While Spain is half in phase 0 and the other half is in phase 1, with trade half-open, some by appointment, and others without it, the Government has created great confusion in the sector on account of the sales. Health, in the order published on Saturday in the BOE, prohibited them in physical stores but now the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism has qualified that they are allowed as long as there are no crowds.

Acotex, the employers of the textile industry, asked yesterday for explanations from the ministry led by Reyes Maroto about the ban . "We found it in the order of Saturday, and despite the fact that it is such an important issue for trade, we had not been informed," explains Eduardo Zamácola, president of Acotex.

From Commerce they have clarified that, according to their interpretation, what is prohibited are the agglomerations but not the discounts in the stores. The order published in the BOE by the Ministry of Health stated that "establishments may not advertise or carry out commercial actions that may give rise to crowds of the public, both within the commercial establishment and in its vicinity."

"It is not necessary to interpret the provisions of the second additional provision of OM 399/2020 in the sense that what is restricted and therefore prohibited are the discounts or promotions themselves, since this would require an amendment of the Law of Retail Trade Management and the same has not been produced , but it is a measure that aims to avoid possible crowds caused by commercial actions, "says the ministry.

Without crowds

He believes, therefore, that "this norm must be interpreted in the sense that what is prohibited is the crowds and not the possibility of making sales and promotions in physical establishments." They " can carry out any type of commercial action as long as they adopt the necessary measures to avoid crowds. And de facto they do not occur."

Commerce explains that "if the heads of a commercial establishment believe that due to the type of commercial action, type of products offered, how discounts or promotions have been carried out on other occasions, due to the lack of means to control possible crowds, due to the location of the establishment or its internal distribution, it is probable that such agglomerations will occur, they will not be able to carry out the commercial actions that may give rise to them ".

Legal uncertainty

Commerce, however, has made the pertinent consultation to Health, to clarify the situation definitively. Meanwhile, within commerce, there is growing unease, because "we cannot be with this legal insecurity at this point," explain sources in the distribution sector.

Although there are many provinces that are in phase 0, where you can only go to the store by appointment, in the other half of Spain customers can already go to stores without the need to call in advance.

Sales are a key period for commerce , since it allows them to dispose of accumulated stock, that is, garments that have not been sold. In these circumstances it is even more important, taking into account that the shops have been closed for two months and have not been able to sell, except on the online channel.

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