Hungary

Relevant legislation or guidelines 

Hungarian Act on Unfair Commercial Practices against Consumers (Act 47 of 2008), in particular:

• Art 3 (Unfair commercial practices).
• Art 6 (Misleading commercial practices).

Hungarian Act on Competition (Act 57 of 1996), in particular:

• Art 2 (unfair commercial practices).
• Art 10 (Comparative advertisement).

The Hungarian Competition Authority issued a non-binding guideline on green claims.

Is there any upcoming relevant legislation or guidelines?

As of 28 May 2022 new provisions of the following legislation entered into force implementing the Omnibus Directive into Hungarian law:

• Act 155 of 1997 on Consumer Protection;
• Government Decree No. 45/2014. (II.26.) on detailed rules regarding contracts between consumers and businesses;
  Act 47 of 2008 on Unfair Commercial Praczises against Consumers;
• Joint Decree No. 4/2009 (I. 30.) on the detailed rules for the indication of the selling price and unit price of products and the fees for services;
• Government Decree No. 373/2021. (VI. 30.) on detailed rules for contracts between consumers and businesses for the sale of goods, supply of digital content and provision of digital services.

Who are the responsible authorities or bodies?

The Hungarian Consumer Protection Authority and Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal; HCA). The latter is responsible for breaches that have substantial effect on competition.

What are the enforcement measures?

The Hungarian Competition Authority may impose adverse legal consequences e.g. establishing the infringement, ordering the infringer to cease the infringement and publish certain communication/undertake commitments to remedy the infringement, or imposing a fine. The maximum amount of fine imposed by the Competition Authority is up to 10 % of net turnover.

Who can pursue infringements?

Any party affected by greenwashing (e.g. a consumer or a company) can submit a complaint to the HCA. The HCA may start investigations ex officio.

What are the general rules of thumb for green claims?

• Green claims must be direct and unambiguous, must be specific to a certain aspect of the product or production method and should not be general.
• A commercial communication must be in a clear and understandable language.
• Claims should be true and accurate, without exaggerating. In particular green claims and features that are required by legal provisions or guaranteed by law may not be construed as advantages or specialties.
• Claims must be backed by relevant evidence.

Do green claims need to be substantiated by evidence?

Yes, supporting evidence applies to sustainability and green claims as well. This, in practice means that all such claims and statements must be supported by relevant and up to date evidence specific to the claim such as authentic and reliable research studies or test results. In the guidelines published by the HCA on green claims it is highlighted that the evidence should already be available prior to publishing the claim. Further, if due to recent evidence a claim is no longer accurate, the information should either be corrected or no longer used. The same applies if the product or service is redesigned or changed with the result that the claim is no longer entirely correct.