Anchor prices in Croatia, 2026: what do you actually need to do?

What is an anchor price?

Put simply, it is a past price displayed alongside today's price for the same product or service.

For products and services newly covered by the measure, the reference date is 10 September 2026. The price in effect on that day is used, excluding special sales arrangements.

Products already covered by the earlier decision, such as food, drinks and certain hygiene and household goods, retain the reference date of 2 May 2025.

Suppose a service cost €25 on 10 September and later rises to €28. The display could look like this:

What if the product or service was not available then?

Suppose you introduce a service on 20 September. It had no price on 10 September, so do not invent one for that date.

According to Ministry guidance, for products and services first introduced after 10 September, the additional price is the price applied when first offered for sale, with its date clearly stated.

Keep the first price list and launch date. Changing an existing product's name, code or catalogue number does not automatically make it a new product.

What if the price has not changed?

The additional price must still be displayed. The Ministry clarified that an identical amount does not remove the obligation. If a service cost €25 on 10 September and still costs €25, the display could look like this:

It may look repetitive, but it tells the customer that the price has not changed. Both amounts are also displayed when the price has fallen. An anchor price does not, in itself, prohibit future price changes.

Does this apply to small trade businesses too?

The measure applies to sellers of goods and providers of services to consumers, whether they operate as a company, a registered trade, an independent practice or another business form. Do not assume that being small or working alone makes you exempt.

For individual quotes and services priced to customer specifications, check the components used to calculate the final price. Consult your accountant or request official guidance on the specifics of your activity.

Where should both prices appear?

At the point of sale or service, the additional price must be clearly visible and legible alongside the current price.

Review advertisements that include prices, too. The decision covers leaflets, posters and digital advertising, including websites. If the same offer appears in several places, check each one.

What if your website already has a price list?

This can be confusing. Many websites have a PDF, a photo of a price list or a neatly designed service page.

Retailers and service providers with their own website are also required to publish a price list in CSV or XML format suitable for automated processing. A PDF, photo or ordinary on-page price list does not replace that file.

The Ministry clarified that this also covers websites used solely for information or presentation. An online shop needs a separate CSV or XML price-list file, even if product prices are already visible in the shop.

Update requirements differ:

• Retailers: update once each working day, by 8 am for that day.
• Service providers: update whenever a price changes, by 8 am on the day the change takes effect.
• Previously published price lists must remain publicly available for at least 30 days.
• The price list must be in CSV or XML format and available for automated retrieval.

Can you temporarily close your website while updating it?

This question arose immediately after the new rules were published. Neither the decision nor the Ministry's subsequent guidance identifies temporary website closure as a specific exemption from publishing a digital price list.

The Ministry states that the obligation covers retailers and service providers with an established website, including information-only or presentation sites. Replacing an existing site with “Temporarily unavailable” should therefore not be presented as a safe way to avoid the requirement.

If the website is briefly unavailable for technical updates, check the additional price display and digital price list before reopening it. If a business intends to rely on complete or prolonged removal of its website as grounds for not publishing a price list, requesting an official interpretation for its specific circumstances is sensible.

Do you have to build a website because of this?

No. The digital price-list obligation covers businesses that already have an established website. The new rules do not themselves require you to create one just to publish a price list.

According to Ministry guidance, a social media profile such as Facebook or Instagram does not count as an established website for this requirement.

What should you do first?

Start with the information you already have. Find the price list that applied on the reference date and keep evidence of those prices. Then review your premises, website, PDFs and current advertising.

Agree on who prepares the data, who checks it and who updates the website. Set this out now, so the next price change does not leave responsibilities unclear.

For the website, we suggest a simple display: the current price, a clearly labelled reference price and readable text that works on mobile. Visitors should understand it without opening extra explanations.

Keep an eye on further announcements

Both decisions now take effect on 17 November 2026. The postponement did not change the reference dates. Draft regulations were published in October, so check the final adopted rules before applying them. Proposed exemptions and simplifications are not the same as exemptions in force.