Law for the Promotion of Competition in the Food and Pharmacy Sectors, 5774-2014
חוק קידום התחרות בענפי המזון והפארם, תשע"ד-2014
Published: 2014-03-27Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-19 · Last amended 2025-12-30✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-17
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
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Chapter III: Price Transparency
Section A: Publication to the Public
Definitions – Chapter III§
29.
In this Chapter –
"store" – one of the following:
(1)in relation to a large retailer as defined in section 2 – a store as defined in that section;
(2)in relation to a large pharmacy retailer – a pharmacy store as defined in section 21a;
"total price" – a price that includes the sum of all payments for the commodity and the sum of all taxes applicable to it or to its sale and collected by the large retailer, including –
(1)value added tax, fees or compulsory payments;
(2)any other payment ancillary to the purchase of the commodity in respect of which the consumer is not given a practical possibility of waiving;
"commodity" – food and any other product sold in a store, excluding electrical appliances, textile products, clothing and footwear products, optical products, jewellery, wallets, bags, toys, office supplies, household utensils, books, newspapers, perfumes, make-up products and preparations;
"large retailer" – a large retailer as defined in section 2, provided that if it holds stores that are not online – the average sales area thereof exceeds 120 square metres, and also a large pharmacy retailer as defined in section 21a.
"preparation" – (Repealed)
"cosmetic" – (Repealed)
Publication of Commodity Prices by Electronic Means§
30.
(a)A large retailer shall publish to the public, on the internet, separately in respect of each of its stores, the current total price at the time of publication of every commodity that it sells in its stores, such that the updating of the price in the publication shall be carried out no later than one hour from the time of the update at the store's cash registers or from the time set pursuant to subsection (f) (in this section – current total price).
(b)The publication shall be made in a file in a computer-readable language as defined in the Computers Law, 5755-1995, and in a manner that enables, inter alia, a current ongoing comparison of the prices of commodities and commodity baskets in its stores and in the stores of other large retailers; a large retailer shall transmit to the Commissioner the internet address at which the file is published, and the Commissioner shall publish on the website of the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority links to all the internet sites at which files as aforesaid are published.
(c)The Commissioner may exempt a large retailer from the obligation to publish prices as referred to in subsection (a) in respect of a store of its stores, for a specified period and subject to conditions that the Commissioner shall set, if the Commissioner has found that it is unable to publish the prices in respect of that store in accordance with the provisions of that subsection.
(d)Without derogating from the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law, a publication pursuant to this section shall include, inter alia, information on the matters set out below, as well as any additional information required for the purpose of carrying out a price comparison, all as the Minister shall prescribe with the approval of the Minister of Finance:
(1)a list of commodities ordinarily sold in the store or sold during a fixed period of the year, which were in the store's inventory close to the time of publication;
(2)the prices of the commodities, including the prices for different categories of consumers;
(3)any special sale as defined in section 8 of the Consumer Protection Law, including promotions and discounts and including their terms and expiry dates.
(e)Any person may access the publication, the information and the data contained therein pursuant to subsections (a) and (d), and use them, freely and without consideration, for private or commercial purposes; the Minister, with the approval of the Minister of Finance, may prescribe provisions to ensure the implementation of the provisions of this subsection.
(f)The Minister, with the approval of the Minister of Finance, shall prescribe provisions regarding the manner of publication, the data to be published, the frequency of updating the publication, access thereto, and any other provision required for the implementation of the provisions of this section.
Duty of Reporting – Large Retailer§
30a.
(a)A large retailer shall report to the Commissioner, once a year, on the stores held by it, the annual sales turnover of each store and the annual sales turnover of all the commodities detailed in paragraph (1) of the definition of "store" in section 29.
(b)The duty of reporting pursuant to subsection (a) shall not apply to a large retailer upon whom a duty of reporting pursuant to section 12 applies.
(c)The Minister shall prescribe provisions regarding the details of the report pursuant to this section and the dates for their submission.
Penalties – Chapter III§
31.
A large retailer that has done one of the following is liable to imprisonment of three months or a fine of seven times the fine referred to in section 61(a)(2) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977:
(1)failed to publish the current total price of a commodity that it sells, in the manner referred to in section 30(a), (b) and (f), or failed to publish information on a matter that is required to be published pursuant to section 30(d), contrary to the provisions pursuant to those sections;
(2)published information capable of misleading a customer, including the publication of a commodity in the list of commodities ordinarily sold in the store or sold during a fixed period of the year, which was not in the store's inventory close to the time of publication, contrary to the provisions of section 30(d)(1).
Powers of the Commissioner of Consumer Protection and Fair Trade§
32.
Without derogating from the provisions of section 31, an offence under this Chapter shall also be regarded as an offence under the Consumer Protection Law, and the Commissioner shall have, in relation to offences under this Chapter, all the powers vested in the Commissioner under Chapters E and F of the Consumer Protection Law.
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Contact Us →Section B: Financial Sanction
Financial Sanction – Chapter III§
33.
Where a large retailer has contravened one of the provisions set out below, the Commissioner may impose upon it a financial sanction pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter in the amount of NIS 53,030:
(1)failed to publish the current total price of a commodity that it sells, in the manner referred to in section 30(a), (b) and (f), or failed to publish information on a matter that is required to be published pursuant to section 30(d), contrary to the provisions pursuant to those sections;
(2)published information capable of misleading a customer, including the publication of a commodity in the list of commodities ordinarily sold in the store or sold during a fixed period of the year, which was not in the store's inventory close to the time of publication, contrary to the provisions of section 30(d)(1).
Contravention in Aggravated Circumstances§
34.
(a)Where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that a large retailer has contravened a provision of the provisions set out in section 33, in aggravated circumstances, the Commissioner may impose upon it a financial sanction pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, the amount of which is one and a half times the amount of the financial sanction that may be imposed for that contravention pursuant to section 33.
(b)In this section, "aggravated circumstances" – a contravention affecting a particularly large number of consumers; for this purpose, there is a presumption that a contravention committed by a large retailer in respect of at least two stores sold as stores of that large retailer is a contravention affecting a particularly large number of consumers.
Notice of Intention to Charge§
35.
(a)Where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that a large retailer has contravened a provision of the provisions pursuant to this Law set out in section 33 (in this Chapter – the contravener), and the Commissioner intends to impose upon it a financial sanction pursuant to that section, or pursuant to section 34, the Commissioner shall give the contravener notice of the intention to impose upon it a financial sanction (in this Chapter – notice of intention to charge).
(b)In the notice of intention to charge, the Commissioner shall state, inter alia, the following:
(1)the act or omission (in this Chapter – the act) constituting the contravention;
(2)the amount of the financial sanction and the period for payment thereof, in accordance with the provisions of sections 37 and 39;
(3)the contravener's right to make representations before the Commissioner pursuant to the provisions of section 36;
(4)the rate of the addition to the financial sanction in the case of a continuing contravention or a repeated contravention pursuant to the provisions of section 40.
Right of Representation§
36.
(a)A contravener to whom a notice of intention to charge has been given pursuant to the provisions of section 35 may make representations before the Commissioner, in writing or orally, as the Commissioner shall direct, regarding the intention to impose upon it a financial sanction and regarding the amount thereof, within 45 days from the date of delivery of the notice.
(b)The Commissioner may, at the request of the contravener, extend the period referred to in subsection (a) by a period not exceeding 45 days.
Decision of the Commissioner§
37.
(a)Where the contravener has made representations before the Commissioner pursuant to the provisions of section 36, the Commissioner shall decide, after having considered the representations made, whether to impose a financial sanction upon the contravener, and the Commissioner may reduce the amount of the financial sanction pursuant to the provisions of section 38.
(b)Where the Commissioner has decided pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) to impose a financial sanction upon the contravener, the Commissioner shall give the contravener a demand to pay the financial sanction (in this Chapter – payment demand); in the payment demand the Commissioner shall state, inter alia, the updated amount of the financial sanction as referred to in section 39 and the period for payment thereof as referred to in section 41.
(c)Where the Commissioner has decided pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) not to impose a financial sanction upon the contravener, the Commissioner shall give the contravener notice to that effect.
(d)In the payment demand or in the notice pursuant to subsection (b) or (c), the Commissioner shall set out the reasons for the decision.
(e)Where the contravener has not requested to make representations pursuant to the provisions of section 36(a), within 45 days from the day on which the notice of intention to charge was given to it, or within a longer period set pursuant to section 36(b), if set, the notice shall be regarded, upon the expiry of the said period, as a payment demand given to the contravener on the said date.
Reduced Amounts§
38.
(a)The Commissioner is not entitled to impose a financial sanction in an amount lower than the amounts prescribed in this Section, except pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b).
(b)The Minister, with the agreement of the Minister of Justice and the approval of the Economics Committee of the Knesset, may prescribe cases, circumstances and considerations by reason of which it shall be possible to reduce the amounts of the financial sanction prescribed in this Section, at rates that the Minister shall prescribe.
Updated Amount of the Financial Sanction§
39.
(a)The financial sanction shall be according to its updated amount on the day of delivery of the payment demand, and in respect of a contravener that has not made representations before the Commissioner as referred to in section 36 – on the day of delivery of the notice of intention to charge; where an appeal against a payment demand has been filed pursuant to section 39(a) and the payment of the financial sanction has been stayed pursuant to section 46(b), the amount of the financial sanction shall be according to its updated amount on the day on which the Commissioner agreed to the stay of payment or on the day on which the court ordered the stay of payment, as referred to in section 46(b).
(b)The amounts of the financial sanction as referred to in section 33 shall be updated on 1 January each year (in this subsection – the update date), in accordance with the rate of change of the index known on the update date compared with the index that was known on the update date in the preceding year; the said amount shall be rounded to the nearest amount that is a multiple of NIS 10; for this purpose, "index" – the consumer price index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
(c)The Commissioner shall publish in Reshumot (Official Gazette) a notice of the updated amounts of the financial sanction pursuant to subsection (b).
Continuing Contravention and Repeated Contravention§
40.
(a)In the case of a continuing contravention, one fiftieth of the financial sanction prescribed for that contravention shall be added thereto for each day on which the contravention continues; for this purpose, "continuing contravention" – contravention of a provision of the provisions pursuant to this Law set out in section 33, after a payment demand has been given to the contravener for the contravention of that provision or after an administrative warning as referred to in section 43 has been given to the contravener for the contravention of that provision and the warning has not been cancelled as referred to in section 44.
(b)In the case of a repeated contravention, one half of an amount equal to the financial sanction that could have been imposed therefor had it been a first contravention shall be added to the financial sanction; for this purpose, "repeated contravention" – contravention of a provision of the provisions pursuant to this Law set out in section 33, within two years of a previous contravention of that provision for which a financial sanction was imposed upon the contravener or for which the contravener was convicted.
Date of Payment of the Financial Sanction§
41.
The financial sanction shall be paid within 45 days from the day of delivery of the payment demand as referred to in section 32.
Shekel Interest and Default Charges§
42.
Where a financial sanction has not been paid on time, shekel interest and default charges shall be added thereto for the period of default, until payment thereof, and the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Law, 5721-1961 shall apply in respect of such interest, with the necessary modifications.
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Contact Us →Section C: Administrative Warning
Administrative Warning§
43.
(a)Where the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that a large retailer has contravened a provision of the provisions pursuant to this Law set out in section 33, and the circumstances listed in the procedures directed by the Commissioner are present, the Commissioner may serve upon the contravener, in lieu of a notice of intention to charge, an administrative warning pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(b)In the administrative warning, the Commissioner shall state what act constitutes the contravention, shall notify the contravener that it must cease the contravention and that if it continues the contravention or repeats it, it will be liable to a financial sanction for a continuing contravention or a repeated contravention, as the case may be, as referred to in section 40, and shall also state the contravener's right to request the cancellation of the warning pursuant to the provisions of section 44.
(c)The Commissioner's procedures pursuant to subsection (a) require the approval of the Attorney General or a Deputy Attorney General whom the Attorney General has authorised for that purpose, and they shall be published on the website of the Consumer Protection and Fair Trade Authority.
Request for Cancellation of Administrative Warning§
44.
(a)Where an administrative warning has been given to a contravener as referred to in section 43, the contravener may apply to the Commissioner, in writing, within 45 days, with a request to cancel the warning on one of the following grounds:
(1)the contravener did not commit the contravention;
(2)the act committed by the contravener, as detailed in the warning, does not constitute a contravention.
(b)Where the Commissioner has received a request for the cancellation of an administrative warning pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a), the Commissioner may cancel the warning or reject the request and leave the warning in force; the Commissioner's decision shall be given in writing and shall be delivered to the contravener together with the reasons for the decision.
Continuing Contravention and Repeated Contravention following a Warning§
45.
(a)Where an administrative warning has been given to a contravener pursuant to the provisions of this Section and the contravener has continued to contravene the provision for which the warning was sent, the Commissioner shall give the contravener a payment demand for a continuing contravention as referred to in section 40(a); a contravener to whom a payment demand has been given as aforesaid may make representations before the Commissioner regarding the continuation of the contravention and the amount of the financial sanction, and the provisions of sections 36 and 37 shall apply, with the necessary modifications.
(b)Where an administrative warning has been given to a contravener pursuant to the provisions of this Section and the contravener has again contravened the provision for which the warning was sent, within two years from the day of delivery of the warning, the additional contravention as aforesaid shall be regarded as a repeated contravention for the purpose of section 40(b), and the Commissioner shall give the contravener a notice of intention to charge for the repeated contravention; a contravener to whom a notice of intention to charge has been given as aforesaid may make representations before the Commissioner, and the provisions of sections 36 and 37 shall apply, with the necessary modifications.
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