Only 3.79 percent of commercial companies in Croatia are involved in the Code of Ethics

Did you know that only 3.79 percent of commercial companies are involved in the Code of Ethics? It seems like people do not want government calculators! When establishing the euro, local companies mostly disregarded almost anything that the state institutions tried that wasn't required by law. There is no demand for the Code of Ethics sticker; only three businesses continue to participate in the Price Movement application, and even citizens did not ask for more calculators after 60,000 were distributed mostly in silence. Secret shoppers funded by the state through several consumer protection associations were not particularly effective either.

As of March 1, 2023, just 1,046 businesses had signed up for the Code of Ethics, of which 172,438 are active in addition to being registered, with 27,579 of those businesses falling under the trade sector. This represents 3.79 percent of corporations that are registered for trade, or 0.6% of active enterprises. Access to the Code became available on August 16, 2022; by mid-September, 889 companies had already submitted applications; however, only 157 more did so after that. This leads to the conclusion that the businesses did not see the adoption of the Code of Ethics as beneficial to their operations.

By adhering to the Code of Ethics, an organization is promising to uphold its seven guiding principles, which include the pledge to refrain from unjustified price increases, to inform employees about the specifics of the euro's introduction, to fairly inform customers about the event through advertisements and promotions, and to correctly recalculate prices. After the launch of the euro in January, certain products saw significant price increases, which prompted the State Inspection to reach a settlement with business owners and fully disregard the Code of Ethics.

Up until December 31, 2023, all prices in Croatian retail must be displayed dually, both in euros and in kuna. To do this, the price in euros must be multiplied by a fixed conversion rate of 7.53450, and the corresponding amount in kuna must then be rounded up to two decimal places using mathematical rounding rules. By the end of the year, the Code of Ethics will be updated, although it is highly doubtful that businesses will find it useful for their operations.

You can find the mentioned Code of Ethics here.