Did you know that that there is a ban on geographic blocking of online sales within the EU? There is a regulation within the EU regarding online sales. It prohibits discrimination of online sales on grounds of nationality, residence or seat of the company.
Online store in Slovenia – contents of the new regulation
When doing business in Slovenia and plan to sell your products online, you have to open a company first. The Regulation (EU) 2018/32 on addressing geographic blocking and other forms of discrimination prohibits geographic blocking of goods when shopping online.
The regulation prohibits discrimination on grounds of nationality, residence or seat of the company selling the items. It also imposes an obligation on companies to provide access to equal offers and services under the same terms. This applies to both domestic and foreign clients within the EU, unless there is an objectively justifiable reason for making the distinction. This means that doing business in Europe through online store grants buyers and sellers equal opportunities within the EU.
Are you considering company registration?
Call us for more information to +386 1 6006 270 or write to us on data@data.si.
Online store in Slovenia – what does geographic blocking ban mean in practice?
In practice, this geographic ban means:
- that it is forbidden to use technological or other measures to block or limit the access to the website for consumer on the basis of their nationality, place of residence or seat of the company (when a company buys a product for its own use);
- you also cannot redirect consumers from one version of the online website to another without their explicit consent;
- It is forbidden to use different general conditions for access to goods or services when a consumer wants to buy goods without delivery outside the area where the seller provides services, access the electronically delivered service (eg. cloud services) or reserve services received in the country where the seller works, for example in the case of hotel accommodation, sports events, car rentals, concert tickets, etc.
A company doing online trading can only decide on the fact whether or not it plans to offer services of cross-border delivery of goods. It can decide if it will offer the delivery of goods in all EU member states or only in some. The decision where the company offers its services or products remains in the hands of the company. The company providing online services or products sets the prices but then the expenses of delivery to other countries can vary depending on the location. It is important that the company informs consumers about the exact delivery price even before finishing the purchase.
The company also reaches a decision what payment methods it will use. It also determines in which currency it will accept payments. For example, it is prohibited to refuse credit card payment solely because it is issued in another EU member state but the card is of the brand that the online company accepts.
Open an online store with assistance of Data!
If you have decided to open an online store, Data can help you in the process from start to finish.
You can perform the signing of the act of establishment at our office as we are a licensed VEM point. We can also assist you in obtaining the necessary documents for company registration.
Our legal department can help you to understand what regulations you need to abide by in order to provide services of online store. They can also prepare internal regulations for your company as well as draft contracts.
Data also provides services of accountancy and tax consultation.
Should you need a business address, we are able to provide services of virtual office.
For more information on how to open an online store in Slovenia, EU, you can write to our email data@data.si. You can also contact us over the phone 00386 1 6006 270 or 00386 40 530 718 (Viber, WhatsApp). You can also follow us on Facebook.
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