Česká obchodní inspekce (CTIA)

What Česká obchodní inspekce (CTIA) does

Česká obchodní inspekce (ČOI) is a Czech government administrative authority responsible for supervising and inspecting legal entities and natural persons engaged in selling or supplying products on the internal market, providing services, offering consumer credit, or operating marketplaces, except where another administrative authority holds jurisdiction under special legal regulations. The organization was established in 1990 as the successor to the Czechoslovak Trade Inspection following the Velvet Revolution and the transition to a market economy, and operates under Act No. 64/1986 Coll. on Czech Trade Inspection. Its core activities include market inspection, detection of unsafe products and counterfeits, enforcement against unfair commercial practices, mediation of consumer disputes, and consumer education campaigns targeted at groups such as seniors.

ČOI delivers its supervisory and inspection services through a centralized headquarters in Prague, 8 regional inspectorates covering all administrative regions of the Czech Republic, and a central inspectorate. Consumers and businesses can interact with the authority through a consulting hotline (+420 222 703 404) available twice weekly, an e-submission portal, and a dedicated consumer guide. The organization also hosts the European Consumer Centre (Evropské spotřebitelské centrum) and participates in EU market surveillance systems for cross-border enforcement coordination. Its public-facing outputs include press releases, a database of fines for non-compliant fuel quality, a registry of risky e-shops, and an open data portal.

As a governmental administrative authority, ČOI is fully state-owned and funded through the Czech state budget; it does not generate commercial revenue, has no shareholders, and does not offer priced products or services. Its enforcement outputs include detection of suspected consumer discrimination (5 cases identified from 24 inspections in Q1 of the current year) and seizure of counterfeit products (759 items worth 2,648,108 CZK seized in border market inspections).

Name

Česká obchodní inspekce (CTIA)

Legal name

Česká obchodní inspekce

Website

https://coi.cz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Česká obchodní inspekce (ČOI) is the Czech government's market surveillance and consumer protection authority, inspecting businesses and traders across 8 regional inspectorates and operating consumer dispute resolution, counterfeit enforcement, and public risk databases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Protection Regulation and Market Surveillance

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (926150)

SIC

Foreign Governments (8888)

akta.pro primary industry

Product Safety, Consumer Protection & Market Surveillance Cooperation (BPADANAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer Protection & Product Safety Regulators (BPAIAOAE), Conformity Assessment, Testing, Inspection & Certification Cooperation (BPADANAD)

Keywords

• Market surveillance
• Consumer protection
• Product safety inspection
• Trade inspection
• Regulatory enforcement

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Budget Funding: ČOI is a Czech government administrative authority funded through the state budget. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but operates as a public regulatory body performing state supervision functions over consumer protection, product quality, and market practices.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Česká obchodní inspekce (ČOI) is a Czech government administrative authority that inspects and supervises legal entities and natural persons selling or supplying products on the internal market, providing services, offering consumer credit, or operating marketplaces. It enforces consumer protection, product safety, and fair market practice rules through on-site inspections, fines, product seizures, and bans, and supports consumers via a consumer guide, advisory hotline, ADR dispute resolution, and the European Consumer Centre.

Product overview

Česká obchodní inspekce (ČOI) is a Czech government regulatory authority that does not operate as a commercial product or technology company. It is a supervisory body that controls and monitors legal and natural persons selling or supplying products and goods on the internal market, providing services, offering consumer credit, or operating marketplaces. The organization provides consumer protection services including a consumer guide (Spotřebitelský průvodce), advisory hotline (+420 222 703 404), risk information for e-shops and dangerous products, consumer dispute resolution, energy auctions, non-quality fuel fines database, and open data portals. Its website (coi.gov.cz) serves as an informational portal and e-submitter (e-podatelna) rather than a commercial product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Evropské spotřebitelské centrum: European Consumer Centre operating within ČOI for cross-border consumer dispute resolution within the EU

Products and services

• Market Surveillance and Inspection Services On-site inspections and supervision of businesses and traders across all Czech regions, including authority to impose fines, ban dangerous products, and seize counterfeit goods. Targeted at legal entities and natural persons selling products, providing services, offering consumer credit, or operating marketplaces.
• Consumer Guide (Spotřebitelský průvodce) Public guide providing consumer advice, including energy auctions, reported dangerous products, and guidance on consumer rights. Designed for Czech consumers seeking purchasing rights information.
• Consumer Advisory Hotline (+420 222 703 404) Consumer advisory line available Monday and Wednesday 8:00-16:00 for specific consumer queries. Serves Czech consumers seeking guidance on consumer protection matters.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for Consumer Disputes Information and provision of non-judicial resolution of consumer disputes between consumers and traders. Available to Czech consumers and businesses/traders in the Czech internal market.
• European Consumer Centre (Evropské spotřebitelské centrum) European Consumer Centre operating within ČOI for cross-border consumer dispute resolution within the EU internal market.
• Risk Disclosure Services (Risky E-shops and Dangerous Products) Public databases disclosing risky online shops (Rizikové e-shopy) and dangerous products (Rizikové výrobky) to warn consumers and inform market participants.
• Non-Quality Fuel Fines Database (Pokuty za nejakostní paliva) Public publication of all fines for non-quality fuel issued by ČOI at the moment the decision becomes legally effective.
• Open Data Portal (Otevřená data) Open data portal providing inspection results, fines, and other regulatory data for public access.
• Database of Information Obligations (DIP) Database of information obligations provided to businesses (producers, distributors, sellers, and service providers) to support compliance with regulatory requirements.
• E-Submission Portal (e-podatelna) Electronic submission portal for filing complaints and administrative submissions with ČOI.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 cases of suspected consumer discrimination detected in Q1 of current year from 24 inspections
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EU Systems and StructurescoreOthersČOI participates in EU systems and structures, collaborating with European consumer protection networks and market surveillance systems for cross-border enforcement coordination and harmonization of inspection standards within the EU internal market framework.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DGCCRF (Direction générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des fraudes): French General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control — the closest functional analogue to ČOI, performing market surveillance, product safety inspections, and consumer protection enforcement at national level.
• Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit (BVL): German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety — operates parallel national-level product safety and consumer protection functions with cross-EU coordination responsibilities comparable to ČOI's.
• Nemzeti Fogyasztóvédelmi Hatóság (Hungarian Consumer Protection Authority): Hungarian national consumer protection authority with market surveillance and product safety functions substantially aligned with ČOI's mandate in another CEE jurisdiction.
• European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net): EU-wide network of European Consumer Centres that ČOI hosts in Czechia (Evropské spotřebitelské centrum), providing cross-border consumer dispute resolution and complaint handling in conjunction with national authorities.

Broad incumbents

• Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection): Russian federal agency combining consumer protection, product safety, and sanitary-epidemiological surveillance — broader in mandate but performing analogous national-level market surveillance functions.
• U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC): U.S. federal agency combining consumer protection and competition enforcement — broader in scope but functionally analogous in market surveillance, unfair-practice enforcement, and consumer education.
• Competition and Markets Authority (CMA): UK competition and consumer authority with consumer protection enforcement powers overlapping ČOI's mandate, though operating under a broader competition-and-markets framework.

Others

• TÜV SÜD: Independent testing, inspection and certification body — adjacent ecosystem participant providing the third-party conformity assessment and product testing services that feed into ČOI's market surveillance workflow.
• Státní zemědělská a potravinářská inspekce (SZPI): Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority — operates alongside ČOI in the Czech regulatory ecosystem, with overlapping market surveillance responsibilities specifically in food and agricultural products.

Regional players

• Slovenská obchodná inšpekcia (SOI): Slovak Trade Inspection — the direct counterpart in the neighboring CEE market, performing identical market surveillance and consumer protection functions within the Slovak Republic.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%C4%8Desk%C3%A1-obchodn%C3%AD-inspekce-ctia-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Česká obchodní inspekce (CTIA)