HERE we commented briefly comment on Legislative Decree no. 198/2021, by means of which Italy implemented Directive (EU) 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on unfair business-to-business commercial practices in the agri-food chain.
The decree entered into force on 15 December 2021 and applies irrespective of the nationality of the buyer, as long as the products come from an Italian premises.
We have summarised the main contents of the new law, with a focus on contracts concluded between professional producers/sellers and buyers of agricultural and food products.
These contracts, which are required to be in writing, must contain some specific clauses and avoid practices prohibited by the legislator (indicated in the black and grey lists).
Furthermore, we mentioned the competent authority in charge of enforcing the new provisions, the procedure for addressing complaints and the penalties (which, by the way, are quite severe and can reach the astonishing amount of 10% of the annual turnover of the author of the infringement).
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