NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS PROPOSE NEW CHANGES TO LAW ON COMMERCE

ZAGREB, Jan 16 (Hina) - Members of the Association of Newspaper Publishers at the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) have monitored the implementation of changes to the Law on Commerce for two weeks and concluded that they have resulted, among other things, in a 10-15 percent drop in Sunday paper sales. The publishers believe that the January income from press sales will drop by 1.44 million kuna as a result of this.#L# Speaking at a press conference on Friday, press publishers introduced their changes to the Law on Commerce, which has been forwarded to the government, the ministry of economy, labour and entrepreneurship, and the ministry of culture. The purpose of the proposed changes is to protect daily newspapers as "highly perishable goods", they said. The publishers have proposed that papers be sold on Sundays not only at newsstands but also in shops other than newsagent's, that the number of residents required for such a shop to be open on Sundays should be reduced from 5,000 to 2,500, and that shops working on Sundays be determined for a period of four weeks. Association president Ante Gavranovic said that papers in Croatia were sold at more than 6,000 points of sale, and more than 55 percent of those points were closed as a result of the introduction of the latest legal changes, which he said was a trend that would continue. If publishers decide to stop issuing Sunday papers due to reduced income, their overall annual sales income could drop by some 130 million kuna and the government will lose around 23.4 million kuna in VAT, while shops will lose around 19 million kuna in quantity discount, it was said at the conference. HUP director Bernard Jakelic said that all employers should not be punished because of individuals who were not fulfilling their obligations towards their workers. (Hina) rml sb