notice regulating dual pricing in order to ensure that consumers enjoy greater protection, MLP deputy leader Charles Mangion said yesterday.

Dr Mangion said the regulations, published by the government less than two weeks ago, were not rigorous enough to ensure that the entry of the euro does not have a negative impact on consumers.

There should be no exceptions for cash registers that are unable to display receipts in euros, he argued. The government should fund whatever modifications are needed for cash registers so that consumers would know exactly what they were paying for.

Derogations from the obligation to display dual prices should only be given after consultation with a recognised consumers' association, he said, adding that the enforcement of dual pricing must be effective and timely.

The clause stipulating that the minister is authorised to waive any penalties should be removed as it smacked of "political intrigue". MP Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said the legal notice and the way the National Euro Changeover Committee was set up had totally ignored the existence of the government's consumer affairs department.

She said wherever the euro had been introduced, the perception was that it had caused inflation and the government had to do its utmost to ensure that inflation will be curbed.

The motion to amend the legal notice regulating dual pricing will be signed by Dr Mangion, Mrs Coleiro Preca and Joe Mizzi.