Croatia has amended existing regulations with the goal of enabling easier opening of new stores without additional financial burdens in the short term, and to raise the quality of service at gas stations in order to develop tourism.
The amended "Regulations pertaining to sales facilities, equipment in stores and the conditions for sale of goods outside of stores" introduce several important changes.
They include the authorization of food sales in stores at gas stations; the use of shared storage for non-food items by more retail facilities of the same company at different locations, as well as the possibility that the storage area of wholesalers can be smaller than 50 square meters.
Another novelty is the authorisation of food sales through vending machines, even if the product is not in the original packaging. This rule regards vending machines that sell milk, eggs, oil and similar products, which should encourage the development of family farms.
The amendments also prescribe the minimum technical requirements for distance selling, such as over the internet. In this case, the trader must register a company or craft that is entered in the register of activities as "information society services". The Regulations define distance selling as "the offering of services and advertising products as well as other forms of individualised sales of goods and services to the customer, such as catalogues, TV sales, sales via mail, the internet, etc".
However, many local food producers believe that the amendments may bring some relief to the sector, but will not significantly increase profits. In their opinion, full implementation of the changes is unlikely before the economic situation in Croatia improves.
