SHOPPING MALLS can continue to charge parking fees after the Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that the National Building Code (NBC) does not require department stores to provide their customers with free parking.

In affirming the ruling that favored SM Prime Holdings, Ayala Land Inc., Robinson’s Land Corp. and Shangri-La Plaza Corp., the appellate court said there was nothing in the NBC and its implementing rules and regulations that explicitly stated that shopping mall operators should provide parking spaces to the public free of charge.

The case stemmed from the finding of two Senate committees in 2000 that it was illegal for shopping malls to collect parking fees because this was in violation of the building code.

According to the Senate committees on trade and industry and justice and human rights, the collection of parking fees in shopping malls was illegal and anticonsumer.

The practice runs counter to the Consumer Act which protects consumers by setting standards of conduct for business and industry, the members of the committee added.

The finding led to the filing of two cases—one filed by SM Prime Holdings asking the Makati Regional Trial Court to assert the legality of collecting parking fees in its malls. The other was filed by Solicitor General Ricardo Galvez who opposed SM’s petition. The two cases were later consolidated into one and the Makati RTC ruled in favor of the shopping malls.

The case was subsequently elevated to the Court of Appeals. According to the higher court, it found no error in the Makati court’s observation that there was nothing in the building code that explicitly requires shopping mall operators to offer free parking spaces.

Many shopping malls charge their patrons a parking fee. Some collect a flat rate, while others charge by the hour.