What an online shop needs under Slovak law
For anyone who sells goods or services to consumers over the internet, including through Facebook, Instagram or a plain form on a website.
The law as at
8 obligations on this list can be checked by the website check straight from your address. No account needed.
We only read the public page you give us. We store nothing and change nothing.
Distance selling has stricter rules than selling in a physical shop, because the customer does not see the goods before buying. Most of the obligations are informational: something has to be stated on the website before the customer submits an order.
Since 1 July 2024, Act 108/2024 Coll. on consumer protection has applied. It replaced three pieces of legislation at once, including Act 102/2014 Coll. on distance selling. Guides and terms older than the summer of 2024 are out of date, even when they look fine at first glance.
Since 27 September 2026, amending Act 310/2025 Coll. has applied. It added information on liability for defects in a uniform format, on the durability guarantee, reparability, spare parts, updates and environmentally friendly delivery. For the durability guarantee, spare parts and updates, the obligation applies only when the producer, importer or provider of the digital content has made the information available to the trader.
The list below is ordered by what an inspection notices first. Each item states whether you can verify it with our free website check.
Checklist of obligations
16 items, 8 of which the free check reads straight from your website. The check does not cover the rest.
- The website check verifies this
Identification details of the seller
Business name, registered office or place of business, company ID number (IČO), telephone number and email address. A trader has to state them on the website itself, not only in the terms and conditions.
§ 5(1) of Act 108/2024 Coll., § 4 of Act 22/2004 Coll., § 3a of the Commercial Code
- The website check verifies this
Information before the order is submitted
The main characteristics of the product, the total price including taxes, delivery costs, the payment and delivery methods, the delivery period and the duration of the contract. In practice this is met most clearly by terms and conditions that are available before the order.
§ 5 and § 15 of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- The website check verifies this
Notice of the right to withdraw from the contract
The period, the conditions and the procedure, together with a model form. If the notice is missing, the withdrawal period is extended by up to 12 months, which is the most expensive of all the mistakes on this list.
§ 15(1)(f) and § 19 to § 22 of Act 108/2024 Coll., model form in Annex 3
- Cannot be verified from outside
A withdrawal function directly in the online interface
The law requires a button or form labelled with the words “odstúpiť od zmluvy tu” (withdraw from the contract here) or similar, clearly displayed and available throughout the whole period. Once it is submitted, the trader has to send a confirmation on a durable medium without delay, with the date and the time. A sentence in the terms and conditions is not enough on its own, and most Slovak online shops do not have this function.
§ 20a of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- Cannot be verified from outside
An order button stating the obligation to pay
The button that submits the order has to be labelled with the words “objednávka s povinnosťou platby” (order with an obligation to pay) or with wording that unambiguously expresses the obligation to pay. If the trader breaches this, the contract creates no obligations for the consumer.
§ 17(4) and (6) of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- The website check verifies this
Information on liability for defects
The existence and the length of liability for defects and the procedure for exercising rights. Since 27 September 2026 the main information on liability for defects in goods has to be given prominently, at least in the form and scope of the harmonised notice under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960. A separate complaints procedure document is no longer mandatory, that obligation ended together with Act 250/2007 Coll., but the information obligation remained and a document is the clearest way to meet it.
§ 5(1)(f) and (i) of Act 108/2024 Coll., Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1960, § 619 to § 626 of the Civil Code
- The website check verifies this
Privacy policy
An online shop processes names, addresses, email addresses and order data, so it has to state for what purposes, on what legal basis, for how long and to whom it passes the data on. The carrier, the payment gateway and the email tool are processors and belong on the list.
Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Act 18/2018 Coll.
- The website check verifies this
Cookie consent before cookies are stored
Consent is needed for everything that is not strictly necessary for the service the user has requested. Analytics and marketing tools must not load before the consent arrives.
§ 109(8) of Act 452/2021 Coll.
- The website check verifies this
Information on how reviews are verified
If an online shop displays product ratings, it has to state whether and how it verifies that they come from customers who actually bought or used the product. Saying nothing is assessed as a misleading omission.
§ 11(6)(a) of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- The website check verifies this
Details of the alternative dispute resolution body
A notice of the right to submit a request for redress, with a reference to the list of ADR bodies. It is published mainly in the terms and conditions and on the website. The European ODR platform has been shut down and a link to it no longer belongs in the terms.
§ 5(1)(q) and (3) of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- Cannot be verified from outside
The prior price when a discount is announced
Every announcement of a price reduction has to state the prior price, which is the lowest price in the 30 days before the discount. A struck-through higher price at which nothing was actually sold is a breach of the law.
§ 7 of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- Cannot be verified from outside
The producer's durability guarantee
If the producer or importer gives a free consumer guarantee of durability on the whole item for more than two years and has made this information available to the trader, the shop states that the guarantee exists and how long it lasts, prominently and at least in the form of the harmonised label, together with the fact that the trader's legal liability for defects continues alongside it. When ordering on a website, this information also belongs immediately before the order button, together with the main characteristics of the goods and the price.
§ 5(1)(g) and (j) and § 17(3) of Act 108/2024 Coll., § 626(2) of the Civil Code
- Cannot be verified from outside
Reparability and spare parts
Information on the reparability score of the goods, that is, on how far the goods can be repaired; EU rules set such a score for example for smartphones and tablets. If the shop has not given that information, it states the availability, estimated cost and ordering procedure of spare parts, repair and maintenance instructions and any restrictions on repair, where the producer or importer has made them available to it.
§ 5(1)(k) and (l) of Act 108/2024 Coll., Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1669
- Cannot be verified from outside
Updates for goods with digital elements
For goods with digital elements, such as a phone, a watch or a television, the minimum period during which the producer or importer provides free updates, including security updates. It is stated where that information has been made available to the trader.
§ 5(1)(p) of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- Cannot be verified from outside
Environmentally friendly delivery options
In distance selling, the consumer has to be told before the contract is concluded about delivery options that are friendly to the environment, where they are available.
§ 15(1)(l) of Act 108/2024 Coll.
- Cannot be verified from outside
Green claims and durability claims
Since 27 September 2026 a generic claim such as “ecological” or “gentle on nature” is always unfair unless it comes with a specification, a sustainability label or demonstrated recognised excellent environmental performance. A product's carbon neutrality based on offsetting and a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme or was not established by public authorities are also always unfair. Other claims about the environment, durability and reparability must be true and provable.
§ 10(1) and (2) of Act 108/2024 Coll., points 3, 6 to 8 and 35 to 39 of Annex 1
What this list does not cover
The list is built on legislation whose wording we have verified against the Slov-Lex register. The areas below fall outside it and have to be dealt with elsewhere.
- Trade licensing and tax obligations, including VAT registration
- Obligations for packaging and electrical waste and entry in the Register of Producers
- Special rules for food, food supplements, medicines, alcohol and tobacco
- Bookkeeping and sales records
Common misconceptions
Terms taken over from a competitor
Besides the copyright risk, you also take over someone else's periods, delivery methods and payment methods, which do not fit your shop. An inspection assesses whether the text matches how the shop actually works, so a mismatch is visible at first glance.
A withdrawal notice only in the terms and conditions
That meets the information obligation, but not the separate obligation to make a withdrawal function available directly in the online interface. These are two different obligations and the second one cannot be met with text.
A cookie banner that loads scripts in advance
The most common technical error. The banner appears, but the measurement scripts are already running, so consent is being given for something that has already happened.
Assuming that the complaints procedure is a mandatory document
The obligation to have this document ended together with Act 250/2007 Coll. What remained mandatory is the information on liability for defects and on the procedure for exercising it.
A link to the European ODR platform
The platform has been shut down and a link to it now leads nowhere. It is replaced by the details of the competent alternative dispute resolution body.
Sending a customer with a defect to the producer
A producer's guarantee, including a durability guarantee, does not change the buyer's rights against the seller arising from liability for defects; § 626(3) of the Civil Code says so expressly. A sentence such as “the goods are covered by the producer's guarantee, claim with them” therefore withholds from the customer that the defect can also be claimed with the seller.
Frequently asked questions
What changed for online shops on 27 September 2026?
Amending Act 310/2025 Coll. took effect. Information on liability for defects in goods is given in the uniform format of the harmonised notice, and new information was added on the producer's durability guarantee, reparability and spare parts, the update period and environmentally friendly delivery options. The amendment also renumbered the letters in § 5(1) of Act 108/2024 Coll., so terms that cite specific letters are worth checking. It also added rules on environmental claims and on claims about durability and reparability, which we cover in the Green claims topic.
Do these obligations also apply to selling through Instagram or Facebook?
Yes. What matters is how the contract is concluded, not the technology. If the sale takes place at a distance without the parties being physically present at the same time, it is a distance contract with all the information obligations.
Does an online shop have to have a complaints procedure?
Not as a document. What is mandatory is the information on liability for defects and on the procedure for exercising rights, which has to be provided before the contract is concluded. A document is the clearest way to meet that.
What are the fines for missing information?
Act 108/2024 Coll. distinguishes several offences and the rates differ according to the seriousness and according to whether the breach is a repeated one. The specific amount is set by the supervisory authority in administrative proceedings, so it cannot be predicted reliably in advance.
Is it enough to have everything in one document?
The law does not prescribe the form, but the information has to be clear, comprehensible and available before the contract is concluded. In practice the privacy policy is kept separate, because it also concerns visitors who order nothing.