Czech fake discounts: Kaufland to pay CZK 9.6 million in fines

In the third quarter of 2026, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) issued final fines to retail chains for unfair practices, above all for fake discounts. Kaufland will pay the most: CZK 9.6 million in four fines. The total is slightly below the record of almost CZK 24 million in the second quarter of this year.

According to the inspectorate, shops often sell goods with bright red price tags and the word “sale,” even though the products do not meet the rules on discounts, and sometimes the price even went up.

“From our sale!”

During an inspection at a store in Český Těšín, Kaufland offered a Curver snack container for CZK 79.90 with a red price tag reading “From our sale.” Inspectors found that the item had been sold at the same price for more than a month and had not been in the range at all before that. There was no discount, although the price tag gave that impression.

In another case, in Nový Bor, a women’s T-shirt in a “sale” actually went up in price from CZK 129.90 to CZK 149.90. In Ostrava, the chain lured customers with a percentage discount and the word “cheaper” on a product that it had sold at the stated “previous” price four months earlier.

The largest fines: Kaufland — CZK 2.9 million, CZK 2.7 million and twice CZK 2 million; Penny Market — CZK 2.45 million and CZK 1.8 million; BILLA — CZK 950,000; Tesco Stores — CZK 900,000; Lidl — CZK 750,000; Albert — CZK 700,000.

“A mistake, not intent”

Kaufland spokeswoman Renata Majerl explained that, with such a huge number of price tags, an administrative error or human factor is possible, but there is no intent to deceive customers. According to her, the law does not regulate in detail how long promotions last or what price tags look like, so the company does not always agree with the regulators’ interpretation and is considering an independent assessment.

According to the inspectorate, Penny Market also used price tags that created a false impression of a discount, for example in a store in Veselí nad Lužnicí, where a cube with a promotion label hung above the shelves as well.

Fines are not a deterrent

Ondřej Zelenka, chairman of the Consumer Protection Association, believes the size of the fines clearly does not deter the chains. “If such violations keep recurring, it is fair to ask whether this way of presenting prices is profitable for some retailers despite the fines,” he said, pointing to the chains’ revenues: Kaufland, which has 149 stores in Czechia, had revenue of almost CZK 80 billion last year and a net profit of CZK 3.19 billion.

The discount rules have been the same across the EU for three years: a seller must state the lowest price from the 30 days before the discount and calculate the discount from it. In practice it is often different: the previous price is missing or printed in small type. Retailers have given up some of the tricks, but the maximum fine for a chain for unfair practices is CZK 5 million; ČOI applied it for the first time in the second quarter of this year, fining Penny Market.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz