In a communiqué dated June 25, 2026, Chile’s National Consumer Service (SERNAC) reported the launch of an inspection campaign covering more than 50 import and retail stores commonly known as “malls chinos”, located across the country and selling household items, apparel and footwear. The review targets obligations under Law 19.496 that apply to any retail business in Chile, not only to this segment. Displayed prices, Spanish-language labeling and legal warranty information are the stated focus areas, and any detected breaches may lead to court complaints seeking fines of up to 300 UTM for each infringement.
What happened
SERNAC inspection teams began visiting establishments in all regions of Chile, focusing on businesses that operate under a direct import and mass-consumption retail model. The review covers four specific issues. First, the public display of prices, regulated by Article 30 of Law 19.496. Second, product labeling in Spanish, including information on use, risks and warnings, under Article 32 of the same law. Third, information on the right to the legal warranty, regulated by Articles 19 to 21 of Law 19.496. Fourth, the presence of the SEC seal on electrical or electronic products subject to mandatory certification, where applicable — a safety certification required by the Superintendency of Electricity and Fuels for those products.
Law 19.496, published on March 7, 1997, does not distinguish between a national chain and an independent importer. Every supplier that sells to end consumers in Chile is subject to the same standard. SERNAC has already warned that, depending on the seriousness of the findings, it may bring cases before the courts and seek the maximum sanction provided by law: up to 300 UTM per infringement, an amount that SERNAC itself, in its June 25, 2026 communiqué, places at more than CLP 21,000,000. The inspection does not necessarily end with the visit. If SERNAC detects infringements, it may file complaints before the courts, depending on the seriousness of the finding.
What this may mean for your company
The fact that the stated focus of this inspection is “malls chinos” does not limit the risk to that segment. SERNAC is measuring four elements: visible prices, Spanish-language labeling, legal warranty information, and the SEC seal on products subject to mandatory certification, where applicable. That standard applies to any business that sells products to end consumers in Chile, whether through physical retail, a marketplace or an online store with local inventory.
The legal warranty is where many companies fail without realizing it. If a product is defective, missing parts or does not match what was offered, the consumer may require free repair, replacement of the product or a refund within six months from purchase. It is not enough to have the policy written in an internal document. Law 19.496 requires that this information be available to the consumer at the point of sale, not only on the website or on a receipt that few people read.
Labeling follows the same exposure logic. An imported product with instructions only in English or Chinese, without safety warnings in Spanish, is an infringement even if the product itself is safe. And for electrical or electronic products subject to mandatory certification, the SEC seal is not a cosmetic formality. It certifies that the product does not pose an electrical risk, and its absence is one of the most recurrent findings in inspections of this kind.
There is a grey area companies should anticipate. Businesses that import through third parties, or that receive goods already labeled at origin, sometimes assume that compliance is the foreign supplier’s responsibility. It is not. Before SERNAC and consumers, at least the company selling in Chile is liable, without prejudice to any liability that may correspond to the importer or other parties involved, and to any contractual recourse that may exist against the supplier.
What you can do
If your company imports, distributes or sells to the public in Chile, the immediate risk is not theoretical. Three concrete actions:
- Review the labeling of each product line before displaying it, verifying that instructions for use, warnings and safety measures are in Spanish, not only in the language of origin.
- Verify that the physical or digital point of sale expressly informs consumers of the right to the legal warranty, including the six-month period and the three options available to the consumer (repair, replacement or refund), not only on the receipt.
- Confirm that electrical or electronic products subject to mandatory certification have a valid SEC seal, and keep documentary evidence of that verification, useful both during an inspection and in the event of a complaint before SERNAC.
If you are concerned about how this standard applies to your retail, import or e-commerce operation, schedule a meeting with our team.
This content is informational and does not constitute legal advice.
Primary source: SERNAC, “SERNAC inicia fiscalización a mall chinos en todo el país para verificar cumplimiento de la Ley”, June 25, 2026