GuideRule 4(13) · Prior price · Updated 5 October 2026
The 30-day prior-price rule, with worked examples
From 1 January 2027, when you announce a price reduction you must show the prior price next to the reduced one. The prior price is the lowest price of the 30 days before the announcement, not the highest, and not the MRP. Four worked examples, the open questions, and the records you need.
01The rule
What Rule 4(13) asks
Where a price reduction is announced, the reduced price is shown together with the prior price: the lowest price of that product in the 30 days before the announcement.
It is conditional. If you never announce a reduction, there's nothing to show. But once you write "was ₹1,499, now ₹999" or "40% off", the "was" figure has to be the 30-day low. That means you need a record of your daily prices.
02Worked examples
Four cases, one product
A kurta, with a reduction announced on 20 November 2026. The window is 21 October to 19 November; the announcement day itself isn't counted.
| Case | Price history in the window | Announced | Prior price to show |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steady price | ₹1,499 every day | Now ₹999 | ₹1,499 |
| An earlier flash sale | ₹1,499, except ₹1,299 from 30 Oct to 1 Nov | Now ₹999 | ₹1,299: the dip counts |
| Raised, then "cut" | ₹999 until 9 Nov, then ₹1,999 | "50% off: now ₹999" | ₹999: there's no real reduction to announce |
| Two prices on one day | ₹1,499, but ₹1,399 for a few hours on 12 Nov | Now ₹999 | ₹1,399, if you count the lower price, as a cautious reading does |
The third case is what the rule exists to stop: inflating a price shortly before a "sale" so the discount looks bigger.
03Open questions
What the text doesn't answer
Commentators have flagged cases the notified text doesn't settle. Until there's guidance, these are questions for your counsel. The note beside each is the cautious approach.
- Products listed for under 30 days. Use the lowest price since listing, and consider not announcing a reduction until you have 30 days of history.
- MRP shown struck through. A struck-through MRP isn't necessarily an "announced reduction", but "MRP ₹2,000, now ₹1,499, 25% off" reads like one. If you present it as a discount, check it against your 30-day low.
- Member, app-only or personalised prices. Keep separate price histories per price shown, and compare like with like.
- Coupons and bank offers. A coupon applied at checkout differs from a listed reduction. If the product page advertises the post-coupon price as a reduction, treat it as one.
- Variants. Track each size or colour that has its own price separately.
04Records
Start keeping daily prices now
The 30-day low can only be worked out from a history, and the history has to be collected going forward. Shopify has no built-in price-history report, and WooCommerce core doesn't keep one either. A reduction you announce on 1 January needs prices from 2 December onwards.
The minimum: one row per product, or per variant, per day, with the date and the price shown. A spreadsheet is enough to start.
Check a reduction before you announce it. Paste your daily prices into the prior-price calculator. It shows the 30-day low, lists any missing days, and compares it with the "was" price you plan to show. It runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
General information, not legal advice.