Omnibus Directive
Proving compliance with promotional pricing through Qualified Timestamping
With the implementation of the European Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161, designed to improve consumer protection in the EU, ensuring transparency and honesty in pricing practices has become a major challenge for businesses selling online.
Penalties can indeed reach up to 4% of revenue in the event of failure to provide proof of the integrity of reference prices over the past 30 days.
Our timestamping guarantees
for compliance with the Omnibus Directive
Price authentication
Promotions are clearly documented, and provide evidence that discounts are based on actual prices and not artificially inflated
Proof of compliance
The solution enables the ecommerce company to quickly and efficiently provide proof of compliance during audits
Protection against claims
Reduces the risk of litigation by providing precise, verifiable and reliable documentation
What does the European Omnibus Directive
say about transparency of promotional pricing?
This legislation, which aims to protect consumers from deceptive pricing strategies, mandates complete transparency regarding promotional prices. Businesses must be able to prove that any pricing discounts are genuine and based on genuine reference prices offered before the promotion.
Compliance controls, conducted by authorities such as the DGCCRF in France, can lead to severe penalties for non-compliance, including fines of up to 300,000 euros and 2 years imprisonment.
Demonstrating compliance
with the Omnibus Directive (UE) 2019/2161
A customised solution: designed to timestamp and archive thousands of reference prices daily, offering indisputable evidence of compliance with the European Omnibus Regulation.
Integration made easy: our service integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, enabling quick and effective implementation.
Expertise and support: our specialists are on hand to assist you confidently navigate the regulatory landscape of online promotions.
How does it work?
Step 1
Finetune the timestamping solution to fit the ecommerce company’s need
Step 2
Connect the Evidency system to the client system via API
Step 3
The system sends documents to Evidency for timestamping at a predefined frequency
Step 4
Evidency receives the documents in a digital format, timestamps them and returns the timestamp token to the client
Get in touch with our team for more information
FAQ
Omnibus Directive
What is the Omnibus Directive and why does it affect promotional prices?
The Omnibus Directive (EU 2019/2161) aims to strengthen transparency in commercial practices and enhance consumer protection. It requires businesses, when running a promotion, to display the lowest price applied during the previous 30 days. This obligation makes it essential to rely on reliable digital evidence of previous prices in order to demonstrate compliance with promotional pricing rules in the event of an audit.
Why is it necessary to retain proof of the price before a promotion?
Keeping proof of the price prior to a promotion helps to secure commercial practices and avoid penalties in the event of audits by regulatory authorities. A timestamped, tamper-proof and traceable proof constitutes strong evidence that the reference price complies with the Omnibus regulation and protects the company in the event of a dispute.
How does electronic timestamping ensure compliance with promotional prices?
Qualified electronic timestamping under eIDAS makes it possible to indisputably certify the date and time at which a price existed. By associating a qualified timestamp with pricing data, businesses benefit from high legal value digital evidence, recognised across the European Union, ensuring the integrity and prior existence of pricing information.
Which documents or data can be timestamped to prove promotional prices?
The following can be timestamped:
- Price files (CSV, PDF, ERP or PIM exports),
- Screenshots of catalogues or product pages,
- Price databases,
- Commercial documents or price lists.
These elements can then be electronically sealed and archived to guarantee their integrity and long-term preservation.
How can timestamping be integrated into my price management systems?
Evidency’s solutions integrate easily via API with existing systems (ERP, PIM, pricing tools or e-commerce platforms). Proof solutions can therefore be automated without changing business processes, ensuring continuous compliance and secure management of digital evidence related to promotional prices.