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HOTREC ‘MEAL-SHARING’ PLATFORM POLICY PAPER – MAY 2018
2. TAXATION
•
Compliance with fiscal obligations shall be considered
a prerequisite for engagement in home restaurant
activity.
•
Home restaurants operating above a certain threshold
of revenue should face the same fiscal obligations as
the regulated sector.
•
Platforms must cooperate proactively with destination
authorities in order to prevent tax evasion.
3. CONSUMER PROTECTION,
HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY
•
Home restaurants which qualify as food business
operators under EU law shall apply strictly existing EU
legislationon foodsafety, foodhygiene, food information
(i.e. allergens declaration), traceability, acrylamide, etc.
1. REGISTRATION OF
ACTIVITY / LICENSING
•
EU registration rules on home restaurants which
are considered as food business operators shall
be strictly enforced. For home restaurants which
are not considered as food business operators,
registration systems should be established to allow
hosts to register their home restaurant activity with the
destination authority.
•
These systems will allow destination authorities to
measure the type and scale of the activity and restrict
activities which go beyond defined limits.
•
They provide the mechanism to allow for tax collection
and consumer protection measures to be taken, where
necessary.
•
Registration systems will require the creation of
definitions to adequately describe home restaurant
activities.
•
Hosts must adhere to local regulations relating to the
sale of alcohol, and in particular licensing obligations
(where applicable) in the same way as the regulated
sector.
•
Hosts must adhere to EU and local regulations on
copyright when playing music protected by copyright
to paying guests, and should request a license to
the relevant collective management of copyright
organisations.
•
Home restaurants which do not qualify as food
business operators under EU law shall at least follow
basic guidelines on food safety and declare the
presence of allergens in their menus in accordance
with local regulations for the regulated sector.
•
Hosts must abide by local regulations relating to
building codes and fire safety.
4. ENFORCEMENT
•
Home restaurants shall grant access to their premises
to public authorities’ staff performing official controls
and shall assist and cooperate with them. Failure to
comply with cooperation and assistance obligations
may lead to the loss of the right to operate, as for any
regulated business.
•
Destination authorities must extend their food safety
complaints system (used for inspecting and forcing
suspension/closure of activity) to operators of home
restaurants, and platforms must cooperate proactively
in this process.
•
Platforms must cooperate in removing listings that
contravene applicable regulations.
5. LIABILITY
•
Hosts, online platforms and destination authorities
must assume their liabilities to the consumer, the
hosts and platforms to the authorities.
•
Adequate insurance mechanisms must be in place and
communicated by platforms to the hosts and guests
involved.
•
As the holders of most data, platforms should be
made liable in playing an active role in cooperating
with authorities to ensure a responsible ‘collaborative’
economy, with sanctions imposed, where applicable.