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What it is

Rules for store opening hours in Spain

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 27 August 2004. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill on commercial hours.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000007· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. Each merchant freely decides the opening and closing hours of their store, as well as which holidays to open and the daily or weekly hours, within the framework of the law.
  2. The Autonomous Communities regulate hours in their territory, but they cannot reduce the weekly hours on weekdays below 72.
  3. Stores may open on at least twelve Sundays or public holidays per year, and the Autonomous Communities can raise or lower that number but never below eight. On each holiday, hours cannot be limited to less than 12.
  4. Some establishments have full freedom of hours nationwide: pastry and bakery shops, press, gas stations, florists, convenience stores, locations at borders, stations or tourist areas, and small stores under 300 square meters that do not belong to large groups.

Who it affects

  • Merchants and stores: They can freely set their hours, within the weekly and holiday limits set by the law.
  • Consumers: They get a minimum of twelve Sundays and holidays with stores open, which can be increased or reduced by the Autonomous Communities.
  • Autonomous Communities: They regulate hours in their territory, decide which holidays stores open, and can punish violations.
  • Municipal councils: They can order the individual closure of establishments selling alcohol for public order reasons, if the Autonomous Community allows it.

Words worth knowing

Tiendas de conveniencia (convenience stores)
Small stores, up to 500 square meters, open at least 18 hours a day, selling a bit of everything: food, press, music, toys and gifts.
Pyme
Small and medium-sized enterprise. The law uses the European Commission's 2003 definition until a national one exists.
Comunidad Autónoma (Autonomous Community)
Each of Spain's territorial divisions, such as Andalusia or Catalonia, with power to pass its own rules in certain areas.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced27 August 2004Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted7 September 2004The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments10 September 2004Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee22 September 2004A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate3 November 2004The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE1 December 2004It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 10 official steps on a timeline
Aug 2004Sept 2004Oct 2004Nov 200411. 27 August 2004: Presentación22. 7 September 2004: Comisión de Industria, Turismo y Comercio Publicación desde 07/09/2004 hasta 10/09/200433. 7 September 2004: Calificación44. 10 September 2004: Comisión de Industria, Turismo y Comercio Enmiendas desde 10/09/2004 hasta 06/10/200455. 21 September 2004: Comisión de Industria, Turismo y Comercio Mesa - Calificación desde 21/09/2004 hasta 22/09/200466. 22 September 2004: Comisión de Industria, Turismo y Comercio Debate de totalidad desde 22/09/2004 hasta 23/09/200477. 6 October 2004: Comisión de Industria, Turismo y Comercio Informe desde 06/10/2004 hasta 20/10/200488. 20 October 2004: Comisión de Industria, Turismo y Comercio Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 20/10/2004 hasta 03/11/200499. 3 November 2004: Senado desde 03/11/2004 hasta 01/12/20041010. 1 December 2004: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 01/12/2004 hasta 25/01/2005

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Law 1/2004, of 21 December, on Commercial Hours.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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