The first in a series of guidelines for traders who would like to display their prices in both euros and Maltese lira before the obligatory period, have been published. The guidelines are intended to serve until specific legislation is enacted and brought into force, the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC) said.
The guidelines state that the consumer is not obliged to pay in euro and that a trader is not obliged to accept payment in euro at that price. There is also no need for the display of the price in euro to be more prominent than the price in Maltese lira.
The price displayed in euro should be the price of the good or service in Maltese lira at the central parity rate of Lm0.4293 for every euro to the nearest euro cent, the NECC publication says.
With regards to additional charges to the translated price in euro, the guidelines also state that a notice which states "Prices shown in euro have been converted from the Maltese lira price at the central parity rate of one euro = Lm0.4293 for information purposes only. Any purchase carried out in euro may be subject to an additional charge associated with the exchange of the euro currency into the Maltese lira" is to be displayed clearly and prominently, at the point of sale, in both Maltese and English.
"Consumers shall certainly welcome the guidelines because they recommend the display of the central parity rate as well as the display for a conversion charge should this be the case. For traders, these guidelines establish a level playing field which is always desirable in business," NECC Chairman, Joseph F.X. Zahra said.
The guidelines are available on the NECC website at http://www.euro.gov.mt. Hard copies may be obtained from the NECC offices or by telephone 21224038.
Once dual pricing becomes compulsory probably in 2007, the spelling of the word 'euro' in Maltese will be 'ewro' for both the singular and plural form.
Although the Maltese language is an official language of the European Union, the EU had originally shown its concern when new member states refused to accept the established usage in translations of the European constitution.
See also:
EU concerned about spelling of "euro"
By Roseanne Sammut - Oct 13, 2004, 14:45 CET
See also:
Dual pricing to be displayed in 2007
By Alexia Conti - Dec 18, 2005, 12:26 CET
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