law on trade - libertas

Unofficial translation: Technical Assistance to Draft Trade Laws 1

LAW ON TRADE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 This law regulates the conditions and manners of performing trade activities on the internal and external market, measures for restriction of performing trade activities and protection measures.

Article 2 Trade, in terms of this law, is purchasing and selling goods, as well as performing trade services. Trade activities can be performed by legal and natural persons registered to perform such activity in the appropriate register according to law (hereafter referred to as: trader).

Article 3 As exception from the provisions of article 2, paragraph 2 of this Law, the provisions of this law shall respectively apply to:

- legal and natural persons registered to carry out production, who sell their products on the market;

- state authorities, municipalities and the City of Skopje, and legal and natural persons performing public authorisations, which, for the purpose of carrying out their tasks, purchase and dispose of particular goods in accordance with law; and

- natural and legal persons registered or recorded for performing agricultural activities, if they sell their products on the market.

Article 4

The trader shall perform the trade activity freely and under equal conditions on the market, in a way that is not restricting the competition, does not cause damage to the consumers and to environment and health of people, and is in accordance with the law, international treaties and agreements ratified by the Republic of Macedonia, and good business practices.

Article 5 The measures and actions taken by state authorities, bodies of the municipalities and the City of Skopje or legal and natural persons performing public authorisations cannot restrict the trader’s right of free access to the market, prevent the competition or place certain traders into unequal position, except in cases provided by law.


II. PERFORMING TRADE

Common provisions

Article 6

Trade can be performed as wholesale, retail, e-commerce, door to door trade, or as provision of services in trade.

Wholesale and retail trade shall be performed in organised business premises (hereafter referred to as: stores), storerooms, warehouses and business locations.

Article 7 Only wholesale trade may be performed on wholesale markets, and only retail

trade may be performed on the retail markets.

Article 8 Wholesale trade may not be performed in front of the storerooms, warehouses and

business locations. Retail trade and provision of trade services may be performed in front of the

stores or business locations, if there is an approval granted on the basis of a decision of the council of the municipality or the City of Skopje.

Wholesale Trade

Article 9

Wholesale trade, in terms of this law, is purchasing goods for their further sale to traders, refiners, and large consumers in the country and abroad, regardless if the good is sold in an unchanged or in a changed condition after the processing, refining or finishing process.

Large consumers shall be considered to be the trade companies, other legal and natural persons who use the purchased goods for performing their activity.

Article 10

Wholesale trade is performed in storerooms, in warehouses for wholesale, on the wholesale markets, as well as in other business locations that fulfil the conditions stipulated by the law and other regulation.


Retail Trade

Article 11 Retail trade, in terms of this law, is selling goods to the final consumers. Trade of goods to the final consumers shall be considered to be the trade of the

goods for personal consumption and the trade of goods for the needs of the households.

Article 12 Retail trade is performed in stores (department stores, self-service stores etc.) or

in business locations in front of them, if the conditions prescribed with law and other regulation for such sale method are fulfilled.

Retail trade of oil derivatives is performed at gas stations, under the conditions prescribed with law and other regulation.

Trade on the green markets

Article 13 Wholesale and retail trade of agricultural products shall be performed on the

green markets, under the conditions stipulated with law and other regulation. Wholesale and retail trade of other goods may be performed on specially

organised parts of the green markets, under the conditions stipulated with law and other regulation.

The goods under paragraph 2 of this article shall be determined by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia (hereafter referred to as: Government) on proposal of the Minister of Economy.

The Council of the municipality or of the City of Skopje shall further define the goods under paragraph 3 of this Article that may be sold on the specially organized parts of the green markets.

Article 14 The trader who is organising green markets where wholesale and retail trade is

performed under the conditions stipulated with law and other regulation, shall rent the sale spots only to traders or craftsmen who are registered in the appropriate register, agricultural producers registered or recorded in accordance with Law, persons who are engaged in agriculture, as well as persons who are employed or retired, but are not performers of agricultural activity.

The working time of the green markets where wholesale and retail trade is performed shall be determined by the council of the municipality or of the City of Skopje.

The trader under paragraph 1 of this article is obliged to establish and post the market rules and to abide by the market rules and the working time determined in paragraph 2 of this article.


Article 15

Retail trade of second hand motor vehicles, second hand spare parts for vehicles,

agriculture tools, livestock, poultry, (equipment and feed), woods for heating, woods for construction materials and second hand objects may be performed on the specially organised markets, under the conditions stipulated with law and other regulation.

Special methods of performing trade

Article 16

Special methods of performing trade shall be considered performing trade on the

specially organised markets, sale by post, sale at kiosks, sale by automates, sale by television, internet sale, mobile street sellers, sale on organised fairs, sale from door to door, commercial exhibitions, exhibition halls, trading fairs and sales organised for charity or sport purposes.

The sale of goods at the kiosks, automates and sale by mobile street sellers may be performed only on the places designated with a decision of the council of the municipality or of the City of Skopje.

The trade under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article shall be performed according to the conditions stipulated with law and other regulation.

Public sale and auction sale

Article 17 Wholesale and retail trade may also be performed through public and auction sale. The public sale and the auction sale under paragraph 1 of this article shall be

performed by public announcement of the place and time of performing public and auction sale.

The public and auction sale may be permanent or temporary. The conditions for organising a public and auction sale, the inventory of the

products which are compulsory to be sold on a public or auction sale, the manner of operation and the sale procedure for public and auction sale shall be determined by the Government, upon proposal of the Minister of Economy.

E-commerce

Article 18 E-commerce is a special manner of performing wholesale and retail trade by a

contract. E-commerce shall be organised by the trader for the purpose of sale by certain means of communication, under the conditions stipulated with law and other regulation.


Services in trade

Article 19

Trade services, in terms of this law, shall be considered: agency and

representation services, services on the stock-exchange, commission services, services for storage of goods, transport services, services for control of quantity and quality of goods, economic propaganda services, organising fairs and commercial exhibitions, services on the wholesale and retail market, market research, renting booths, stalls etc. in organised business premises for performing retail trade.

Door to door sale

Article 20

Retail trade may be performed from door to door, based on the conclusion of

contracts between the trader who is registered to perform sale from door to door, and the consumer.

The Government shall determine the products that may be sold from door to door. The Minister of Economy shall stipulate the manner of performing the sale of the

products under paragraph 2 of this article. The direct door-to-door sellers may be independent commercial agents,

distributors, employed or self-employed representatives, for which they are required to possess an identity card (hereafter referred to as: performers of trade from door to door) issued by the trader under paragraph 1 of this article, in order to make presentation to the consumer.

III. CONDITIONS FOR PERFORMING TRADE

Article 21 The goods that are placed into circulation need to correspond to the physical-chemical and organoleptic characteristics, to be packaged, declared, designated or marked, in accordance with law.

The goods need to conform to the prescribed technical requirements, complemented with documents specified in the technical regulations with ensured servicing, spare parts without which the products cannot be used for their purpose.

Article 22 The stores, storerooms, warehouses and business locations, green markets, special

wholesale and retail markets, and gas stations determined in articles 10, 12, 13 paragraph 1 and 2, article 15, 16 and 18 of this law, where wholesale and retail trade is performed,


shall fulfil the minimum technical requirements, as well as other requirements stipulated with law, depending on the type and manner of performing trade.

The Minister of Economy shall stipulate the minimum technical requirements under paragraph 1 of this Article.

Article 23

The trader is obliged to report to the State market inspectorate and to the

competent body of the municipality or of the City of Skopje the fulfilment of the conditions from article 22 of this law and the commencement of operations, at least 15 days before commencing the operation in the sale or other business facility.

The Minister of Economy shall prescribe the content and the form of the template for the application under paragraph 1 of this article.

Article 24

The retail trader may not sell alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to persons under 18

years of age. The trader is obliged to post, on a visible place in the sale facility, a sign with

dimensions 20x50 cm, with the following content: “sale of alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to persons under 18 years of age is prohibited”.

Working Hours

Article 25 The working hours of the stores, storerooms, warehouses, business locations and

gas stations shall be determined by the trader, depending on the number of employees. The duration and the schedule of the working hours that have been determined

independently by the trader need to be in compliance with the rights, obligations and responsibilities of the employees, arising from the labour relation determined with the law regulating labour relations, especially regarding the allocation of the working hours and overtime work, night work, holidays, annual vacation, and other absences from work, and in accordance with the restrictions determined in the regulations in the field of noise protection.

The stores located in collective residential buildings and business-residential buildings cannot start working before 6 a.m. or close after 12 a.m.

The stores may work until 5 p.m. on Sundays and state holidays.

Article 26 The municipalities and the City of Skopje shall keep records for the working

hours of the stores, storerooms, warehouses, gas stations and business locations operating on the territory under their competence.

The trader is obliged to report the hours and the schedule of working hours to the municipality or the City of Skopje and to the State labour inspectorate at least 15 days


before the commencement of the operation, or before the change is made in the hours and the schedule of working hours of the stores, storerooms, warehouses, gas stations and business locations.

In case of objective reasons which require closing of the stores, storerooms, warehouses, gas stations and business locations or changing of the working hours, and on which the trader can not have influence, he may stop operating, or change the working hours without fulfilment of the obligation from paragraph 2 of this article.

The trader is obliged to inform the competent body of the municipality or the City of Skopje and the State labour inspectorate about the reasons under paragraph 3 of this article, within five days from the day when he stopped operating.

The trader shall submit the application under paragraph 2 of this article on a template for determining the working hours and schedule of the working time.

The Minister of Economy shall prescribe the form and the content of the template for the application under paragraphs 2 and 5 of this article.

Article 27

The trader is obliged to post the working hours, as well as the telephone number

of the State Market Inspectorate from that area, on a visible place at the entrance of the stores, storerooms, warehouses, gas stations and business locations, and to abide by the posted working hours.

Keeping records

Article 28

The trader is obliged to keep records for purchase and wholesale and retail sale of

goods, as well as for providing trade services, in accordance with law and other regulations.

The records kept by the trader shall be maintained in the appropriate business premises where trade is performed, and shall be made available at all times to the competent inspection bodies.

The Minister of Economy, in agreement with the Minister of Finance, shall prescribe the form and the manner of keeping the records for wholesale and retail purchase and sale of goods, as well as for the wholesale and retail trade services.

Trade restrictions and prohibitions

Article 29

The Government may temporarily restrict the performance of trade in the

following cases: -natural and other disasters in the Republic of Macedonia, when serious

distortions in the trade, distortions in the supply to the population or distortions in other areas which endanger the life and health of the citizens occurred or might occur;


-serious distortion on the domestic market due to the shortage of goods which are indispensable for production, refining and for the life and health of the citizens;

-war or direct threat to the independence and integrity of the Republic of Macedonia

-for the purposes of insurance of the products, raw materials and reproductive materials which are of special strategic importance for the defence of the Republic of Macedonia.

The Government may prescribe the restrictions on performing trade in the cases under paragraph 1 of this article, only if the distortion cannot be eliminated by other measures, or if the needs can not be satisfied from the commodity reserves, from import or by other measures of the trade policy.

Article 30

In the cases stated in Article 29 paragraph 1 of this law, the Government may prescribe the following measures:

- restriction of the trade of certain goods, or special conditions for the trade of certain goods;

- determining the ceiling price for certain products and services in production and trade;

- restriction of the export or import of certain goods or prescribing special conditions for import or export of certain goods;

- prohibition for the traders to perform trade of certain goods; - obligation for the traders to obtain and sell certain types and quantities of

particular goods to the consumers, according to a certain prescribed order; - obligation for particular traders to store certain quantity and type of goods; - prohibition for using certain goods in the production of other goods. The trader is obliged to abide by the measures under paragraph 1 of this article.

IV. CONDITIONS FOR PERFORMING FOREIGN TRADE

Article 31 The foreign trade shall be performed freely, in accordance with the law,

regulations adopted on the basis of a law, and international agreements and treaties ratified by the Republic of Macedonia.

Conditions that the imported goods have to fulfil

Article 32

The trader is obliged, upon import of goods, to submit to the competent inspection

bodies, before the clearance procedure, evidence stating that: - the goods are conformed with the stipulated technical requirements, designated in

the stipulated manner and complemented with the documents determined in the


technical regulations, in accordance with the Law on technical requirements for products and conformity assessment,

- the prescribed conditions for the quality of goods are fulfilled, - the goods have appropriate declaration and instruction manual, written in

Macedonian language with Cyrillic letters on the original packaging, which does not prevent the possibility to simultaneously use other languages and signs easily understandable for the consumers;

- the goods fulfil the prescribed requirements for product quality regarding the physical-chemical and organoleptic characteristics, quantity, packaging, as well as the conditions for transport of the goods regarding the means of transport and the manner of transportation in accordance with the law.

Article 33

The goods for which special conditions for performing domestic trade are

stipulated with a law, may be imported only if the importer submits to the responsible customs authority evidence for fulfilment of the special conditions issued from the competent body determined with a law.

License for export and import of goods

Article 34

The export and import of particular goods may be performed on the basis of a license for:

- protection of the health and life of people; - protection of the public morale; - protection of plants, animals, seeding material, as well as other agricultural

products; - protection of the environment and physical planning; - goods that are exported and imported for the needs of the veterinary service; - goods which need to fulfil the prescribed metrological and other conditions; - import of final products and products that have not been used, for which a

confirmation for the performed examination and records of the technical documents complementing the product is required from the Institute of standardisation;

- goods that, for their export or import, require a license from the National Bank of Macedonia;

- export and import of historical and art goods; - export and import of particular precious metals, banknotes etc; - means for armament and war equipment intended for the needs of securing the

public safety and defence, and other goods. The goods that are exported and imported on the basis of a license issued by a

competent body, shall be specified by the Government on the proposal of the Ministry of economy.


The license for export and import of the means for armament and war equipment shall be issued by the Ministry of defence, or Ministry of interior.

V. PROTECTION MEASURES

Commission for protection measures in cases of increased and subsidised import

Article 35 The Government shall establish a Commission for protection measures in cases of increased and subsidised import (hereafter referred to as: Commission) in order to implement the measures for protection of the domestic production from increased and subsidised import. The Commission under paragraph 1 of this article is appointed by the Government upon a proposal of the Minister of Economy. The Commission is chaired by the Minister of Economy.

The Government shall prescribe the manner and procedure for operation of the Commission. The professional and administrative-technical matters for the needs of the Commission are performed by the professional department of the Ministry of Economy.

Measures for protection of the domestic production from increased import

Article 36 When, in a short period of time, the imports of certain goods are increased in quantity, absolutely or relatively in relation to the domestic production, and if this increase of imports seriously damages or represents danger of causing serious damage to the domestic production of the same or similar competitive goods, the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, shall take the appropriate protection measures (hereafter referred to as: measures) in order to remove the damages and the distortions occurring as a result of such imports. “Serious damage” in terms of paragraph 1 of this article shall mean considerable overall deterioration of the situation in the domestic production, and “danger of serious damage” shall mean serious damage that is obviously unavoidable.

“Domestic production” in terms of paragraph 1 of this article shall cover all producers that produce the same or similar products on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as producers whose joint production of the same or similar products represents the major part of the total domestic production of those products.

Prior procedure of the Commission

Article 37


The measures under article 36 paragraph 1 of this Law shall be applied to all imported goods, irrespective of the country of origin or country from which they are imported. The measures under article 36 paragraph 1 of this Law may be taken only if the reasons for the increased imports of certain goods and the serious damage, or the possibility of causing serious damage to the domestic production are proven in the procedure conducted by the Commission. If, when conducting the procedure under paragraph 2 of this article, it is determined that the serious damage to the domestic production resulted from reasons other than the increased imports of particular goods realised in the same period, the measures under article 36 paragraph 1 of this Law cannot be taken. The Commission, in the course of the procedure under paragraph 2 of this article, evaluates all the facts and evidence, and, especially, the situation in particular production sector, the total growth of imports of specific goods in absolute and relative amount, the situation in the domestic market resulting from the increased imports, the production capacity utilisation, the situation of the profit or loss, the impact of the increased imports on the employment in particular production sector, and other circumstances of relevance for the evaluation of the situation of the domestic production of those goods. In the course of the procedure, the Commission shall call all the interested parties (exporters, importers and others) to a public hearing where they can present their views and point to the need of taking protection measures. The Commission is obliged to act responsibly with the data collected in the procedure which are confidential for certain economic entities and must not be revealed without their consent. If it is deemed necessary for the conducting of the procedure, the Commission may request from the persons who deal with the confidential data to submit a short summary of the data which are not confidential, or explanation of those data, and if they refuse, they must give clarification and state the reasons for refusal. If the Commission deems that the request for confidentiality of the data is not grounded, and the concerned party does not want the data to be published at all or in a form of a short summary, the Commission may omit these data or may verify their accuracy from another source. The procedure and the manner of determining the protection measures in cases of increased imports shall be prescribed by the Government upon proposal of the Commission.

Interim measures for protection of the domestic production from increased imports

Article 38

In exceptional cases, when the postponement of undertaking the measures under article 36 of this law would cause serious damage to the domestic production that is difficult to remove, the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, may prescribe interim measures, if it preliminarily determines that there is certain evidence that the increased imports have caused serious damage or represent danger of causing serious damage to the domestic production.


As interim measures under paragraph 1 of this article, the Government, upon proposal of the Commission, may prescribe protection customs duties. The Customs Authority of the Republic of Macedonia is the body responsible for collecting the protection customs duties from paragraph 2 of this article. The interim measures under paragraph 1 of this article cannot continue more than 200 days. In this period the Commission is obliged to conduct the procedure under article 37 of this law. If it is determined in the course of the procedure that the increased imports do not cause serious damage or do not represent danger of causing serious damage to the domestic production, the payments made for protection duties shall be returned as soon as possible to the importers who paid those duties. The duration of the interim measures shall be calculated in the total duration of the measures under article 39 of this law.

Application of the measures for protection of the domestic production from increased imports

Article 39

The measures under article 36 of this law shall be applied only for the time period necessary to remove or prevent the occurrence of serious damage or to facilitate the adjustment of the domestic production, but not more than four years after the introduction of the measure. As an exception to paragraph 1 of this article, the duration of the measures may be extended if the Commission determines that they are further necessary to prevent the occurrence of serious damage or in case when the domestic production is in the process of adjustment. In that case the measure cannot be stricter than the previously prescribed measure. The Commission is obliged to monitor the effects from the measures under paragraph 1 of this article, and, when necessary, to propose to the Government their mitigation.

The overall period within which the measures under paragraph 1 of this article can be applied, including the period for the interim measures, cannot be longer than eight years as of the introduction or extension of the previously prescribed measures. When it is expected that the measures under article 36 of this law shall continue longer than one year, the Commission is obliged to propose to the Government to mitigate those measures in equal time intervals. If a measure is prescribed for a period of more than three years, the Commission is obliged, at the latest in the middle of that period, to determine their effects and evaluate whether there are conditions for their mitigation or cancellation.

Article 40 The protection measures for goods for which such measures have been prescribed before may be prescribed again after the expiration of a period corresponding to the period when those measures were in force, but in any case not before the expiration of two years after the termination of their validity.


As exception to paragraph 1 of this article, the measures with duration of 180 days or less may be prescribed under condition that at least one year has passed from the introduction of the previous protection measure and that measure has not been prescribed for the same goods more than twice in a five-year period.

Article 41

In case of introducing the measures under article 36 of this law, upon a request of the exporting country, the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, may propose to the Government of that country to grant certain trading compensation in order to remove the harmful consequences on that country due to the introduction or extension of the measures in the Republic of Macedonia. The Government shall not prescribe the measures under article 36 of this Law for imports of goods originating from the developing countries – members of the World Trade Organisation, insofar as the share of the imports of particular goods from these countries does not exceed 3% of the overall imports of those goods, under the condition that the common share of the developing countries – members of the World Trade Organisation, with imports share lower than 3%, does not exceed 9% of the total imports of those goods in the Republic of Macedonia.

Quantitative or value restrictions

Article 42

If the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, prescribes with the measures under article 36 of this law quantitative or value restriction of the imports of certain goods, the extent of those goods must not be less than the annual average import of those goods realised in the previous three years, except in cases when there is obvious justification for the necessity of different level of protection for the purpose of prevention of causing serious damage. If the allocation of the goods under paragraph 1 of this article is made among a number of countries, the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, may co-ordinate the manner of allocation of such goods and the share in the allocation with the member countries of the World Trade Organisation especially interested for export of such goods in the Republic of Macedonia. If it is determined that such allocation manner is inappropriate, the specified quantity of goods shall be allocated in appropriate parts of the exporting countries, according to their share in the total import of particular goods in Republic of Macedonia for a certain period of time, taking into consideration other significant circumstances that influence or may influence the imports of those goods. As exception from paragraph 2 of this article, the Government may change the manner of allocation of goods under paragraph 1 of this article, if:

- the import from certain member country of the World Trade Organisation is increased disproportionately in relation to the total increase of imports of particular goods in the specified period;

- there are justified reasons for concession; and


- the conditions for concession are equal for all member countries of the World Trade Organisation (suppliers) of those goods.

The duration of the measures under article 36 of this law may not be longer than the period defined in article 39 of this law, even when there is a danger of causing serious damage to the domestic production.

Measures for prevention of distortion of the payments balance

Article 43 If it is determined that the increased imports of particular goods may cause distortion of the payments balance of the Republic of Macedonia, the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, may introduce protection measures in the form of quantitative or value restriction of the imports of those goods.

Measures for protection of un-renewable natural resources

Article 44

If it is determined that the increased imports of particular goods cause serious damage or represent a danger of causing serious damage to the un-renewable natural resources of the Republic of Macedonia, the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, may introduce protection measures in the form of quantitative or value restrictions, provided that, at the same time, those measures restrict the trade of those goods in the Republic of Macedonia.

Article 45 The Government, upon proposal of the Commission, shall further prescribe the manner and the procedure of realisation of the measures under articles 36-44 of this law.

Measures against subsidised imports

Article 46 The Government, upon a proposal of the Commission, may prescribe compensatory duties for particular imported goods if:

- subsidies are granted in the production or the export of those goods in the country of origin or exporting country, except when there are subsidies against which the measures of this article cannot be taken, according to the international agreements ratified by the Republic of Macedonia;

- the imports of the subsidised goods cause damage or threaten to cause damage to the domestic production, or could slow down the economic development.


“Compensatory duty” in terms of this article shall mean a special duty that is charged for the purpose of neutralising any subsidy granted directly or indirectly for the manufacture, production or export of the goods.

“Subsidised import”, in terms of this article, shall exist when the goods imported in Republic of Macedonia are subject to direct or indirect aid in the production or export in the country of origin or the exporting country.

Article 47

The request for prescription of compensatory duties shall be submitted on behalf of all domestic producers of certain goods, or on behalf of those producers whose production represents a major part of the total production of those goods. The request is submitted to the Commission in writing. If the Commission determines that the request is submitted by the producers under paragraph 1 of this article or by a person authorised by them to submit the request, it shall conduct a procedure. Attached to the request under paragraph 1 of this article shall be the evidence relating to:

- existence of subsidy of certain goods and, if possible, its amount; - damage caused by such subsidy to the domestic production, as defined in article

VI of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) 1994; - the causal relationship between the subsidised import and the damage caused to

the domestic production. The Commission may initiate the procedure under paragraph 2 of this article without the written request by the damaged producers, if there is sufficient evidence regarding the subsidised import, the damage caused by that import to the domestic production, and the causal relationship between the subsidised import and the damage, that justifies the initiation of the procedure. The Commission, after conducting the procedure, shall determine whether all the conditions have been fulfilled for introduction of compensatory duties and shall determine the amount corresponding to the amount of the subsidy. The amount of the compensatory duty may be lower if it is sufficient to remove the damage caused to the domestic production. The compensatory duty shall be implemented until the damage caused to the domestic production is removed. The Commission, after certain period of time, shall reassess the necessity for further implementation of the compensatory duty, at its own initiative or at a request of an interested party if the latter proves the justification for reassessment of the compensatory duty. The procedure and the manner of determining the compensatory duty shall be prescribed by the Government, upon a proposal of the Commission. VI. SUPERVISION

Article 48


The supervision of the implementation of this law and the regulations adopted on the basis of this law shall be performed by the Ministry of Economy. The inspection supervision of the implementation of the provisions of this law shall be performed by the State Market Inspectorate, State Labour Inspectorate and other inspection and customs bodies, according to the authorisations specified with this and separate laws.

Article 49 If the state market inspector, in the course of the supervision, determines that the trader: 1. performs the trade activity without fulfilment of the stipulated minimum-technical conditions and other conditions stipulated with the law depending on the type and manner of performing the trade activity (article 22); and 2. does not keep the records for wholesale and retail purchase and sale of goods and for provision of trade services, specified with a law and other regulation (article 28) He shall adopt a decision for prohibition of performance of the activity and shall specify a time limit for removal of the irregularities determined in the findings of the inspector. If the irregularities have not been removed in the specified period, the inspector shall take a decision for prohibition of performance of the activity for duration of 90 days. If it is determined for the second time during the year that the conditions under article 22 of this Law are not fulfilled, the competent inspection body shall take a decision imposing to the trader prohibition for performance of the activity for a period of 180 days. The appeal against the decision under paragraph 1, 2 and 3 of this article may be submitted to the Minister of Economy. The appeal submitted against the decision under paragraph 1, 2, and 3 of this article does not suspend the enforcement of the decision.

Article 50 If the state market inspector in the course of the supervision determines that the trader:

1. performs trade and provides services in trade without being registered in the appropriate register (article 2 paragraph 2);

2. performs wholesale trade at the retail markets or performs retail trade at the wholesale markets (article 7);

3. performs wholesale trade in front of the storerooms, warehouses and business locations (article 8 paragraph 1);

4. performs retail trade and provides trade services in front of the stores or business locations, for which he has no approval from the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 8 paragraph 2);


5. on the green markets and specially organised parts of the green markets, performs wholesale and retail trade of other goods that are not specified by the council of the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 13 paragraph 4);

6. when organising a market, rents the sale spots to persons who are not registered or recorded in accordance with the law (article 14 paragraph 1);

7. on the specially organised markets, performs trade of goods that are not stated in article 15 of this law;

8. performs trade of goods at kiosks, automates and sale by street sellers on places that are not specified by the council of the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 16 paragraph 3)

9. does not publish the place and time of conducting public and auction sale (article 17 paragraph 2);

10. does not abide by the conditions for public and auction sale according to article 17 paragraph 4 of this law;

11. the door-to-door trader performs sale of products not specified by the Government (article 20 paragraph 2) and does not submit the records of the door-to-door sellers to the body responsible for public revenues on the territory of the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 20 paragraph 4);

12. puts into circulation goods that do not correspond to the physical-chemical and organoleptic characteristics, that are not packaged, declared, designated or marked in accordance with the law (article 21 paragraph 1);

13. the goods are not conformed to the stipulated technical requirements, complemented with the documents specified in the technical regulations with ensured servicing, spare parts without which the products may not be used for their purpose (article 21 paragraph 2);

14. sells alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to persons under 18 years of age (article 24 paragraph 1)

15. starts working in a collective residential building or business-residential building before 6 a.m. and does not close before 12 a.m. (article 25 paragraph 2);

16. works after 5 p.m. on Sundays and state holidays (article 25 paragraph 3); 17. does not keep records of the purchase and sale of goods and provision of trade

services in accordance with the law (article 28 paragraph 1); 18. does not abide by the measures (article 30 paragraph 2); and 19. performs import without license of goods stated in article 34 of this law,

He shall take a decision for prohibition of performance of the activity and shall specify a time limit for removal of the irregularities determined in the findings of the inspector, according to the law. If the irregularities have not been removed in the specified time limit, the inspector shall take a decision for prohibition of performance of the activity with duration of 90 days. In the cases under paragraph 1 items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, and 19, the state market inspector shall temporarily seize the objects-goods that are being traded. For the seizing of the objects-goods under paragraph 3 of this article, the state market inspector shall issue a certificate.


Regarding the objects-goods that are prone to spoiling, the state market inspector shall take actions for their sale, and the funds obtained from the sale shall be paid on the account of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia.

Appeal can be submitted against the decision under paragraph 1 of this article to the Minister of Economy.

The appeal against the decision under paragraph 1 of this article does not suspend the enforcement of the decision.

Article 51 If the trader does not report the fulfilment of the conditions under article 22 of this law and the commencement of operation of the sale and business facility, according to article 23 of this law, the state market inspector shall take a decision for prohibition of performing the activity and shall specify a time limit for reporting the fulfilment of the conditions under article 22 of this law. If the trader does not remove the irregularities within the specified time limit, the inspector shall take a decision for prohibition of performing the activity with duration of 90 days. Appeal against the decision under paragraph 1 and 2 of this article may be submitted to the Minister of Economy. The appeal against the decision under paragraph 1 and 2 of this article does not suspend its enforcement.

Article 52

If the trader does not comply the determining of the working hours with the number of employees in the stores, storerooms, warehouses, gas stations and business locations and with their rights, obligations and responsibilities arising from the labour relation determined with the law regulating labour relations, especially regarding the allocation of the working hours and overtime work, night work, holidays, annual vacation, and other absences from work, and in accordance with the restrictions determined in the regulations in the field of noise protection, in terms of article 25 of this law, the state labour inspector shall take a decision to specify a time limit within which the trader is obliged to comply the working hours in terms of article 25 paragraph 2 of this law.

If the trader does not remove the irregularities within the specified time limit, the state labour inspector shall take a decision for prohibition of performing the activity with duration of 90 days. If it is determined for the second time during the year that the trader does not abide by the decision under paragraph 1 of this article, the state labour inspector shall take a decision for prohibition of performance of the activity for a period of 180 days.

Appeal against the decision under paragraph 1 and 2 of this article may be submitted to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. The appeal against the decision under paragraph 1 and 2 of this article does not suspend its enforcement


Article 53

If the trader imports or exports goods without license, in terms of article 34 of this law, the state market inspector shall temporarily seize the objects-goods, until adoption of a decision by the competent court. For the seizing of the goods under paragraph 1 of this article, the state market inspector shall issue a certificate. Regarding the goods that are prone to spoiling, the state market inspector shall take actions for their sale, and the funds obtained from the sale shall be paid on the account of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia.

Article 54

If the state market inspector determines in the course of the supervision that the trader:

1. does not post the market rules and the working hours and does not abide by the market rules and the working hours (article 14, paragraph 3);

2. does not post, on a visible place in the sale facility, a sign in terms of article 24 paragraph 2 of this law; and

3. does not keep the records in the appropriate business premises, or in appropriate business premises where trade is performed, and does not make it available at all times to the competent inspection bodies (article 28 paragraph 2);

He shall take a decision ordering removal of the irregularities in a specified time limit. If the trader does not remove the irregularities within the specified time limit, the state market inspector shall take a decision for prohibition of performance of the activity for a period of 90 days.

Appeal against the decision under paragraph 1 and 2 of this article may be submitted to the Minister of Economy. The appeal against the decision under paragraph 1 and 2 of this article does not suspend its enforcement VII. PENALTY PROVISIONS

Article 55 The legal entity shall be fined for infraction with a fine amounting from 200,000.00 to

300,000.00 denars in cases when it: 1. performs trade without being registered in the appropriate register in accordance

with the law (article 2, paragraph 2); 2. performs wholesale trade at the retail markets or performs retail trade at the

wholesale markets (article 7); 3. sells alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to persons under 18 years of age (article 24

paragraph 1); 4. does not keep records for the wholesale and retail purchase and sale of goods, or

provision of trade services (article 28 paragraph 1),


5. the records are not kept in appropriate business premises where the trade is performed and are not made available at all times to the competent inspection bodies (article 28 and 2);

6. does not abide by the prescribed measures (article 30, paragraph 2); 7. performs export and import of goods without license, in accordance with article

34 of this law. For the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, the legal entity, in addition to the fine, shall be imposed a safety measure - prohibition of performance of trade activity for a period from two to four years.

The person responsible in the legal entity shall be fined for infraction for the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, with a fine from 20,000.00 to 50,000.00 denars.

For the actions under paragraph 1 items 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 of this article, the legal entity shall be imposed a safety measure – seizure of the temporarily seized objects-goods.

For the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, the person responsible in the legal entity, in addition to the fine, shall be imposed a safety measure prohibition of performance of responsible duty for a period from three months to one year.

Article 56

The legal entity shall be fined for infraction with a fine amounting from 150,000.00 to

250,000.00 denars in cases when: 1. it performs wholesale trade in front of the storerooms, warehouses and business

locations (article 8 paragraph 1); 2. it performs retail trade and provides trade services in front of the stores and

business locations, for which it has no approval from the council of the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 8 paragraph 2);

3. on the green markets and specially organized parts of the green markets, it performs wholesale and retail trade of other goods that are not specified by the council of the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 13 paragraph 4);

4. on the organised green markets where wholesale and retail trade is performed, it rents the sale spots to persons that are not registered in the appropriate register or recorded in accordance with the law (article 14 paragraph 1);

5. on the specially organised markets, it performs trade of goods not stated in article 15 of this law;

6. it does not abide by the conditions for conducting public and auction sale (article 17, paragraph 4);

7. it performs wholesale and retail door to door sale without conclusion of a contract with the consumer (article 20 paragraph 1);

8. it puts into circulation goods that do not correspond to the physical-chemical and organoleptic features, that are not packaged, declared, designated or marked in accordance with the law (article 21 paragraph 1);

9. the goods are not conformed to the stipulated technical requirements, complemented with the documents specified in the technical regulations with


ensured servicing, spare parts without which the products cannot be used for their purpose (article 21 paragraph 2);

10. it does not fulfil the stipulated minimum-technical requirements and other conditions stipulated with law depending on the type and manner of performing the trade activity (article 22 paragraph 1);

11. it does not abide by the provisions in paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 25 of this law; 12. it does not report the hours and the schedule of the working hours to the

municipality or the City of Skopje and to the State labour inspectorate, at least 15 days before the commencement of operations, or before the change of the hours and the schedule of the working hours of the stores, storerooms, warehouses, gas stations and business locations (article 26 paragraph 2);

For the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, the legal entity, in addition to the fine, shall be imposed a safety measure - prohibition of performance of trade activity, for a period from one to three years.

The person responsible in the legal entity shall also be fined for infraction for the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, with a fine from 20,000.00 to 50,000.00 denars.

For the actions under paragraph 1 items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 of this article, the legal entity shall also be imposed safety measure-seizure of the temporarily seized objects-goods.

For the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, the person responsible in the legal entity, in addition to the fine, shall be imposed a safety measure – prohibition for performance of responsible duty for a period from three months up to one year.

Article 57

The legal entity shall be fined for infraction with a fine from 50,000.00 up to 150,000.00 denars if:

1. it does not determine and post the market rules and the working hours of the green markets and does not abide by the market rules and the working hours (article 14 paragraph 3);

2. it performs trade of goods at kiosks, automates and trade by mobile street sellers on places that are not designated by a decision of the council of the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 16 paragraph 2);

3. it does not publish the place and time of conducting a public and auction sale (article 17 paragraph 2);

4. it performs door to door trade of products that are not specified by the Government (article 20 paragraph 2); the measures for trade restriction and prohibition (article 29);

5. the door to door trader does not have an ID card (article 20 paragraph 4); 6. it does not submit the records of the door to door sellers to the body responsible

for public revenues in the municipality or the City of Skopje (article 20 paragraph 5)

7. it does not report the fulfilment of the conditions from article 22 of this law and the commencement of operations to the State market inspectorate and to the competent body in the municipality or the City of Skopje, at least 15 days before


commencing the operation of the sale or other business facility (article 23 paragraph 1).

8. it does not post, on a visible place in the sale facility, a sign with dimensions 20x50 cm, with the following content: “sale of alcoholic drinks and cigarettes to persons under 18 years of age is prohibited” (article 24 paragraph 2);

9. the stores located in collective residential building and business-residential building start working before 6 a.m. and do not close before 12 a.m. (article 25 paragraph 3);

10. the stores work after 5 p.m. on Sundays and state holidays (article 25 paragraph 4);

11. in case of objective reasons it stops operating or changes the working hours in terms of article 26 paragraph 3 of this law, it does not inform the State labour inspectorate and the competent body of the municipality or the City of Skopje about the reasons within five days from the day when it stopped operating (article 26 paragraph 4);

12. it does not post the working hours and the telephone number of the State market inspectorate from that area on a visible place at the entrance of the stores, storerooms, warehouses, gas stations and business locations, and does not abide by the posted working hours (article 27).

For the actions under paragraph 1 item 2 of this article, the legal entity shall be imposed a safety measure seizure of the temporarily seized objects-goods. For the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, the person responsible in the legal entity shall be fined for infraction with the fine from 10,000.00 up to 50,000.00 denars. For the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, the state market inspector may charge on the spot a fine of 15,000.00 denars for the legal entity, and 7,000.00 denars for the person responsible in the legal entity.

Article 58

A natural person performing trade shall be fined for infraction with a fine from 30,000.00 up to 50,000.00 denars, for the actions under articles 55 paragraph 1, 56 paragraph 1, and 57 paragraph 1 of this law.

For the actions under article 55 paragraph 1 items 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7, and article 56 paragraph 1 items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9, a safety measure shall be imposed-seizure of the temporarily seized objects-goods. For the infraction under article 56 paragraph 1 of this law, the state market inspector may charge on the spot the natural person performing trade with a fine of 5,000.00 denars.

Article 59

If the infraction stipulated in article 55 paragraph 1 item 1 is committed by a person under 18 years of age, the parent or the guardian shall be fined with a fine from 2,000.00 up to 5,000.00 denars.


For the actions under paragraph 1 of this article, in addition to the fine, the parent or the guardian shall be imposed a safety measure– seizure of the temporarily seized objects-goods. VIII. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 60

The application of article 23 paragraph 1 of this law shall not relate to the trader who has commenced performing trade activity before the day of entry into force of this law.

Article 61

The trader who is organising wholesale and retail markets is obliged to comply the operation of the market within one year from the day of entering into force of this law.

Article 62

The trader is obliged, within three months from the day of entering into force of this law, to comply his operation with the provisions of article 32 paragraph 1 line 3 of this law.

Article 63

The Commission under article 35 of this law shall be appointed by the Government within a period of thirty days from the day of entering into force of this law. The regulations anticipated by this law shall be adopted within a period of three months from the day of entering into force of this law. Until the adoption of the regulations under paragraph 2 of this article, the existing regulations shall apply.

Article 64

The procedures that have been initiated and not completed until the entering into force of this law shall be completed in accordance with the regulations that were in force before the entering into force of this law.

Article 65

As of the day of entering into force of this law, the provisions from articles 57-a, 57-b, and 57-d of the Law on Foreign Trading Operations (“Official Gazette of Republic of Macedonia”, No. 31/93; 41/93; 78/93; 59/96; 15/97; 13/98; 13/99; 50/99; 82/99; 4/2001; 2/2002; 45/2002 and 31/2003) shall continue to be applied.


The provisions under paragraph 1 of this article shall be applied until the 31st December 2005.

Article 66

As of the day when this law shall enter into force, the Law on Trade (“Official Gazette of Republic of Macedonia” No. 23/95, 30/95, 43/95, 23/99, 43/99, 6/2002 and 38/2003), except article 24 which shall continue to be applied one year after the day of entering into force of this law, and the Law on Foreign Trading Operation (“Official Gazette of Republic of Macedonia”, No. 45/2002 and 31/2003) shall cease to be valid.

Article 67

This law enters into force on the eighth day after the day of its publication in the “Official Gazette of Republic of Macedonia”.

law on trade - libertas

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