Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority

The Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Regulations protect weaker suppliers against unfair trading practices by stronger buyers in the agricultural and food supply chain.

If your business buys agricultural or food products, it is your legal obligation to ensure that your supply agreements are not breaking the law.

The Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority has the power to:

• conduct investigations following receipt of complaint or on its own initiative
• require buyers and suppliers to provide all necessary information
• carry out unannounced on-site inspections
• take decisions if infringement found, and require the buyer to bring prohibited trading practice to an end (compliance notice)
• initiate proceedings for the imposition of fines
• publish decisions following investigation

For more information, including guidance on the steps to take to ensure compliance, and to fill out a complaint form, visit the website of the Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority at www.utp.gov.ie.

The law against unfair trading practices bans 10 activities:

1. paying later than 30 days for perishable agricultural and food products

2. paying later than 60 days for other agricultural and food products

3. short-notice cancellations of perishable agricultural and food products

4. unilateral contract changes by the buyer

5. payment not related to a specific transaction

6. risk of loss and deterioration transferred to the supplier

7. refusal of written confirmation of a supply agreement by the buyer, despite request of the supplier

8. misuse of trade secrets by the buyer

9. commercial retaliation by the buyer

10. transferring the costs of examining customer complaints to the supplier

The law against unfair trading practices bans 6 other activities unless the parties agree clearly in an unambiguous manner beforehand:

1. buyer returning unsold products to the supplier without paying for those unsold products

2. payment by the supplier for stocking, display and listing

3. payment by the supplier for promotion

4. payment by the supplier for marketing

5. payment by the supplier for advertising

6. payment by the supplier for staff of the buyer, fitting out premises

If you are a supplier of agricultural or food products and feel you have been the subject of an unfair trading practice, send your complaint in confidence to the Enforcement Authority through our secure online complaint submission form.

You can also contact the Enforcement Authority in confidence via:

• email: utp@agriculture.gov.ie
• phone: +353 (01) 505 8607

Authorised officers in the Enforcement Authority will examine and, where required, investigate alleged complaints about traders and businesses trading unfairly in Ireland.

If the regulations have been breached, the Enforcement Authority powers range from issuing formal compliance notices, to initiating court proceedings for the imposition of fines.

If the matter goes to court and a trader is convicted, the court may issue a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both for a summary conviction. In the most serious cases, a fine of up to €500,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 3 years may be imposed.