Act of 22 October 2026 – BGBl. 2026 I No. 314: With the Act Amending Price Indication Law to Sanction Breaches of National and European Rules on Price Indications, the federal legislature has promulgated amendments to price indication law. The Act was executed on 19 October 2026 and published in the Bundesgesetzblatt (BGBl., Federal Law Gazette) on 22 October 2026.
Legislative amendment in price indication law
The Act concerns key provisions of price indication law and serves to secure certain price indication obligations through administrative fines. The lead responsibility lay with the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy). The regulatory area is assigned to the fields of general price regulations and the foundations of price law, as well as certain ancillary criminal statutes.
The starting point of the legislative procedure was the government draft of 11 May 2026. The draft was prepared by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie. In its 1065th session on 8 May 2026, the Bundesrat (Federal Council), pursuant to Art. 76 para. 2 GG (Basic Law), raised no objections to the bill.
The first reading in the Deutscher Bundestag (German Federal Parliament) took place on 21 May 2026. The Economic Affairs Committee of the Bundesrat considered the Act in the second round on 10 September 2026.
Fine framework for breaches of price indication obligations
Enforcement by the Länder price authorities
A key element of the new rules is the creation of administrative fine offences in the Preisangabengesetz (PAngG, Price Indication Act). The objective is to enable the price authorities of the Länder to prosecute breaches of national and European requirements on price indications as administrative offences.
In particular, the rules covered include requirements connected with Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure. This Regulation is referred to as AFIR. Among other things, it contains requirements regarding price and fee information at publicly accessible charging points.
Fine of up to EUR 100,000
For the offences under § 3 para. 1 and 2 PAngG, the new fine framework provides for an administrative fine of up to EUR 100,000 pursuant to § 3 para. 3 PAngG. According to the explanatory memorandum to the draft, this framework is modelled on comparable fine provisions in the Telekommunikationsgesetz (Telecommunications Act).
The previous blanket fine provision for price indications in § 3 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 2 of the Wirtschaftsstrafgesetz 1954 (Economic Offences Act 1954) is being deleted. In future, the administrative fine provision will be included in § 3 para. 1 PAngG. § 3 para. 2 PAngG subjects breaches of Art. 5 AFIR to administrative fines.
According to specialist reporting, the Act creates three administrative fine offences in the Price Indication Act. These include, among other things, cases of missing, incorrect or incomplete price or fee information at charging points from 50 kW upwards.
Significance of the AFIR for charging points
Price indications before the charging process begins
The practical background to the new rules is the European requirements on price transparency at publicly accessible charging points. Since April 2024, the AFIR has required newly commissioned fast-charging points with a capacity of more than 50 kW to indicate the price per kilowatt hour and any time-based price components before the charging process begins.
The new rules in national price indication law are intended to make it possible to bring breaches of these requirements within the scope of administrative fines. This anchors the enforcement of European price indication obligations in national administrative offence law.
Price Indication Ordinance is also amended
Art. 3 of the Act amends the Preisangabenverordnung (Price Indication Ordinance). The official version of the Price Indication Ordinance records the amendment by Art. 3 of the Act of 19 October 2026, BGBl. 2026 I No. 314.
According to the explanatory memorandum to the draft, the provisions of the Price Indication Ordinance on price indications at publicly accessible charging points are to be adapted to the scope of application of the AFIR in a separate, subsequent regulatory project. This adaptation must therefore be distinguished from the amendment promulgated here.
Legislative competence and subject matter of the regulation
In the legislative materials, legislative competence is based on Art. 74 para. 1 no. 11 GG in conjunction with Art. 72 para. 2 GG. For the rules on administrative offences, Art. 74 para. 1 no. 1 GG is relied upon.
The new rules concern in particular the following points:
- Deletion of the previous blanket fine provision in § 3 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 2 of the Wirtschaftsstrafgesetz 1954;
- New regulation of price indication obligations subject to administrative fines in § 3 para. 1 PAngG;
- Administrative fines for breaches of Art. 5 AFIR through § 3 para. 2 PAngG;
- Fine framework of up to EUR 100,000 pursuant to § 3 para. 3 PAngG;
- Amendment of the Preisangabenverordnung by Art. 3 of the Act.
Classification for companies and market participants
The amendments affect companies that must observe price indication requirements vis-à-vis consumers or other market participants under the relevant provisions. The new rules have particular practical relevance for operators of publicly accessible charging infrastructure, insofar as price and fee information must be provided under the AFIR.
According to the available information, the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (Federation of German Consumer Organisations) supported the proposed high fines. At the same time, criticism was voiced that the draft did not contain clear criteria for when prices are to be classified as reasonable and non-discriminatory. This assessment concerns the discussion surrounding the design and practical application of the requirements.
Publication in the Federal Law Gazette
The Act was published in the Bundesgesetzblatt 2026 Part I No. 314. The notice states 22 October 2026 as the publication date and 19 October 2026 as the execution date.
The publication also contains information on the electronic regulatory text. For retrieval of the PDF document, a hash checksum is provided, which can be used to verify the integrity of the download. The checksum displayed must match the downloaded file.
Competition law relevance of price indications
Price indications are not only significant from a regulatory perspective; they can also play a role in competition between companies. Incorrect, incomplete or improperly presented price indications can lead to disputes in the market, particularly where statutory information obligations are affected.
MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte advises companies, investors and high-net-worth individuals on issues of competition law and related areas of business law. Anyone with legal questions concerning price indications, market conduct or competition law risks can find further information at Legal advice in competition law.
