Overview
- The Council of Ministers approved a royal decree-law amending the consumer protection law to allow temporary maximum prices for goods and services in emergencies.
- The ceiling matches the highest price in the 30 days before the emergency, or the 30‑day average plus 50% if the earlier peak exceeded that threshold.
- Only the Council of Ministers can activate the cap, specifying affected items, start and end dates, and the reference price, including for civil-protection emergencies or other exceptional events such as accidents or technical failures.
- Consumers charged above the limit are entitled to automatic refunds, and sellers may be required to publish the prior 30‑day average and maximum prices and to maintain the cap while abnormal demand persists.
- Targeted flexibility allows price rises only when justified by verifiable cost increases or to introduce new supply without expanding margins, with seasonal markets able to use last year’s comparable period adjusted by inflation.