Case C‑476/14

Citroën Commerce GmbH

v

Zentralvereinigung des Kraffahrzeuggewerbes zur Aufrechterhaltung lauteren Wettbewerbs eV (ZLW)

(Request for a preliminary ruling
from the Bundesgerichtshof)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Directives 98/6/EC and 2005/29/EC — Consumer protection — Advertisement containing an indication of price — Concepts of ‘offer’ and ‘price inclusive of taxes’ — Obligation to include in the price of a motor vehicle the additional costs necessarily incurred in connection with the transfer of the vehicle)

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 7 July 2016

1.        Consumer protection — Consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers — Directive 98/6 — Advertisement containing an indication of price — Sale price — Concept — Obligation to include in the price of a motor vehicle the additional costs necessarily incurred in connection with the transfer of the vehicle

(European Parliament and Council Directive 98/6, Arts 1, 2(a) and 3(4))

2.        Consumer protection — Unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices — Directive 2005/29 — Scope — Advertisement containing an indication of price — Not included — Application of Directive 98/6

(European Parliament and Council Directives 98/6, Art. 3(4) and 2005/29, Art. 3(4))

1.        Article 3 of Directive 98/6 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers, read in conjunction with Article 1 and Article 2(a) of that directive, must be interpreted as meaning that costs in connection with the transfer of a motor vehicle from the manufacturer to the dealer, which are payable by the consumer, must be included in the selling price of that vehicle indicated in an advertisement made by the trader when, having regard to all the features of that advertisement, in the eyes of the consumer it sets out an offer concerning that vehicle. It is for the national court to determine whether all those conditions are satisfied.

Although Article 3(4) of Directive 98/6 lays down no general obligation to mention the selling price, an advertisement mentioning both the characteristics of the product on offer and a price appearing, to a reasonably well-informed and reasonably observant and circumspect consumer, to be the selling price of that product, in addition to a date until which the offer made to private individuals remains valid, is nevertheless liable to be regarded by such a consumer as the trader’s offer to sell the product under the conditions mentioned in that advertisement. In such a case, the price so indicated must satisfy the requirements of Directive 98/6. In particular, that price must be the selling price of the relevant product, namely, its final price, within the meaning of that directive. As a final price, the selling price must necessarily include the unavoidable and foreseeable components of the price, components that are necessarily payable by the consumer and constitute the pecuniary consideration for the acquisition of the product concerned. In consequence, when the trader selling the product requires the consumer to pay the costs of transferring that product from the manufacturer to that trader-vendor, as a result of which those costs, which are moreover invariable, are necessarily payable by the consumer, such costs form a component of the selling price within the meaning of Article 2(a) Directive 98/6.

(see paras 30, 31, 37, 38, 47, operative part)

2.        Directive 98/6 on consumer protection in the indication of the prices of products offered to consumers governs specific aspects, within the meaning of Article 3(4) of Directive 2005/29 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market, of unfair commercial practices that can be characterised as unfair in dealings between businesses and consumers, namely, in particular, those that relate to the indication, in offers for sale and in advertising, of the products’ selling price. In those circumstances, in so far as the aspect relating to the selling price referred to in an advertisement is governed by Directive 98/6, Directive 2005/29 cannot apply as regards that aspect.

(see paras 44, 45)