Act 27,545, the so-called Supermarket Gondolas Act (published in the Official Gazette on March 17, 2020), states, in its section 1st, that its aims are the following:
a) Contribute to the transparency and competitiveness of the price of food, beverages, personal care and household cleaning products, for the benefit of consumers;
b) Maintain harmony and balance among economic operators reached by the Act, with the purpose of avoiding business practices that damage or imply a risk for competition or cause distortions in the market;
c) Expand the supply of national handcrafted and/or regional products manufactured by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MIPYMES) and protect their performance; and
d) Boost through a special regime the supply of products of the family agriculture, peasant and indigenous sector, defined by section 5th of Act 27,118, and popular economy, defined by section 2nd of the Annex to the decree 159 dated March 9, 2017, and the products generated from cooperatives and/or mutual associations under the terms of Acts 20,337 and 20,321.
To achieve the aim declared in subsection a) of its section 1st, the Supermarket Gondolas Act sets forth – among other several measures -, in its section 7th, a set of rules for the display of products that must be complied with in the gondolas of the establishments of the “parties reached by the Act”, pursuant to section 3rd of said Act.[1] and [2]
The regulation set forth in subsection c) of the above said section 7th provides that in the gondolas the lower-priced products, according to the unit of measure, shall be placed at an equidistant height between the first and the last shelf. Because it is assumed that in said position they will be easily visible for consumers.
The Resolution of the Secretariat of Domestic Trade 485/2021, published in the Official Gazette on 5/12/21, regulates the rule of section 7th, subsection c) of the Supermarket Gondolas Act on providing for, in the first place, in its section 1st, that for the purposes of said section c), it shall be understood as lower-priced products those that, pursuant to the unit of measure, contain the lowest list price offered to the final consumer of a non-temporary nature.[3]
Next, in its section 2nd[4], Resolution 485 determines that the products reached by the display rule set forth in subsection c) of section 7th – which it considers essential and leading products of the basic food basket -, for its commercialization in on-site retail sales shops, are the forty-three (43) products detailed in the list contained in its Annex I; namely:
| Category | Type of Product |
| Milks | Fresh Milks |
| Milks | Long-life Milks |
| Creams, butters and margarines | Butters |
| Cream cheeses and ricottas | Cream cheeses |
| Dairy desserts and yoghurts | Drinkable yoghurt |
| Dairy desserts and yoghurts | Non-drinkable yoghurt |
| Fresh doughs and yeasts | Pastry sheets |
| Fresh doughs and yeasts | Pastry sheets for “empanadas” |
| Sauces and dressings | Mayonnaise |
| Preserves and tomato sauces | Tomato puree |
| Preserves and tomato sauces | Can of tomatoes |
| Dry pasta | Dry pasta |
| Rice | Rice |
| Dried leguminous vegetables, other flours, grains and seeds | Corn flour |
| Oils | Sunflower oil |
| Breadcrumbs and batters | Breadcrumbs and batters |
| Wheat flour and premixtures | Wheat flour |
| Bakery products and cereals | Packaged breads |
| Cookies | Crackers |
| Infusions | Yerba Mate |
| Marmalades, jams and honey | Marmalades, jams and jellies |
| Milk jam (Dulce de leche) | Milk jam (Dulce de leche) |
| Sweeteners | White sugar |
| (Non-refrigerated) waters | Non-carbonated water |
| Body splashes and body deodorants, pedic powders and foot powders | Deodorants and antiperspirants |
| Toilet soaps, shower gels and bath salts and toiletries | Toilet soap |
| Shampoos, conditioners, hair sprays and hair treatment products | Shampoo |
| Facial care and pharmacy products | Conditioner |
| General care | Cottons |
| Disposable diapers and underwear | Toothpaste |
| Disposable diapers and underwear | Baby diapers |
| Menstrual hygiene management products, incontinence pads and maternal care products | Adult diapers |
| Menstrual hygiene management products, incontinence pads and maternal care products | Sanitary towels |
| Soap powders, liquid soaps and fabric softeners | Panty liners |
| Soap powders, liquid soaps and fabric softeners | Soap powder |
| Soap powders, liquid soaps and fabric softeners | Liquid laundry soaps |
| Bleaches | Softeners |
| Dishwashing detergents | Liquid bleach except bleach for clothing |
| Floor and furniture cleaners | Dishwashing detergent |
| Insecticides and repellents | Floor cleaners |
| Papers | Toilet paper |
| Papers | Kitchen rolls |
As regards the products listed above which, as we have said, qualify as essential and leading products of the basic food basket, Resolution 485/2021, in its section 3rd[5], sets forth the obligation of the “parties reached by the Act” to provide an identification that stands out from the other, so that they are easily seen by consumers, by means of a strip added perpendicular to the gondola, with the legend “LOWER PRICE per unit of measure. Act 27,545”.
In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and waste of jurisdictional activity it would have been desirable, in our opinion, that, besides establishing the way in which the strip must be placed – perpendicular to the gondola – its minimum measures and other features that the Enforcement Authority intends for them should have been set, instead of using the words “… that stands out …”, absolutely subjective and that, certainly, may generate unnecessary controversies with the “parties reached by the Act” for this obligation.
Finally, Resolution 485 sets forth that for the compliance with subsection c) of Section 7th of the Supermarket Gondolas Act and according to the provisions contained in its section 2nd[6], a display criterion shall be followed with the disposal and grouping of products of the same category vertically, contemplating to such end the placement of the lower-priced products in the middle shelf of the gondola and equidistant from its ends.
Equidistance of the ends of the gondola was not a requirement set forth by Act 27,545, which merely provides that said products must be placed at an equidistant height between the first and the last shelf of the gondola.
This new imposition of the Enforcement Authority certainly is due to the assumption that in said position – equidistant also from the ends of the gondola, which seems to me pure pleasure for symmetry[7] – said products of less value will be easily visible by consumers.
Since its effective date has not been determined, Resolution 485/2021 will be in force on May 20, 2021, eight (8) days as from its official publication.[8]
[1] Notwithstanding the provision of section 3rd of Act 27,545, the definition of “parties reached by the Act” that must comply with its provisions was – let’s say – regulated by Resolution of the Secretariat of Domestic Trade 110/2021 (published in the Official Gazette on 1/28/21). Pursuant to said Resolution, the “parties reached by the Act” are the on-site sales shops having a commercialization surface equal or greater than eight hundred square meters (800 m2). The regulation provides that the commercialization surface area is considered the on-site sales space of the products, including from the checkout line for the display in gondolas, display stands, display shelves next to the checkout lines and exclusive freezers, as well as the space for the circulation and access of consumers. The spaces for the exclusive use of the establishment’s personnel, warehouses of goods, gondolas and display stands that contain products not included in Section 3rd of the Resolution and every space forbidden to the access of consumers are exempted from the commercialization surface area.
[2] The foregoing, pursuant to section 1st of said Resolution 110, “SECTION 1ST.- It is set forth that the parties reached by Section 3rd of the Supermarkets’ Gondolas Act N° 27,545, that own retail sales showrooms with a commercialization surface area equal or bigger than EIGHT HUNDRED square meters (800 m2), for the products included in Section 3rd of this resolution, are obligated to comply with the provisions of said Act. The on-site sales space of the products included in Section 3rd of this resolution shall be considered the commercialization surface area, included from the checkout line for the display in gondolas, display stands, display shelves next to the checkout lines and exclusive freezers, as well as the space for the circulation and access of consumers. The spaces for the exclusive use of the establishment’s personnel, warehouses of goods, gondolas and display stands that contain products not included in Section 3rd of this resolution and every space forbidden to the access of consumers are exempted from the commercialization surface area.”
[3] The regulation clarifies that for its determination those products which lower list price is the result of offers, reductions or temporary discounts or discounts related to certain payment systems or memberships must not be considered.
[4] SECTION 2ND. – The products reached by the display rule set forth in subsection c) of Section 7th of the Supermarket Gondolas Act N° 27,545 are fixed for their commercialization in on-site retail sales shops, pursuant to the list contained in Annex I, which as IF-2021-41IF-2021-41532782-APN-SSADYC#MDP, forms an integral part of this resolution.
[5] SECTION 3RD.- The mandatory display in the on-site retail sales shops of a strip perpendicular to the gondola that stands out and contains the legend “LOWER PRICE per unit of measure is provided for the products included (sic) in Annex I of this measure, Act 27,545”
[6] SECTION 4TH – For the compliance with subsection c) of Section 7th of the Supermarket Gondolas Act N° 27,545 and pursuant to the provisions contained in Section 2nd of this resolution, a display criterion shall be followed with the disposal and grouping of products of the same category vertically, contemplating to such end the placement of the lower-priced products in the middle shelf of the gondola and equidistant from its ends.
[7] “Symmetry”, for those who do not remember it, means, pursuant to the Dictionary of the Spanish language, in its third definition: “3. f. Geom. Exact correspondence in the regular disposal of the parts or points of a body or figure in connection with the center of an axis or plan.”
[8] In accordance with section 5th of the Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation: “SECTION 5TH.- Effectiveness. The laws govern after the eighth day of their official publication, or as from the date specified by them.”