Amendments to the Law on Trade submitted to the Croatian Parliament

A law on amendments to the Law on Trade has been sent to the Croatian Parliament, according to which shops would normally be closed on Sundays, and retailers could choose 16 Sundays during the year on which to work. The amendments propose that the working hours of the sales facilities be determined by the retailer, who has a maximum fund of 90 hours to allocate between Monday and Saturday, and that the sales facilities be mostly closed on Sundays and holidays.

The draft law foresees 16 weeks of the year that are working, and on which weeks the sales facilities will be open, which would be determined by the retailer himself in accordance with his needs, seasonality, micro-location, and other factors that influence the individual assessment of the need for a working week.

In the week in which the retailer designates a working Sunday, another 15 hours are added for a duration of up to 90 hours, totaling 105 hours, which the merchant allocates independently from Monday to Sunday.

Exceptions to the general rule have also been proposed. Thus, exceptionally, on Sundays and holidays, sales facilities that are located inside or are an integral part of "railway and bus stations, air and ferry ports, ports of inland navigation of ships, airplanes, and ferries for the transport of people and vehicles, gas stations, hospitals, hotels, areas of cultural and religious institutions and other cultural subjects, museums, visitor centers, i.e., interpretation centers, nautical marinas, camps, and family farms, declared protected nature areas in accordance with special regulations."