Advertising cup prices: ex VAT, "from" prices and "free" offers under the CAP Code

A cup supplier quotes prices in many places: a product page, a wholesale price grid, a quote email, a festival brochure. The CAP Code, the UK advertising rulebook that the ASA applies, has specific rules about how a price may be stated and when a product can be called free. This article sets out those rules from section 3 of the Code, with a note on where the Code's scope leaves a cup price list. It is general information, not legal advice.

Where the Code reaches a price

The Scope of the Code page lists what the Code applies to, including advertisements in catalogues, brochures, leaflets, mailings and emails (part I a) and marketing communications on a marketer's own website that are directly connected with the supply of goods (part I h). Part II m says it does not apply to packages, wrappers, labels, tickets, timetables and price lists, unless they advertise another product or a promotion or are visible in a marketing communication. In our reading, a price shown on a product page, in a brochure or in an email is within the Code, and a stand-alone price list is the item that exclusion describes. None of the pages names a cup.

Quoted prices and VAT

Rule 3.17 says price statements must not mislead by omission, undue emphasis or distortion, and must relate to the product featured. The section's definition says price statements include statements about the manner in which a price will be calculated as well as definite prices.

Rule 3.18 says quoted prices must include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers. It then makes an exception: VAT-exclusive prices may be given if all those to whom the price claim is clearly addressed pay no VAT or can recover VAT, and such prices must be accompanied by a prominent statement of the amount or rate of VAT payable. In our reading, a price grid that is clearly addressed to businesses that can recover VAT fits the exception, and a price shown to the general public without VAT does not.

Rule 3.19 says that if a tax, duty, fee or charge cannot be calculated in advance, the communication must make clear that it is excluded from the advertised price and state how it is calculated. Rule 3.20 says communications that state prices must also state any optional delivery, freight or postal charges, including any taxes, or, if those cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, state that such charges are payable.

On the Branded Cups site, the wholesale cups page says prices are per cup and exclude VAT, and the reusable event cups page says prices are per cup and that one product shows prices including and excluding VAT. Our guide to VAT invoices for a bulk cup order covers what a business buyer needs to reclaim the VAT.

"From" prices and limitations

Rule 3.22 says price claims such as "up to" and "from" must not mislead by exaggerating the availability or amount of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer. Rules 3.9 and 3.10 say marketing communications must not mislead by omitting significant limitations and qualifications, and that qualifications must be presented clearly. In our reading, a "from" price on a cup that applies only at a larger quantity, or only to a blank cup, is a limitation these rules ask to be stated where the price appears.

When a cup can be called free

Rule 3.23 says marketing communications must not describe a product as "free", "gratis", "without charge" or similar if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding and collecting or paying for delivery of the item. It gives three examples: the consumer has to pay packing, packaging, handling or administration charges for the free product; the cost of response, including the price of a product the consumer must buy to take advantage of the offer, has been increased, except where the increase results from factors unrelated to the cost of the promotion; or the quality of the product the consumer must buy has been reduced.

Rule 3.24 says communications must make clear the extent of the commitment the consumer must make to take advantage of a free offer. Rule 3.25 says marketers must not describe an element of a package as free if that element is included in the package price, unless consumers are likely to regard it as an additional benefit because it has recently been added to the package without increasing its price. In our reading, a free cup with a drink at a bar is a free element of a package, so a drink price that rose to cover the cup would raise rule 3.23. The section says CAP and BCAP have joint guidance on "free" that we did not read.

Stock and time limits

Rule 3.27 says marketers must make a reasonable estimate of demand for advertised products. Rule 3.28 says communications that quote a price for a featured product must disclose if the marketer has reasonable grounds for believing that it will not be possible to supply the advertised or an equivalent product at the advertised price within a reasonable period and in reasonable quantities. Rule 3.30 says communications must not falsely state that a product, or the terms on which it is offered, will be available only for a limited time to deprive consumers of the time or opportunity to make an informed choice. In our reading, a limited-edition printed cup run is where these three come together, and section 8 on promotions adds its own rules, which our guide to prize draws on promotional cups sets out.

On the product side

The wholesale cups page says prices are per cup and exclude VAT, with the quantity chosen setting the price break, and the reusable event cups page lists the range. A buyer who needs a price for a specific design and quantity can ask for a quote.

Where this stands

This was checked on 28 October 2026. The Code and the CAP and BCAP guidance on pricing and free offers are revised from time to time, and a supplier setting up a price list or a free offer should read the current section 3 and the guidance it links to.