The Tel Aviv District Court today (Monday) accepted the Attorney General's position, ruling against Aguda, which operates a website where hotel rooms can be booked, and ruled that it must publish the price of the service when it includes VAT.
The applicant for approval of a class action lawsuit booked a vacation at a hotel through the "Aguda" website, and to his surprise, when he arrived at the hotel, VAT was required to be added to the amount as well. "M is contrary to the Israeli Consumer Protection Law, which stipulates the obligation to present a comprehensive price.
In March 2021, the Attorney General appeared for the procedure and submitted his position on the issue, stating that the Israeli Consumer Protection Law applies to an association, even though it is a company incorporated abroad. A service provided in hotels in Israel, all of which indicate that the main purpose of the site is to appeal to the Israeli consumer audience and not to foreign tourists.
According to the Attorney General, when it comes to the price that the consumer will be required to pay for the service he purchases, it should be included in the final price, even at the transaction marketing stage, as otherwise the consumer does not get the full information about the price he has to pay.
Therefore, an association acted in violation of the provisions of the Israeli Consumer Protection Law.
Regarding the company's claim that the law applicable to the contract is Singapore law in accordance with the choice of law clause in the contract, the Attorney General noted that this is a discriminatory condition that is not admissible.
This is because Israeli consumers do not have the appropriate expertise to understand its meaning and also due to the fact that the Singaporean law to which the stipulation refers is not accessible and clear.
Recently, and as part of its policy to protect the interests of consumers in Israel, the Attorney General, Gali Bahar Rabbi Miara, submitted similar positions in which it was argued that Israeli consumer law should be applied to companies incorporated abroad but working with Israeli customers in the Israeli market. Operating in the field of recreation and consumerism such as Booking and even in the matter of Amazon.
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