§ 20-722 Penalties.

Any person or agent or employee thereof who shall violate any provision of this subchapter or of the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto shall be subject to a civil penalty of twenty-five dollars for each day in which a violation occurs, except that any person or agent or employee thereof shall be subject to a civil penalty of zero dollars for a first violation of any provision of this subchapter or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. The notice of violation for such first violation shall inform the respondent of the provision of law or rule that the department believes the respondent has violated, describe the condition or activity that is the basis for the notice of violation, and advise the respondent that the law authorizes civil penalties for such violation and that subsequent violations may result in the imposition of such civil penalties.

(Am. L.L. 2021/080, 7/18/2021, eff. 11/15/2021)

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2021/080.

Subchapter 5: Representations in Advertising

§ 20-723 Representations in advertising.

No person, firm, corporation or association, or agent or employee thereof, doing business in New York city, who with intent to sell or in any way dispose of merchandise to the public through the media of a newspaper, magazine, circular, pamphlet, catalogue, store display, letter or handbill shall advertise, state, set forth, print, publish or cause directly or indirectly or permit directly or indirectly, so to be done in any of the aforesaid media, any of the following or anything approximating any of the following:

   (a)   That the merchandise offered as aforesaid is being offered at "wholesale price" or at "manufacturers' cost" or "less than cost" or any similar language, unless such representations are true in fact; nor shall any such person, firm or corporation or association, or agent or employee thereof, doing business in New York city, offer for sale any product at a price purported to be reduced from what is a fictitious "list" or "selling" or "retailer's suggested" price, or at a purported reduction in any such price when such purported reduction is in fact fictitious.

   (b)   That the merchandise offered as aforesaid is being offered on the basis of comparative prices or percentage savings, or similar or analogous claims by the use of such terms as "comparable value" or "comparable retail value," without denoting, defining or describing the standard of comparison.

   (c)   That the merchandise offered as aforesaid is being offered as "made to sell for", or being "worth" or "valued at," a certain price greater or more than the price sought, or by the use of similar or analogous statements unless such claim or representation is true in fact.