Hungarian Webshops To Offer Delivery By Hungarian Post – Consumer Trading & Unfair Trading

From 28 March 2024, businesses operating in Hungary will be
required to offer services by the state-owned enterprise Hungarian
Post (“Magyar Posta”) as a delivery option for consumers
using their online stores. The text of the new provision is concise
and has raised several questions.

It is clear that the new provision will only apply to B2C
relationships, i.e. when the purchaser is a consumer. Every private
individual (including self-employed person) who acts outside the
scope of their profession or business activity is a consumer. The
new regulation also only applies to products that are not excluded
under Magyar Posta’s general terms and conditions
(“GTC”). For example, dangerous goods under the ADR are
excluded as well as hot meals prepared for delivery on the same
day, and all products that require continuous refrigeration
throughout their delivery.

The Government Decree that introduced the new rule does not
contain any official reasoning or explanation, nor has the
government published a justification for its adoption. The Ministry
of National Economy (the “Ministry”) and Magyar Posta
have both collected frequently asked questions on this topic and
provided some practical answers. However, as their publications are
not legally binding instruments, they can only serve as soft
guidelines when interpreting the new rule. For example, the
Ministry has stated that even though the scope of the Government
Decree covers businesses selling goods in Hungary in general, the
obligation only applies to deliveries dispatched from Hungary (e.g.
from a Hungarian warehouse) and does not apply where the goods are
dispatched from a state other than Hungary. This is due to the
scope of Magyar Posta’s GTC, which stipulate that it provides a
delivery service only for items posted in Hungary.

Magyar Posta has also published a guide for businesses on how
they may introduce Magyar Posta as a delivery option. Businesses
basically have two options. The first is to register on Magyar
Posta’s website and, in accordance with Magyar Posta’s GTC,
use its services on an ad hoc basis. These services do not include
the collection of the goods by Magyar Posta at the business’s
warehouse, but the business must take the goods to Magyar
Posta’s dispatch point first. The second option is to conclude
an agreement with Magyar Posta, which means that the business
probably needs to commit to a number of deliveries in exchange for
Magyar Posta collecting the goods from the business’s
warehouse.

Businesses operating online stores are now wondering whether
they are allowed to charge consumers a fee for the cost of
delivering the goods to Magyar Posta’s dispatch point, as the
additional cost seems to be commercially justified. According to
Magyar Posta, this is permissible if the consumer is informed in
advance about the costs incurred by the business and the fees of
Magyar Posta which are then passed on to the consumer.

Businesses are concerned about this significant regulatory
change, due to the potential imposition of additional costs and the
administrative burden associated with integrating the Magyar Posta
delivery option into their online stories. For businesses,
compliance with the new rule requires adjustments to logistics,
which can also potentially affect pricing strategies.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.