belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

6 AVRIL 2010. - Market Practices and Consumer Protection Act (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER 1^er. - Definitions and general principles
Art. 2. For the purposes of this Act:
1st enterprise: any natural person or legal person who pursues an economic purpose in a sustainable manner, including its associations;
2° holder of a liberal profession: any business that is not a merchant within the meaning of Article 1^er the Code of Commerce and is subject to a disciplinary body established by law;
3° consumer: any natural person who acquires or uses for purposes excluding any professional character of the products placed on the market;
4° outputs: goods and services, real property, rights and obligations;
5° property: tangible property;
6° service: any performance made by a company in the course of its professional activity or in the execution of its statutory object;
7° homogeneous services: all services whose characteristics and terms are identical or similar, regardless of the time or place of execution, the service provider or the person to whom they are intended;
8° labelling: mentions, indications, directions of use, marks, images or signs relating to a homogeneous property or service on the property itself or on any packaging, document, writing, label, ring or collerette accompanying or referring to that property;
9° placed on the market: import for sale, detention for sale, offer for sale, sale, offer of lease of goods and services, the lease of goods and services, the assignment of goods and services, the sale on an expensive or free basis, when these transactions are carried out by a company;
10° registered name:
(a) for agricultural and food products:
the name of protected origin or the indication of protected origin which may avail itself of agricultural products and foodstuffs pursuant to EC Regulation No. 510/2006 of the Council of 20 March 2006 relating to the protection of geographical indications and the labels of origin of agricultural products and foodstuffs;
(b) for other products:
- the name of protected origin of which products originating from a particular region or place may be invoked and whose quality or characters are due mainly or exclusively to the geographic environment including natural and human factors, and whose production, transformation and development take place in the delimited geographic area, when it has been recognized to them in accordance with the applicable regional regulation;
- the geographically protected indication that may be used for products originating in a particular region or location, of which a particular quality, reputation or other characteristics may be attributed to that geographical origin, and whose production and/or transformation and/or development take place in the geographical area delimited, when recognized in accordance with the applicable regional regulation;
11° goods sold in bulk: goods which are not subject to any conditioning and which are measured or weighed by the consumer or in his presence;
12° goods sold in the room: property that cannot be split without changing its nature or properties;
13° conditioned goods: goods that have undergone splitting, weighing, counting or measuring operations, whether or not in the course of manufacture, followed by a packaging operation and intended to render useless these operations at the time of offer on sale;
14° prepackaged goods: conditioned goods that are packaged before they are offered for sale in a packaging of any kind, which covers them entirely or partially, but in such a way that the contents cannot be changed without the packaging being opened or modified.
Target:
(a) prepackaged goods in predetermined quantities: prepackaged goods in such a way that the quantity contained in the package corresponds to a value chosen in advance;
(b) prepackaged goods in variable quantities: prepackaged goods in such a way that the quantity in the package does not correspond to a value chosen in advance;
15° unit of measure: the unit that corresponds to the definitions of the law of June 16, 1970 on units, benchmarks and measuring instruments and those of its enforcement orders;
16° stacker: the person who actually prepacks the goods for the offer on sale;
17° conditioner: the person who conditiones the goods for the offer on sale;
18° nominal quantity: the mass or volume indicated on a prepackage and corresponding to the net quality that this prepack is expected to contain;
19° Advertising: any communication that has a direct or indirect purpose to promote the sale of products irrespective of the place or means of communication implemented;
20° Comparative advertising: any advertisement that explicitly or implicitly identifies a competitor or goods or services offered by a competitor;
21° distance contract: any contract with respect to goods or services between a company and a consumer within the framework of a system for the sale of goods or services remotely organized by the company, which, for this contract, uses only one or more remote communication techniques up to the conclusion of the contract, including the conclusion of the contract itself;
22° Remote communication technique: any means that, without physical and simultaneous presence of the company and the consumer, can be used for the conclusion of the contract between these parties;
23° communication technology operator: any natural or legal person, public or private, whose professional activity is to make available to companies one or more remote communication techniques;
24° Financial service: any service related to the bank, credit, insurance, individual pension, investment and payments;
25° sustainable support: any instrument that allows the consumer to store information that is addressed to him personally in a way that allows him to easily refer to it in the future during a period of time adapted for the purpose to which the information is intended and that allows the identical reproduction of the information stored;
26° supplier: any company that is the contractual provider of remotely contracted services;
27° joint offer: offer linking to the acquisition of goods or services, free of charge or not, the acquisition of other goods or services;
28° abusive clause: any clause or condition in a contract between a company and a consumer that, on its own or combined with one or more other clauses or conditions, creates a clear imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties to the detriment of the consumer;
29° commercial practice: any action, omission, conduct, approach or commercial communication, including advertising and marketing, by a company, in direct relation to the promotion, sale or supply of a product;
30° Substantial deterioration of consumer economic behaviour: the use of a commercial practice that significantly jeopardizes the ability of the consumer to make an informed decision and thus to make a commercial decision that it would not otherwise have made;
31° Code of Conduct: an agreement or set of rules that are not imposed by legislative, regulatory or administrative provisions and that define the behaviour of the undertakings that are committed to being bound by it with respect to one or more business practices or one or more sectors of activity;
32° professional diligence: the level of specialized competence and care that the company is reasonably expected to demonstrate in its area of activity vis-à-vis the consumer, in accordance with the honest commercial use;
33° invitation to purchase: a commercial communication indicating the characteristics of the product and its price appropriately according to the means used for this commercial communication and thus allowing the consumer to make a purchase;
34° unjustified influence: the use of a position of force vis-à-vis the consumer in such a way as to put pressure on the consumer, even without resorting to physical force or threatening to do so, in such a way that his ability to make an informed decision is significantly limited;
35° commercial decision: any decision made by a consumer regarding the opportunity, terms and conditions relating to the fact of buying, making a full or partial payment, keeping, undoing or exercising a contractual right in relation to the product, whether it has led to the act or to refrain from acting;
36° consumer collective agreement: an agreement reached within the Consumer Council between consumer organizations and professional organizations, which governs the relations between companies and consumers with respect to goods or services or categories of goods or services;
37° working days: all calendar days, excluding Sundays and legal holidays. If the period in working days expires on a Saturday, it is extended to the next business day;
38° the Minister: the Minister who has the Economy in his powers.
Art. 3. § 1^er. This Act does not apply to securities and other financial instruments covered by the Financial Operations and Financial Markets Act.
In the circumstances and in the light of the modifications it determines, however, the King may declare certain provisions of this Act applicable to the aforementioned securities and other financial instruments or to categories of them.
§ 2. This Act does not apply to a liberal profession, dentists and physiotherapists.
CHAPTER 2. - Market information
Section 1^re
General consumer information obligation
Art. 4. At the latest at the time of the conclusion of the contract, the company must provide in good faith to the consumer the correct and useful information relating to the main characteristics of the product and the conditions of sale, taking into account the need for information expressed by the consumer and taking into account the use declared by the consumer or reasonably foreseeable.
Section 2. - Price indication
Art. 5. § 1^er. Except in the case of public sale, any company that offers goods for sale to the consumer must indicate the price in writing and in an unequivocal manner.
If the goods are displayed on sale, the price must also be indicated in a legible and apparent manner.
§ 2. Any company that offers homogeneous services to the consumer must indicate the price in writing in a legible, apparent and unambiguous manner.
Art. 6. The price indicated must be the total price to be paid by the consumer, including the value added tax, all other taxes, as well as the cost of all services to be paid obligatoryly in addition by the consumer.
Art. 7. Consumer prices are indicated at least in euro.
Art. 8. Any advertisement for consumers who report a price must indicate it in accordance with the requirements of Articles 6 and 7, and the provisions made under Article 9, 1°.
Art. 9. For the products or categories of products it determines, the King may:
1° prescribing specific terms and conditions of price indication;
2° exempt from the requirement to indicate the price in an apparent manner in case of exposure on sale;
3° to determine, for services or categories of services other than homogeneous services, in which cases and according to which terms and conditions a prior quote must be issued to the consumer, provided that the consumer makes the request and that the company is willing to provide the service.
Section 3. - The name, composition and labelling of goods and services
Art. 10. The mentions which are labelled and which are made mandatory by this Act, by its enforcement orders and by the enforcement orders referred to in Article 139, § 2, paragraph 2, the methods of employment and the guarantee bulletins are at least written in a language that is understandable to the average consumer, given the linguistic region where goods or services are offered, on a costly or free basis, to the consumer.
When mandatory, labelling must be apparent and legible, used in the form and content set by applicable regulations, and clearly distinct from advertising.
Art. 11. § 1^er. The King may, without prejudice to the competence conferred on him in the field of public health, in order to ensure the loyalty of commercial transactions or the protection of the consumer:
(a) for the goods or categories of goods that He designates, prescribe the labelling and determine the markings and other elements thereof;
(b) establish the conditions of composition, constitution, presentation, quality and security to which the goods must be held in order to be marketed, whether under a specified name or not;
(c) prohibit the marketing of property under a specified name;
(d) to impose the use of a specified name for the goods that are placed on the market;
(e) impose the addition to the names under which goods are placed on the market, signs, words or phrases intended to clarify their meaning;
(f) prohibit the addition of certain signs, words or speeches to the names under which goods are placed on the market.
§ 2. Before proposing an order pursuant to the previous paragraph, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable time limit within which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 12. For services or categories of services, the King may, in accordance with the forms prescribed by Article 11, § 2, in order to ensure the loyalty of commercial transactions or the protection of the consumer:
(a) determine which description, what general references to services should be communicated to the consumer and how;
(b) prohibit the marketing of services under a specified name;
(c) impose the use of a specified name for services that are marketed;
(d) impose the addition to the names under which the services are placed on the market, signs, words or phrases intended to clarify their meaning;
e) prohibit the addition of certain signs, words or speeches to the names under which the services are placed on the market.
Where measures to be taken pursuant to this Article relate to financial services, these measures are proposed jointly by the Minister and the Minister of Finance.
Section 4. - Indication of quantities
Art. 13. § 1^er. Any conditioned property intended for sale shall be on the packaging or, in the absence of it, on the property itself, in a legible, apparent and unambiguous manner, the indication of its nominal quantity expressed in a unit of measure.
§ 2. For goods packed in quantities exceeding 10 kg or 10 l and intended for wholesale sale, the indication of the nominal quantity expressed in a unit of measurement shall be carried, either on the packaging or, if not, on the property itself, in a legible, apparent and unambiguous manner, either on the invoice, shipping note or any other document delivered or shipped during delivery.
§ 3. For goods delivered per cargo unit of more than 10 kg or 10 l, the nominal quantity expressed in a unit of measurement shall be carried on a weighing or measuring document that will be delivered to the buyer at the time of delivery.
Art. 14. The requirement to indicate the nominal amount is the loader or conditioner, as the case may be.
If the goods are imported, the importer is responsible for indicating the nominal quantity.
However, the requirement to indicate the nominal amount is the responsibility of the person who makes the packaging or prepackage, when he has demonstrated the will in writing to the manufacturer, conditioner or importer, as the case may be.
Art. 15. When the nominal quantity has not been indicated in accordance with the provisions of Article 13, § 1^er the company can only offer on sale the goods to the consumer after having indicated this amount expressed in units of measure, in a legible, apparent and unambiguous manner, on the packaging or, in the absence of it, on the property itself or on a letter placed near the property.
The quantity shall not be mentioned for goods sold in bulk.
Art. 16. The indications provided by measuring instruments used to determine the quantities of goods sold in bulk must be readable and apparent to the average consumer.
Art. 17. Any advertisements for consumers concerning prepackaged goods in pre-determined quantities that indicate a price must include the nominal quantities of the contents of the packaging in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Art. 18. For the goods or categories of goods that He designates, the King may:
1° prescribe specific terms and conditions with respect to the indication of quantities;
2° exempt from obligations imposed by articles 13 to 15;
3° dispense from the indication of the nominal quantity in a unit of measurement and prescribe another unit of sale;
4° determine the permissible deviations between the nominal amount indicated and the actual quantity, as well as the procedure for controlling these deviations;
5° fix nominal quantities for contents and/or containers of goods intended to be marketed;
6° prescribing the number of parts contained in a prepackage and determining the permissible deviations between the number indicated and the actual number, as well as the procedure for controlling these deviations.
Section 5. - Comparative advertising
Art. 19. § 1^er. Comparative advertising is lawful as long as the following conditions are met, with respect to comparison:
1° it is not misleading within the meaning of articles 88 to 91 and 96, 1°;
2° compares goods or services that meet the same needs or have the same purpose;
3° it objectively compares one or more essential, relevant, verifiable and representative characteristics of these goods and services, the price of which may be part of;
4° it does not cause confusion among the companies between the advertiser and a competitor or between the brands, trade names, other distinctive signs, goods or services of the advertiser and those of a competitor;
5° does not result in discrediting or denigrating marks, trade names, other distinctive signs, goods, services, activities or situations of a competitor;
6° for goods having an original name, it refers in each case to goods having the same name;
7° it does not unduly benefit from the notoriety attached to a brand, a trade name or other distinctive signs of a competitor or the original name of competing goods;
8° it does not present a good or service as an imitation or reproduction of a property or service bearing a protected trademark or trade name.
§ 2. Any comparative advertising that does not comply with the conditions set out in § 1^er.
Section 6. - Price promotions
Sub-section 1^re From the reference to its own previously applied price
Art. 20. A company cannot, vis-à-vis the consumer, advertise a price reduction against the price previously applied for the same product only when the new price is lower than the reference price, which is the lowest price it applied in the month preceding the first day for which the new price is announced. The burden of proof of compliance is the responsibility of the company.
If the company operates several points of sale or uses several sales techniques, the reference price is the lowest price it applied during the period referred to in alinea first in the point of sale or according to the sales technique for which the advertisement is made.
When mentioning the new price, the advertisement must also mention the reference price, or the information given must allow the average consumer to calculate this reference price immediately and easily.
When the company applies a uniform reduction percentage on products or product categories, it can only mention the reference price. The announcement indicates whether or not the reduction was made.
Art. 21. Except for sale in liquidation, the price reduction can only be announced for a period not exceeding one month. Except for the property referred to in Article 102, § 1^er, 2°, the period during which the discount is advertised cannot be less than an entire day of sale.
The date from which the reduced price is applicable must remain indicated throughout the sale period during which it is advertised as a reduced price.
Art. 22. The King may, for goods and services or categories of goods and services that He designates, prescribe special terms and conditions with respect to the reference to the previous prices.
Art. 23. The King shall designate goods, services or categories of goods or services for which the advertisements referred to in Article 20, paragraph 1^er, are prohibited, and sets out the terms and periods of application of these prohibitions.
Before proposing an order pursuant to the previous paragraph, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable time limit within which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Sub-section 2. - Sales in liquidation
Art. 24. The use of the name "Disposal", "Uit-verkoop" or "Ausverkauf" or any other equivalent name for the offer for sale or sale of goods is permitted only in one of the following cases and subject to the other conditions of this subsection:
1° the sale takes place in execution of a judicial decision;
2° heirs or cause of a deceased person who operated a business offer on sale all or part of the stock of that business collected by them;
3° a company resumes the trade of another company and offers for sale all or part of the sold stock;
4° a company that renounces its activity offers for sale all of its stock and has not disposed of similar properties, for the same reason, in the previous three years;
5° a company shall, in the premises where the offer is usually made for sale to the consumer, make changes or remedial work for a period of more than 20 working days, provided that this work makes the sale impossible and that the company has not disposed of similar goods, for the same reason, in the preceding three years;
6° a company transfers the establishment where the offer is usually made for sale to the consumer to another place, or closes its establishment, provided that it has operated the establishment for at least one year before the commencement of the sale in liquidation;
7° a loss caused serious damage to the whole or to an important part of the stock of the property of the company;
8° as a result of a case of force majeure, an important obstacle is brought to the activity;
9° the natural person who operates a business renounces any professional activity due to the admission to the pension, however, that it did not proceed to a sale in liquidation during the previous year, for the reason referred to in 4° or for the reason for the closure of the establishment referred to in 6°.
Art. 25. § 1^er. Except as provided for in section 24, 1°, the person wishing to proceed with a liquidation sale must notify the Minister or the employee designated by him for that purpose, prior to the liquidation sale and any related announcement.
This notification, made by registered letter to the post, will require the date of the commencement of the liquidation sale and must invoke and justify the existence of one of the cases referred to in Article 24.
The winding-up may only take place ten working days after the notification is sent, except in the cases provided for in Article 24, 7° and 8°.
The duration of the liquidation is limited to five months for the cases referred to in Article 24, 1° to 8° and 12 months for the case referred to in Article 24, 9°. The interruptions of the sale in liquidation during these periods have no suspensive effect.
Any advertisement or other advertisement concerning a liquidation must necessarily specify the date of the beginning of the sale.
§ 2. Except in the cases referred to in Article 24, 1° and 7°, any sale in liquidation must take place at the points of sale where, or according to the techniques of sale with which, identical goods were usually put on sale either by the enterprise itself, or by the deceased person or the transferring company.
The undertaking that considers it impossible to comply with paragraph 1^er, is required to request an exemption by registered letter to the position from the Minister or official designated by him. It must specify the reasons for the sale and the place where it wishes to proceed with liquidation. The application is decided within 10 business days. If there is no reasoned refusal within this period, the exemption is expected to have been granted.
§ 3. Can only be offered on sale or sold in liquidation, the goods that are part of the stock of the enterprise at the time of the judicial decision referred to in Article 24, 1°, at the time of the claim referred to in Article 24, 7°, or on the day of the notification provided in § 1^er.
However, may also be offered for sale or sale in liquidation, any property that, at the time of the judicial decision referred to in section 24, 1°, or at the time of the death of the person who operated a business referred to in section 24, 2°, or at the time of the claim referred to in section 24, 7°, or at the time of the contract referred to in section 24, 8°, has been subject to a normal order
If the business operates a number of sales establishments, no property may, without the authorization of the Minister or the employee designated by him for that purpose, be transferred from an establishment to the place where the sale in liquidation occurs.
The authorization must be requested by registered letter to the position, specifying the circumstances that warrant the application. The application is decided within 10 business days. In the absence of a reasoned refusal within this period, the transfer of property is expected to have been granted.
§ 4. Except in the case provided for in section 24, 1°, any property offered for sale in liquidation must be subject to a reduction in price compared to the reference price, which is the lowest price that was requested in the month preceding the first day of the sale in liquidation, either by the company itself or by the deceased or the transferring company.
When mentioning the price at which the property is sold in liquidation, the reference price is also mentioned, or the information given allows the average consumer to immediately and easily calculate this reference price.
When the company applies a uniform reduction percentage on products or product categories, it can only mention the reference price. The announcement indicates whether or not the reduction was made.
§ 5. The burden of proof of compliance with all conditions for the liquidation sale referred to in this subsection shall be on the person making such a sale.
Art. 26. The King may determine that the notifications and requests referred to in Article 25 may also be made through other communication techniques and set out the terms and conditions.
Subsection 3. - Sales on sale
Art. 27. Periods of balances are periods from 3 January to 31 January and 1^er July to 31 July. When January 3 or January 1^erJuly is a Sunday, the balance period begins one day earlier.
The use by a company of the name "Solds", "Operiming", "Solden" or "Schlussverkauf", or any other similar name, is permitted only for the sale and sale of goods during the balance period and if the conditions of this section are met.
The second paragraph does not prejudicial to the company's right to announce to the consumer the offers for sale that are referred to there before the beginning of the balance period.
The King may adapt the period referred to in the first paragraph. Before proposing an order, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable time limit within which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 28. Can only be the subject of an offer under the name referred to in section 27, paragraph 2, the goods that the company has previously offered for sale for at least thirty days and that are still in possession of the company at the beginning of the sale on sale.
Art. 29. When the property sold on sale has been offered for sale during the month preceding the period of sale, in the same point of sale or according to the same technique of sale, the requested price must be less than the reference price, which is the lowest price for that property, during that month, in that point of sale or according to that technique of sale.
When the property sold on sale was not offered for sale during the month preceding the balance period, the requested price must be less than the reference price, which is the lowest price that the company has applied for this property in the past, regardless of the point of sale or the technique used.
When mentioning the price with the use of a name referred to in Article 27, paragraph 2, the reference price is also mentioned, or the data information allows the average consumer to calculate this reference price immediately and easily.
When the company applies a uniform reduction percentage on products or product categories, it can only mention the reference price. The announcement indicates whether or not the reduction was made.
Art. 30. The burden of proof of compliance with the terms and conditions set for the offer on sale in section 27 rests with the company that makes such an offer on sale.
Art. 31. The King may prescribe the terms and conditions for the sale and sale of goods under the names referred to in section 27, paragraph 2.
Before proposing an order pursuant to paragraph 1, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable time within which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 32. § 1^er. During periods beginning on December 6 and June 6, each time up to the first day of the next pay period, it is forbidden, in the clothing sectors, leather goods and footwear, to announce price reductions that produce their effects during this period, regardless of the place or means of communication implemented.
Before the waiting period referred to in paragraph 1^er, it is forbidden to make price reduction ads that produce their effects during the waiting period. Prohibition referred to in paragraph 1^er Also implies the prohibition to broadcast titles giving the right to a price reduction during the waiting period.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 25, § 4, paragraph 1^er, winding sales made during a waiting period cannot be accompanied by a price reduction announcement, except in the cases and conditions that the King determines.
§ 2. The King may designate property or classes of property for which the prohibition referred to in § 1^er does not apply.
Before proposing an order under paragraph 1^er, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable period in which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
§ 3. The price reduction announcement ban referred to in § 1^er is not applicable to offers for sale of products made during occasional trade events, of a maximum duration of four days and organized up to once a year by local groupings of companies or with their participation.
The King can set the conditions to which these events can be organized.
Sub-section 4. - Refunds or price reductions
Art. 33. The securities offered by a company upon the acquisition of a property or service and entitled to a subsequent refund of the price or part of the price refer to the following data:
1° the name, address and, where applicable, the form of company and the company number of the transmitter;
2° the amount refunded;
3° the possible limit of their validity period, unless it is unlimited;
4° the terms and conditions of reimbursement, including the steps to be taken by the holder of the title in order to obtain the refund and the period in which the refund will be made, unless such information is provided together with the title in a separate document.
Art. 34. § 1^er. Any company that is presented with a title that has been broadcast free of charge by itself or by another company and that allows its holder, to purchase one or more goods and/or services, to immediately obtain a price reduction, is obliged to accept it, provided that the terms of the offer are met.
If the title has been issued by another company than the one to which it is submitted, the obligation set out in paragraph 1^er only applies when the title mentions the data listed in § 2.
§ 2. Data referred to in § 1^erParagraph 2 are:
1° the name, address and, where applicable, the form of company and the company number of the transmitter;
2° the amount of the reduction;
3° the goods or services that must be acquired to be able to use the title;
4° points of sale where the title can be used, unless it can be used in all points of sale where goods or services are offered on sale;
5° the duration of the title unless it is unlimited.
Art. 35. Any person who issues the securities referred to in this subsection becomes, under the conditions of their issuance, a debtor of the debt that these securities represent.
As long as the issuer of the securities referred to in section 34 is not the company in which the title was filed, the issuer is required to reimburse the issuer within a reasonable time to the undertaking in which the title was filed.
Art. 36. § 1^er. The King may, for the titles referred to in this subsection:
1° prescribing a minimum format and distinctive signs;
2° subordinating the issuance of securities to the creation of credit guarantees and the maintenance of special accounting, and imposing control measures;
3° prescribe special terms and conditions to adapt the provisions of this subsection for titles presented in the form of electronic registration.
§ 2. Before proposing an order under § 1^er, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable period in which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Section 7. - Miscellaneous provisions
Art. 37. Without prejudice to the application of section 88, 1°, and 2°, if an advertisement limited in time is advertised outside the establishment of the company for one or more goods with mention of their price, the company that no longer has the goods concerned is required to issue to the consumer, for any property of more than 25 euros whose stock is exhausted, a title giving right to its purchase within a reasonable time and according to the terms of the offer.
The obligation set out in paragraph 1^er does not apply, however, when the business
(a) may no longer constitute a new stock of the goods concerned under the same conditions; or
(b) no longer wishes, after exhaustion of its stock, to offer on sale the goods concerned and to mention it clearly in its advertisement; or
(c) mentioned in the advertisement concerned the number of goods in stock for each of the points of sale for which the advertisement was made.
The King may adapt the amount referred to in paragraph 1^er.
Art. 38. § 1^er. Without prejudice to the powers conferred upon him under another legal provision, the King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, for the goods or services or categories of goods or services that He determines:
1° prohibit or restrict advertising, with a view to ensuring greater protection of consumer and environmental safety;
2° to determine the minimum advertising mentions, with a view to ensuring better consumer information.
§ 2. Before proposing an order under § 1^er, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable period in which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 39. § 1^er. The Commission for Ecological Labelling and Advertising is responsible for issuing advice and recommendations on advertising and labelling related to environmental effects and on the development of an ecological advertising code.
§ 2. Following the advice of the Commission and the joint initiative of the Minister and Minister with the Environment in his powers, the King may impose an ecological advertising code.
§ 3. The King determines the composition of the Commission. It must include, among its members, at least two representatives of environmental protection associations.
CHAPTER 3. - Contracts with consumers
Section 1^re. - General provisions
Art. 40. § 1^er. When all or certain clauses of a contract between a company and a consumer are written, these clauses must be clearly and comprehensible.
§ 2. In case of doubt about the meaning of a clause, the most favorable interpretation to the consumer prevails. This rule of interpretation is not applicable as part of the cessation action provided for in section 2 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection.
A contract between a company and a consumer may be interpreted in particular according to the business practices directly related to it.
Art. 41. When a contract with a consumer has been concluded as a result of an unfair commercial practice referred to in article 91, 12°, 16° and 17°, and in article 94, 1°, 2° and 8°, the consumer may, within a reasonable period of time from the time when he was aware of or should have known of his existence, require the refund of the amounts paid, without restitution of the product delivered.
When a contract with a consumer has been concluded following an unfair commercial practice referred to in articles 84 to 86, 91, 1° to 11°, 13° to 15, 18° to 23°, and in article 94, 3° to 7°, the judge may, without prejudice to the sanctions of common law, order the refund to the consumer of the amounts he paid, without restitution by the latter of the product delivered.
In the case of a supply not requested to the consumer within the meaning of Article 94, 6°, the consumer is in any case exempted from the payment of the price or any other counter-prestation, the absence of a response not valid from the consumer's consent.
Art. 42. Without prejudice to specific regulations that expressly authorize it, it is prohibited for any company to have a letter of exchange signed by the consumer to be promised or to be guaranteed the payment of its commitments.
Art. 43. It is prohibited for the company to charge telephone calls for which the consumer must pay the content of the message, in addition to the call rate, when these calls relate to the execution of a contract already entered into.
Art. 44. It is forbidden for the company, when entering into a contract on the internet, to use default options that the consumer must refuse to avoid any payment of one or more additional products.
Section 2. - Remote contracts
Sub-section 1^re
Distance contracts not related to financial services
Art. 45. When offering a remote contract, the consumer must be informed unequivocally, in a clear and comprehensible manner, by any means adapted to the remote communication technique used, including the following:
1° the identity of the company and its geographical address;
2° the essential characteristics of the good or service;
3° the price of the good or service;
4° if applicable, shipping costs;
5° the payment, delivery or execution of the contract;
6° the existence or absence of a right of withdrawal;
7° the terms of recovery or restitution of property, including any costs associated with it;
8° the cost of using the remote communication technique, when calculated on a basis other than the basic tariff;
9° the validity of the offer or price;
10° where applicable, the minimum duration of the contract in the case of contracts relating to the sustainable or periodic supply of a service or the delivery of goods.
In addition, in case of telephone communications, the company is required to explicitly indicate at the beginning of any conversation with the consumer its identity and commercial purpose of its call.
Art. 46. § 1^er. The consumer must receive in writing or on another sustainable medium, at its disposal and at which it has access, the following:
1° confirmation of the information referred to in Article 45, 1°, 3° to 6° and 10°, as well as identification of the good or service;
2° where applicable, the conditions and procedures for the exercise of the right of withdrawal, as well as the following clause, written in bold in a separate context of the text, on the first page:
"The consumer has the right to notify the company that he renounces the purchase, without penalties and without any indication of reason, within... calendar days of the day after the day of the delivery of the property or the conclusion of the service contract. »
This clause is supplemented by the number of calendar days, which cannot be less than 14.
In the event of failure of the latter clause, under the conditions referred to in § 2, the property or service is deemed to have been provided to the consumer without prior request from the consumer and the consumer is not required to pay the property or service or to return it;
3° in case of absence of the right of withdrawal, in the hypotheses provided for in article 47, § 4, the following clause, written in bold in a separate context of the text, on the first page:
"The consumer does not have the right to give up the purchase. »;
4° the geographic address of the establishment of the company where the consumer can present his claims;
5° information relating to after-sales services and existing trade guarantees;
6° the conditions of termination of the contract, where the contract is indefinite or longer than one year.
§ 2. The consumer must receive the information referred to in § 1^er :
- for goods: at the latest upon delivery to the consumer;
- for services: prior to the execution of any service contract and, if necessary, during the performance of the service contract, if the execution began, with the consumer agreement, before the end of the withdrawal period.
§ 3. The provisions of §§ 1^er and 2 do not apply to services whose execution itself is carried out using a remote communication technique, when these services are provided in one time and their billing is carried out directly by the communication technology operator. However, the consumer must be informed of the geographic address of the establishment of the company where it can submit its claims.
Art. 47. § 1^er. For any remote contract, the consumer has at least 14 calendar days to withdraw from the contract. This right is exercised without penalties and without any indication of reason.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 48, § 2, second dash, the only costs that may be charged to the consumer because of the exercise of his right of withdrawal are the direct costs of dismissal.
For the exercise of this right, the short period:
- for goods, from the day after the day of their delivery to the consumer, when the information obligations referred to in Article 46, § 1^erhave been completed;
- for services, from the day after the day on which the contract was concluded or from the day on which the information obligations provided for in Article 46 § 1^er, have been completed, if completed after the conclusion of the contract, provided that the period does not exceed the three-month period provided for in § 2.
With respect to the period of withdrawal, the period shall be deemed to be met if the notification, provided that it has been made in writing or on a durable medium that is available to the recipient and to which it has access, has been sent before the expiry of the period.
§ 2. If the company has not fulfilled the information obligations set out in Article 46, § 1^erthe withdrawal period is three months. This deadline is short:
- for goods, from the day of delivery to the consumer;
- for services, starting on the day the contract was concluded.
If, within this three-month period, the information referred to in Article 46, § 1^er, are provided, the period referred to in § 1^er starts running the day after the receipt of the information.
For goods subject to successive deliveries, the withdrawal periods begin to run the day after the day of the first delivery.
§ 3. In the event of the exercise of the right of withdrawal under §§ 1^er and 2, the company is required to reimburse the sums paid by the consumer, without charge. This refund must be made no later than 30 days after the withdrawal.
§ 4. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the consumer may not exercise the right of withdrawal under §§ 1^er and 2, for contracts:
1° of provision of services whose execution began, with the agreement of the consumer, before the end of the withdrawal period referred to in § 1^er;
2° of supply of goods made according to the specifications of the consumer or clearly customized or which, because of their nature, cannot be re-dispatched or are likely to deteriorate or perish quickly;
3° providing audio or video recordings or computer software stored by the consumer;
4th supply of newspapers, periodicals and magazines;
5° betting and lotterie services;
6° of supply of foodstuffs, beverages or other household goods supplied to a consumer's home, residence or place of work by distributors making frequent and regular tours.
If the company has not notified the consumer, in accordance with Article 45, 6°, of the absence of a right of withdrawal, the consumer has the right of withdrawal referred to in § 2.
Art. 48. § 1^er. Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the company must complete the order no later than 30 days from the day after the consumer has forwarded its order.
When the company does not execute the contract on time, the consumer has the right, without judicial intervention and with a simple notification to the company, to resolve it, provided that at this time the company has not yet sent the property ordered or has not yet begun the supply of the service ordered, without prejudice to the consumer's right to obtain damages, if necessary. No compensation or fees may be claimed to the consumer of the head of the resolution.
In addition, the consumer must be reimbursed within 30 days of the amounts paid in payment, if any.
§ 2. In the event of the exercise of the right of withdrawal pursuant to section 47, any direct costs of removal may not be borne by the consumer, if:
- the goods delivered or service presumed does not correspond to the description of the offer;
- the company has not fulfilled its information obligations under Articles 45 and 46, § 1^er.
§ 3. In the event of the exercise of the right of withdrawal under section 47, a consumer who has entered into a credit contract with a view to fully or partially financing the payment of the price of the property or service, subject to the contract, may withdraw from the credit contract without charge or compensation, provided that:
1° that the credit contract was entered into with the company or granted by a third party, provided that there is an agreement between the third party and the company to ensure the financing of the sales of the third party, and
2° that the withdrawal of the credit contract shall be made within the time limits and in the manner specified in Article 47.
Sub-section 2
Remote financial services contracts
Art. 49. For contracts relating to financial services with a first service agreement followed by successive transactions or a series of separate transactions of the same nature that have been phased over time, the provisions of this subsection apply only to the first agreement.
If there is no first agreement, but that the successive or separate transactions of the same type are carried out over time between the same parties to the contract, sections 50 and 51 are applicable only when the first transaction is performed. However, in cases where no such operation is carried out for more than one year, the following operation is considered to be the first in a new series of operations, to which sections 50 and 51 apply.
Art. 50. § 1^er. In due course, before the consumer is bound by a contract or offer, he must be informed unequivocally, in a clear and understandable manner, and by any means adapted to the remote communication technique used, at least on the following:
1° the supplier
(a) the identity of the supplier, including its business number, main activity, geographic address, and any other geographic address to be taken into account in the relationship between the consumer and the supplier;
(b) in the case where the supplier is represented in the Member State of the European Union in which the consumer has his residence, the identity of that representative and the geographical address to be taken into account in the relations between the consumer and the representative;
(c) if the consumer has relations with a company other than the supplier, the identity of that company, the quality in which it acts with respect to the consumer and the geographic address to be taken into account in the relations between the consumer and that company;
(d) in the case where the activity of the supplier and/or the other business with which the consumer has relations is subject to an authorization regime, the contact information of the competent supervisory authority;
2° the financial service
(a) a description of the main characteristics of the financial service;
(b) the total price due by the consumer to the company for the financial service, including all related remuneration, expenses and expenses, and all taxes and taxes to be paid through the company or, where an exact price cannot be indicated, the basis for calculating the price, allowing the consumer to verify it;
(c) where appropriate, the indication that the financial service is linked to instruments that involve particular risks because of their specificities or operations to be performed, or whose price depends on fluctuations in the financial markets on which the supplier has no influence, as well as the indication that past performance cannot give any guarantee as to future performance;
(d) the indication of the possible existence of other taxes, taxes and/or fees that are not paid through or imposed by the company;
(e) any limitation of the validity of the information provided;
(f) payment and execution modes;
(g) any specific additional cost to the consumer related to the use of the remote communication technology, where this additional cost is charged;
3° the contract remotely
(a) the existence or absence of the right of withdrawal referred to in Article 53 and, if that right exists, its duration and the terms of its exercise, including information on the amount that the consumer may be required to pay on the basis of Article 54, § 1^eras well as the consequences arising from the lack of exercise of this right;
(b) the minimum length of the distance contract, in the case of a permanent or periodic provision of financial services;
(c) information on the right of parties to terminate the contract in advance or unilaterally under the terms of the distance contract, including any termination allowances imposed by the contract;
(d) practical instructions for the exercise of the right of withdrawal indicating, inter alia, the address to which the notification must be sent;
(e) the legislation(s) on which the company is based to establish relations with the consumer prior to the conclusion of the contract;
(f) any contractual clause concerning the law applicable to the contract and/or the competent court;
(g) the language or languages in which the terms and conditions of the contract are communicated, as well as the prior information referred to in this section, and in addition, the language or languages in which the company undertakes, in agreement with the consumer, to communicate during the term of the contract;
4° the appeal
(a) the existence or absence of extra-judicial procedures for consumer-accessible claims and remedies that are a party to the remote contract and, if such procedures exist, the terms and conditions for access to it;
(b) the existence of collateral funds or other compensation mechanisms, not covered by the Act of 22 March 1993 on the Status and Control of Credit Institutions and the Act of 17 December 1998 establishing a Fund for the Protection of Deposits and Financial Instruments and reorganizing systems for the protection of deposits and financial instruments.
The commercial purpose of this information must be unequivocal.
§ 2. Information relating to contractual obligations, to be communicated to the consumer in a pre-contractual phase, shall be in conformity with the contractual obligations that would result from the presumed law applicable to the remote contract in the event of its conclusion.
Art. 51. In the case of voice communication, the identity of the company and the commercial purpose of the call must be clearly and explicitly indicated at the beginning of any conversation with the consumer.
Subject to the formal consumer agreement, only the following information shall be provided:
(a) the identity and quality of the person in contact with the consumer and its relationship with the supplier;
(b) a description of the main characteristics of the financial service;
(c) the total price due by the consumer to the company for the financial service, including all related remuneration, expenses and expenses, and all taxes and taxes to be paid through the company or, where an exact price cannot be indicated, the basis for calculating the price, allowing the consumer to verify it;
(d) the indication of the possible existence of other taxes, taxes and/or fees that are not paid through or imposed by the company;
(e) the existence or absence of the right of withdrawal provided for in Article 53 and, if that right exists, its duration and the terms of its exercise, including information on the amount that the consumer may be required to pay on the basis of Article 54, § 1^eras well as the consequences arising from the lack of exercise of this right.
The company informs the consumer that other information may be provided upon request and the nature of this information. In any event, the company provides complete information when it meets its obligations under section 52.
Art. 52. § 1^er. In due time, and before the consumer is bound by a distance contract or by an offer, the company shall communicate to it all the terms and conditions of contract and the information referred to in Article 50 § 1^er, on paper or other durable support, made available to the consumer and to which the consumer has access.
§ 2. The company fulfils its obligation under § 1^er, immediately after the conclusion of the contract at distance, if the contract has been concluded, at the request of the consumer, using a remote communication technique not allowing to transmit the contractual conditions and information in accordance with § 1^er.
§ 3. At any time during the contractual relationship, the consumer has the right, if requested, to receive the contractual conditions on paper. In addition, the consumer has the right to change the remote communication technologies used, unless it is incompatible with the distance contract entered into or with the nature of the financial service provided.
Art. 53. § 1^er. The consumer has at least 14 calendar days to withdraw from the remote contract on a financial service. This right is exercised without penalties and without any indication of reason.
For the exercise of this right the short period:
- from the day the remote contract is concluded,
- from the day on which the consumer receives the contractual conditions and information, in accordance with Article 52 § 1^er or § 2, if the last date is after the date referred to in the first dash.
The deadline shall be deemed to be met if the notification, provided that it has been made in writing or on a sustainable medium that is available to the recipient and to which it has access, has been sent before the expiry of the period.
§ 2. The right of withdrawal does not apply:
1° to financial services whose price depends on fluctuations in the financial market on which the supplier has no influence, and which are likely to occur during the withdrawal period.
This applies in particular to services related to:
- exchange transactions,
- monetary instruments,
- negotiable securities,
- shares in collective investment companies,
- future financial contracts, including equivalent instruments resulting in a cash settlement,
- futures contracts on interest rates ("FR"),
- exchange contracts ("interchanges") on interest rates or foreign exchange contracts and exchange contracts on shares or equity indices ("equitable swaps")
- options to purchase or sell the instruments covered by this item, including equivalent instruments resulting in a cash settlement, in particular currency options and interest rates;
2° to contracts executed entirely by both parties, at the express request of the consumer, before the consumer exercises his right of withdrawal;
3° to mortgage credit contracts subject to the Law of 4 August 1992 on mortgage credit.
§ 3. If another contract for financial services prescribed by a supplier or a third party on the basis of an agreement between the third party and the company has been added to a remote contract for a particular financial service, this additional contract shall be terminated, without penalty, if the consumer exercises his right of withdrawal referred to in § 1^er.
Art. 54. § 1^er. During the withdrawal period, the execution of the contract can only begin after the consumer's agreement.
When the consumer exercises the right of withdrawal referred to in Article 53, § 1^er, it can only be held upon payment, as soon as possible, of the financial service actually provided by the supplier under the remote contract.
The amount payable cannot:
- exceed a proportional amount to the importance of the service already provided in relation to all the benefits provided by the remote contract;
- in no case be so high that it can be interpreted as a penalty.
§ 2. The supplier may not require payment by the consumer on the basis of § 1^er that if it can prove that the consumer has been duly informed of the amount due in accordance with Article 50 § 1^er, 3°, a). In no case may he require payment if he has begun to execute the contract before the expiry of the withdrawal period provided for in Article 53, § 1^erwithout prior consumer demand.
§ 3. The supplier is required to refund to the consumer, as soon as possible and no later than 30 calendar days, all amounts collected from the consumer in accordance with the distance contract, with the exception of the amount referred to in § 1^er. This period begins on the day the supplier receives notification of the withdrawal.
§ 4. The consumer shall return to the supplier, as soon as possible and no later than 30 calendar days, any sum and/or property received by the supplier. This period runs from the day the consumer sends the notification of withdrawal.
Art. 55. § 1^er. The supplier is responsible to the consumer for complying with the obligations resulting from sections 50 to 52.
§ 2. In case of non-compliance with the obligations arising from articles 50, § 1^er, 2° and 3°, 51 and 52, the consumer may terminate the contract without any fees or penalties, by registered letter to the position and motivated, within a reasonable period of time from the time he or she is aware of or should have known of the non-compliance.
Subsection 3. - Provisions common to this section
Art. 56. § 1^er. It is the responsibility of the company to provide evidence that it has complied with obligations relating to consumer information, compliance with deadlines, consumer consent to the conclusion of the contract and, where applicable, its execution during the withdrawal period. In the case of remote financial services contracts, this evidence is the responsibility of the supplier.
The terms and conditions, or combinations of clauses and conditions that are intended to provide the consumer with proof of compliance with all or part of the obligations referred to in this section, involving the company and, in the event of a distance contract involving financial services, the supplier, are prohibited and void.
§ 2. Any clause by which the consumer waives the rights conferred on him by this section is deemed to be non-written.
§ 3. Any clause declaring applicable to the contract the law of a third State to the European Union is prohibited and void in respect of matters governed by this section when, in the absence of this clause, the law of a Member State of the European Union would be applicable and that this law would provide greater protection to the consumer in such matters.
§ 4. The sending of representative goods and securities of services is always at the risk of the one with which the consumer contracted.
Art. 57. § 1^er. In this section, the King may:
1° make special provisions applicable to certain remote communication technologies, taking into account, where appropriate, the specificities of small and medium-sized enterprises;
2° exclude from the scope of this section or from certain provisions that it designates the property or classes of property that it designates;
3° exclude from the scope of this section or from certain provisions that it designates the services or categories of services that it designates;
4° make special provisions for the goods or categories of goods that it designates;
5° make special arrangements for the services or categories of services it designates;
6° make special provisions for public sales organized by means of a remote communication technique.
§ 2. Before proposing an order pursuant to the provisions of this section, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable time within which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Section 3. - Contracts concluded outside the company premises
Art. 58. § 1^er. This section provides that sales to consumers of goods and services performed by a company:
1° at the residence of the consumer or another consumer, as well as at the place of work of the consumer;
2° during an excursion organized by or for the company outside its sales surface;
3° in lounges, fairs and exhibitions, provided there is no payment on site of the total sum and that the price exceeds 200 euros.
§ 2. The King may:
- adapt the amount referred to in § 1^er3°;
- extend the scope of this section to sales in other locations that it designates.
Before proposing an order, the Minister shall consult with the Consumer Council and the Superior Council of Independents and EMPs and shall determine the reasonable time limit within which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 59. Do not fall under the application of this section:
1° the sales referred to in Article 58, § 1^er, 1°, covering a property or service for which the consumer has previously and expressly requested the visit of the company, in order to negotiate the purchase of this property or service.
Does not constitute a prior request, the agreement given by the consumer to an offer of visits offered by telephone by the company;
2° sales of foodstuffs, beverages and household goods by companies serving, through frequent and regular tours, a customer by means of ambulant stores;
3° public sales;
4° distance sales;
5° insurance sales;
6° the sales organised in the context of commercial and exclusively philanthropic events, subject to the conditions established under the Act of 25 June 1993 relating to the exercise of ambulant activities and the organization of public markets, and provided that their amount does not exceed 50 euros. The King may adjust this amount;
7° consumer credit contracts subject to consumer credit legislation.
Art. 60. Without prejudice to the rules governing evidence in common law, sales to the consumer referred to in this section shall be subject to a written contract, written in as many copies as there are Contracting Parties with a separate interest.
This contract must include:
- the name and address of the company;
- the date and place of the conclusion of the contract;
- the precise designation of the property or service and its main characteristics;
- the delivery time of the property or service delivery;
- the cost and payment terms;
- the following withdrawal clause, written in bold in a separate context of the text, at the front of the first page:
"In the next seven business days of the day after the signing of this contract, the consumer has the right to withdraw without charge from the purchase, provided that the company is notified by registered letter to the position. Any clause by which the consumer would waive this right is void. With respect to the time limit, the notification must be sent before the expiry of the notification. »
The latter mention is prescribed only if the contract is invalid.
Art. 61. Sales of goods or services referred to in section 58 shall be final only after a seven-day period has elapsed from the day after the day on which the contract referred to in section 60 is signed.
During this period of reflection, the consumer has the right to notify the company by registered letter that he retracts from his purchase. The period of reflection shall be deemed to be respected if the notification has been sent before its expiry.
No service provision may be made prior to the flow of the reflection period referred to in this section.
Except for sales referred to in Article 58, § 1^er, 3°, a deposit or payment may not, under any pretext, be required or accepted from the consumer before the period of reflection referred to in this article.
Art. 62. In case of sale on trial, the period of reflection begins on the day of the delivery of the property to end the expiry of the trial period, without being less than seven working days.
Art. 63. If the consumer withdraws from the purchase, no costs or compensation may be claimed from the purchaser.
Art. 64. The offer for sale and sale of goods through ambulant activities is permitted only to the extent that it complies with the law relating to these activities. For the surplus, the provisions of this Act apply to it.
Section 4. - Public sales
Art. 65. § 1^er. Are subject to the provisions of this section, offers for sale and public sales to the consumer, either at auction or at discounts, as well as exposure, for such sales, of manufactured goods, with the exception of offers for sale and sales:
1. non-commercial;
2. covering objects of art or collection - excluding carpets and jewellery - or antiques;
3. carried out pursuant to a legal provision or judicial decision;
4. in case of reorganization or bankruptcy;
5. made using a remote communication technique.
§ 2. The King may prescribe special terms and conditions for offers on sale and public sales of the goods that He determines. It may also determine the conditions for bids on sale and public sales of goods through a remote communication technique.
Art. 66. § 1^er. Offerings for sale and public sales within the meaning of section 65 are permitted only when they relate to used goods.
§ 2. It is deemed used, any property that has apparent signs of use, unless the apparent signs of use are the exclusive result of an artificial aging treatment, as well as any property in which the company can prove that it has already been used in a normal way.
Art. 67. The King may, for certain property, authorize derogations to the provision of Article 66, § 1^erwhere the offer for sale or sale of these goods by other sales processes is difficult or impossible.
Art. 68. Offerings for sale and public sales within the meaning of section 65 may only take place in premises exclusively for that purpose, except where necessary, by the Minister or the employee designated by him for that purpose.
Any organizer of an offer for sale or a public sale shall be liable for compliance with the provisions of paragraph 1^er and section 66.
The organizer must mention, in a legible manner, his name, name or name, his domicile or his head office and his company number in any advertisement, advertisement or any document relating to the offer for sale and public sale.
In no case may this statement be replaced by the indication of the departmental officer responsible for conducting public sales operations.
Art. 69. In the event of a breach of the provisions of this section, officers commissioned by the Minister referred to in section 133, and judicial police officers may file a report. A copy of this report is given or notified to the organizer or his/her attendant by registered letter.
The above-mentioned agents may, in this case, order verbally and on-site the prohibition of the sale of the goods referred to in the minutes or the termination of the sale.
They may, as a precautionary measure, proceed to the seizure of property subject to the offence, in accordance with the provisions of Article 137, § 1^er.
Art. 70. The departmental officer responsible for conducting public sale transactions shall refuse to cooperate with the transactions relating to property seized under section 69, paragraph 3.
Section 5. - Joint supply
Art. 71. Without prejudice to section 72, the joint offer to the consumer is authorized, provided that it does not constitute an unfair trade practice within the meaning of sections 84 et seq.
Art. 72. § 1^er. Any joint offer to the consumer, of which at least one element is a financial service, which is carried out by a company or by different companies acting with a common purpose, is prohibited.
§ 2. By derogation from § 1^er, however, it is permissible to offer jointly:
1° of the financial services that constitute a whole;
The King may, on the proposal of the competent ministers and the Minister of Finance, designate the services proposed in the financial sector that consituate a package;
2° of financial services and menus of goods and services permitted by commercial use;
3° of financial services and securities of participation in legally authorized lotteries;
4° of financial services and articles covered by indelible and clearly apparent advertisements, which are not as such in trade, provided that their acquisition prices by the company do not exceed 10 euros, excluding VAT, or 5% of the sale price, excluding VAT, of the financial service with which they are awarded. The 5% percentage applies if the amount corresponding to this percentage is greater than 10 euros;
5° of financial services and chromos, thumbnails and other images of a minimum commercial value;
6° of the financial services and securities consisting of documents giving right, after acquiring a number of services, to a free offer or a price reduction when acquiring a similar service, provided that this benefit is obtained by the same company and does not exceed one third of the previously acquired service price.
Titles must mention the possible limit of their validity period, as well as the terms and conditions of the offer.
When the company interrupts its offer, the consumer must benefit from the advantage offered on the pro-rata basis of previous purchases.
Section 6. - Undue clauses
Art. 73. The abusive nature of a contractual clause is appreciated by taking into account the nature of the products that are the subject of the contract and by referring, at the time of the conclusion of the contract, to all the circumstances surrounding its conclusion, as well as to all other clauses of the contract, or to another contract of which it depends.
For the assessment of the abusive character, it is also taken into account the requirement of clarity and understanding referred to in Article 40, § 1^er.
The assessment of the abusive nature of the clauses does not relate to the definition of the principal object of the contract, or to the adequacy between the price and the remuneration on the one hand, and the goods or services to be provided for consideration, on the other hand, provided that these clauses are clearly and understandably drafted.
Art. 74. In contracts between a company and a consumer, in any case are abusive, the clauses and conditions or combinations of clauses and conditions which are intended to:
1° provide for an irrevocable commitment of the consumer, while the performance of the company's benefits is subject to a condition whose realization depends on its sole will;
2° to determine, in indefinite contracts, that the price of the goods is fixed at the time of delivery or allow the company to unilaterally increase the price or change the conditions to the detriment of the consumer on the basis of elements that depend on its sole will, without the consumer having the right, in all such cases, before the new price or conditions apply, to terminate the contract without reasonable costs or damages.
However, are authorized and valid:
(a) price indexing clauses provided that they are not unlawful and that the mode of adaptation of the price is explicitly described in the contract;
(b) the terms that the financial services business reserves the right to change the interest rate due by the consumer or due to the consumer, without any prior notice in case of valid reason, provided that the company is responsible for the obligation to inform the consumer as soon as possible and that the consumer is free to terminate the contract immediately;
3° to determine, in fixed-term contracts, that the price of the goods is fixed at the time of delivery or to allow the company to unilaterally increase the price or change the conditions to the detriment of the consumer on the basis of elements that depend on its sole will, even if the possibility of ending the contract is then offered to the consumer.
Exceptions under 2°, paragraph 2, also apply with respect to the case referred to in paragraph 1^er;
4° reserve to the company the right to unilaterally modify the characteristics of the product to be delivered, if these characteristics are essential to the consumer or for the use to which the consumer destines the product, at least as long as this use has been communicated to the company and accepted by the company or as otherwise specified, that use has been reasonably foreseeable;
5° unilaterally fix or modify the delivery time of a product;
6° grant the undertaking the right to determine unilaterally whether the goods delivered or the service presumed are in accordance with the contract, or to grant it the exclusive right to interpret any clause of the contract;
7° prohibit the consumer from requesting the contract resolution in case the company does not perform its obligations;
8° restricting the consumer's right to terminate the contract when, within the framework of its contractual guarantee obligation, the company does not respect or fail to comply with its obligation to repair or replace the property within a reasonable period of time;
9° obligate the consumer to fulfil its obligations, while the company would not have executed its own or would fail to enforce its obligations;
10° without prejudice to Article 1184 of the Civil Code, allowing the company to unilaterally terminate the fixed-term contract, without compensation for the consumer, except for the case of force majeure;
11° without prejudice to Article 1184 of the Civil Code, allowing the company to unilaterally terminate the indefinite contract without a reasonable notice period, except for the case of force majeure;
12° in case of force majeure, allow the consumer to break the contract only with the payment of damages;
13° to release the company from its responsibility because of its dol, its heavy fault or that of its agents or agents, or, except in the case of force majeure, as a result of any failure to perform an obligation consisting of one of the main benefits of the contract;
14° delete or decrease the legal warranty in respect of hidden defects, provided for in articles 1641 to 1649 of the Civil Code, or the legal obligation to issue a property in accordance with the contract, provided for in articles 1649bis to 1649octies of the Civil Code;
15° fix an unreasonably short period to report defects to the company in the product delivered;
16° prohibit the consumer from compensating his debt to the company by a debt he would have on it;
17° determine the amount of compensation payable by the consumer who does not perform its obligations, without providing for compensation in the same order of the company that does not perform its obligations;
18° engage the consumer for an indefinite period, without specifying a reasonable period of termination;
19° extend the fixed-term contract for successive delivery of goods for an unreasonable period if the consumer does not terminate on time;
20° automatically extend a fixed-term contract in the absence of a contrary notification from the consumer, whereas an excessively distant date from the end of the contract has been set as the deadline to express this desire for non-prorogation from the consumer;
21° to limit unauthorised evidence that the consumer may use or impose a burden of proof normally on another party to the contract;
22° give up the consumer, in the event of a conflict, to any remedy against the company;
23° allow the company, by means of an election of domicile set out in the contract, to file its application before a judge other than that designated by section 624, 1°, 2° and 4°, of the Judicial Code, without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of the Council of 22 December 2000 concerning judicial competence, recognition and enforcement of decisions in civil and commercial matters;
24° fix amounts of damages claimed in the event of non-performance or delay in the performance of consumer obligations that clearly exceed the extent of the damage likely to be incurred by the company;
25° exclude or limit the company's legal liability in the event of a consumer's death or injury to the consumer and resulting from an act or omission of that enterprise;
26° see irrefragably the consumer's accession to clauses that he did not have, in fact, the opportunity to become acquainted before the conclusion of the contract;
27° allow the company to retain amounts paid by the consumer when the consumer renounces the conclusion or execution of the contract, without providing for the consumer's right to receive an allowance of an equivalent amount on the part of the company when the latter renounces;
28° allow the company to retain the sums paid by the consumer when it is the company itself that terminates the contract;
29° restricting the company's obligation to comply with the commitments made by its agents, or to submit its commitments to respect a particular formality;
30° improperly exclude or limit the legal rights of the consumer to the enterprise or another party in the event of complete or partial non-performance or failure to perform by the enterprise of any of its contractual obligations;
31° provide for the possibility of transfer of the contract from the company, where this session is likely to result in a reduction in consumer guarantees, without the agreement of the consumer;
32° increase the advertised price of a product due to the consumer's refusal to pay by bank domicile;
33° increase the advertised price for a product because of the consumer's refusal to receive invoices by email.
Art. 75. § 1^er. Any abusive clause is prohibited and void.
The contract remains binding on the parties if it can remain without abusive clauses.
The consumer cannot give up the rights conferred on it by this section.
§ 2. A clause declaring applicable to the contract the law of a third State to the European Union shall be deemed not in writing with respect to matters governed by this section when, in the absence of this clause, the law of a Member State of the European Union would be applicable and that this law would provide greater protection to the consumer in such matters.
Art. 76. In order to ensure the balance of rights and obligations between the parties in the sales of products to the consumer or in order to ensure the loyalty of commercial transactions, the King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, for the sectors of professional activity or the categories of products it determines, prescribes or prohibits the use of certain clauses in the contracts concluded between a company and a consumer. It can also impose the use of standard contracts.
Before proposing an order under paragraph 1^er, the Minister shall consult with the Commission on Unlawful Clauses and the Superior Council of Independents and P.M.E. and shall determine the reasonable period in which the notice must be given. After this period, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 77. § 1^er. The Commission on Excessive Clauses is aware of clauses and conditions used in sales and sales of products between companies and consumers.
§ 2. The Commission may be seized by the Minister, consumer organizations, and interested professional and interprofessional groups.
She can also seize on her own.
§ 3. The King determines the composition of the Commission.
Art. 78. § 1^er. The Commission recommends that:
1° the deletion or modification of the clauses and conditions that appear to it to create a clear imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties, to the detriment of the consumer;
2° the insertion of mentions, clauses and conditions which seem necessary for the information of the consumer or whose absence seems to him to create a clear imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties, to the detriment of the consumer;
3° a writing and presentation of the clauses and conditions that are of a nature to allow the consumer to understand its meaning and scope.
Professional and inter-professional groupings or consumer organizations may request the Commission's advice on draft clauses or conditions used in sales offers and sales of products between companies and consumers.
§ 2. As part of its competence, the Commission proposes to the Minister the legislative or regulatory amendments that appear desirable to it.
§ 3. The Commission prepares and publishes an annual report of its activity. This includes the full text of the recommendations and proposals made during the year.
Section 7. - Order order
Art. 79. During the sale, any company is required to issue a purchase order when the delivery of the property or the provision of the service is delayed and a deposit is paid by the consumer.
The denunciations of the order form oblige the person who has established it, notwithstanding any general or particular conditions, other or contrary.
The King may determine the markings that must appear on the order form.
Section 8. - supporting documents
Art. 80. § 1^er. Any company that provides services to the consumer is required to issue a supporting document free of charge to the consumer. This obligation is waived when the price of the service has been communicated in accordance with Article 5, § 2, or when a quote or invoice is issued including the mentions referred to in § 2.
Do not enter the scope of this section, the contracts entered into under the name "package" or under any other equivalent designation, which is the purpose of providing a service for a fixed aggregate price, previously agreed to in the service and covering the entire service.
§ 2. The King:
- determines, either in general or for the services or categories of services it designates, the references to be included in the supporting document;
- may exempt the services or categories of services it designates from the application of this section;
- may designate property or classes of property to which this section applies;
- may, by derogation from § 1^er, for the services or categories of services that it determines, require the company to issue a supporting document to the consumer free of charge, to which it determines the terms and conditions.
§ 3. The decrees taken under § 2, fourth dash, are submitted by the Minister to the advice of the Consumer Council and to the advice of the Superior Council of Independents and P.M.E.. The Minister shall determine the reasonable time limit for rendering the notice. If the notice is not issued within the prescribed time limit, the notice is no longer required.
Art. 81. The consumer is required to pay the services presumed only at the delivery of the requested supporting document, when this surrender is imposed by section 80.
Section 9. - Reconduction of service contract
Art. 82. § 1^er. When a fixed-term service contract between a company and a consumer includes a tacit renewal clause, this clause is in bold and in a separate framework of the text, at the front page.
This clause mentions the consequences of tacit renewal, including the provision of § 2, as well as the final date to which the consumer can oppose the tacit renewal of the contract and the modalities according to which he notifies this opposition.
§ 2. Without prejudice to the Act of 25 June 1992 on the land insurance contract, the consumer may, after the tacit renewal of a fixed-term service contract, terminate the contract at any time, without compensation, after a notice period specified in the contract, without the delay being longer than two months.
§ 3. As long as no law sets specific rules relating to the tacit renewal of service contracts, the King may, for the services or categories of services that He determines, by order deliberately in Council of Ministers:
1. establish special terms for the tacit renewal of a contract;
2. exempting obligations under §§ 1^er and 2.
§ 4. The scope of this section may be extended by the King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, to certain categories of property that He designates.
CHAPTER 4. - Prohibited practices
Section 1^re
Unfair business practices against consumers
Sub-section 1^re. - Scope of application
Art. 83. This section applies to unfair business practices of companies vis-à-vis consumers before, during and after the offer on sale and sale of products.
Sub-section 2. - Unfair business practices
Art. 84. A commercial practice is unfair when it:
(a) is contrary to the requirements of professional care
and
(b) alters or is likely to substantially alter the economic behaviour of the average consumer to whom it touches or addresses, or if it addresses a specific group of consumers, the economic behaviour of the average member of that group, in relation to the product concerned.
A commercial practice that is likely to substantially alter the economic behaviour of a single clearly identifiable group of consumers, because they are particularly vulnerable to the practice used or the product that it concerns because of mental or physical infirmity, age or credulity, while the company could reasonably be expected to predict this consequence, is assessed from the point of view of the average member. This provision is without prejudice to the current and legitimate advertising practice of making exaggerated statements or statements that are not intended to be understood in the literal sense.
Art. 85. Unfair, business practices against consumers that:
1° are misleading within the meaning of articles 88 to 91, or
2° are aggressive within the meaning of articles 92 to 94.
Art. 86. Business unfair business practices against consumers are prohibited.
Art. 87. Any act or omission contrary to the laws protecting the interests of consumers - i.e., the regulation referred to in the Schedule to Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 relating to the cooperation between the national authorities responsible for overseeing the application of the consumer protection legislation or the directives also referred to in the Annex referred to above as those affected by it - that affects
Subsection 3. - Deceptive business practices
Art. 88. A commercial practice is deemed misleading if it contains false information and is therefore false or that, in any way, including its general presentation, it induces or is likely to mislead the average consumer with respect to one or more of the following elements, even if the information presented is factually correct, and that in one case as in the other, it would take it or is likely to take it
1° the existence or nature of the product;
2° the main characteristics of the product, such as its availability, advantages, risks, performance, composition, accessories, after-sales service and processing of claims, the mode and date of manufacture or delivery, its ability to use, use, quantity, specifications, geographic or commercial origin or results that may be expected of its use, or the results and controls of the essential characteristics of the tests
3° the extent of the company's commitments, the motivation of business practice and the nature of the sales process, as well as any affirmation or symbol that the company or product enjoys direct or indirect sponsorship or support;
4° the price or method of calculating the price, or the existence of a specific advantage as to the price;
5° the need for service, spare parts, replacement or repair;
6° the nature, qualities and rights of the company or its intermediary, such as its identity and heritage, qualifications, status, approval, affiliation or links and industrial, commercial or intellectual property rights or its rewards and distinctions;
7° the rights of the consumer, in particular the right of replacement or refund under the provisions of the law of 1^er September 2004 on consumer protection in the event of sale of consumer goods, or the risks it may take.
Art. 89. It is also deemed misleading, a commercial practice which, in its factual context, taking into account all its characteristics and circumstances, leads or is likely to bring the average consumer to make a commercial decision that it would not otherwise have made, when it involves:
1° any marketing activity involving a product, including comparative advertising, creating confusion with another product, brand, trade name or other distinctive sign of a competitor;
2° the non-compliance by the company of undertakings contained in a code of conduct by which it is committed to being bound, therefore:
(a) that these commitments are not declarations of intent, but are firm and verifiable, and
(b) that the company, as part of a business practice, indicates that it is bound by the code.
Art. 90. § 1^er. A commercial practice is considered a misleading omission if, in its factual context, taking into account all its characteristics and circumstances as well as the limitations specific to the means of communication used, it omits substantial information that the average consumer needs, given the context, to make a commercial decision in the knowledge of the case and, therefore, brings it or is likely to lead it to make a commercial decision that it would not otherwise have taken.
§ 2. Also considered a misleading omission, a commercial practice by which a company conceals substantial information referred to in § 1^er, or provides it in a unclear, intelligible, ambiguous or counter-time manner, or does not indicate its commercial intention as long as it does not already emerge from the context and when, in any case, the average consumer is thus led or is likely to be led to a commercial decision that it would not otherwise have taken.
§ 3. When the means of communication used for commercial practice imposes space or time limits, it is appropriate, in order to determine whether information has been omitted, to take into account these limits and any action taken by the company to make information available to the consumer by other means.
§ 4. At an invitation to purchase, are considered substantial, as long as they do not already come from the context, the following information:
1° the main characteristics of the product, to the appropriate extent in respect of the communication used and the product concerned;
2° the geographic address and identity of the company, and, where applicable, the geographic address and identity of the company on whose behalf it acts;
3° the price includes all taxes, or, where the nature of the product implies that the price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is calculated, as well as, where applicable, all the additional costs of transport, delivery and postal, or, where these costs cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the mention that these costs may be borne by the consumer;
4° the payment, delivery, execution and processing of claims, if they differ from the conditions of professional diligence;
5° where applicable, the existence of a right of withdrawal or cancellation.
§ 5. Also considered to be substantial, information relating to commercial communications, including advertising and marketing, and provided for in Community law, including the articles of the directives referred to in Annex II of Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 on unfair business practices of enterprises vis-à-vis consumers in the domestic market and amending Council Directive 84/450/EEC and Directives 97/7/EC,
Art. 91. Are unfair business practices, under all circumstances, misleading business practices that are:
1° claim to be a signatory to a code of conduct while it is not;
2° display a certificate, quality label or equivalent without obtaining the necessary authorization;
3° to state that a code of conduct has been approved by a public or other body while it is not the case;
4° affirm that a company, including its business practices, or that a product has been approved, approved or authorized by a public or private organization, whereas it is not the case or without respect for the conditions of the approval, approval or authorization received;
5° to propose the purchase of products at a specified price without revealing the plausible reasons that the company may think that it will not be able to provide itself, or provide by another company, the products in question or products equivalent to the price indicated, for a period and in quantities that are reasonable considering the product, the extent of advertising made for the product and the proposed price;
6° propose the purchase of products at a specified price, and then, in order to promote a different product:
(a) refuse to present the proposed product to the consumer;
(b) refuse to take orders on or deliver the product within a reasonable time;
(c) a defective sample;
7° falsely declare that the product will only be available for a very limited period of time or that it will only be available under special conditions for a very limited period of time, in order to obtain an immediate decision and deprive the consumer of an opportunity or sufficient time to make an informed choice;
8° commit to providing after-sales service to consumers, with whom the company communicated prior to the transaction, in a language that is not one of the national languages and, thereafter, provide this service only in another language, without clearly informing the consumer before the latter engages in the transaction;
9° declare or give the impression that the sale of a product is lawful while it is not;
10° to present the rights conferred on the consumer by legal or regulatory provisions as a characteristic of the proposal made by the company;
11° use editorial content in the media to promote a product, while the company funded it itself, without clearly indicating it in the content or using images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer;
12° make factually inaccurate statements regarding the nature and extent of the risks to which the consumer exposes himself in terms of his personal safety or that of his family if he does not buy the product;
13° promote a product similar to that of a particular manufacturer so as to deliberately induce the consumer to think that the product originates from that same manufacturer, whereas that is not the case;
14° create, operate or promote a pyramidal promotion system in which the consumer pays an interest in exchange for the possibility of receiving counterparties rather from the entry of new consumers into the system than the sale or consumption of products;
15° declare that the company is about to cease its activities or to establish them elsewhere, whereas such is not the case, without prejudice to articles 24 and following;
16° affirming of a product that it increases the chances of winning games;
17° falsely assert that a product is of a nature to cure diseases, malfunctions or malformations;
18° communicate factually inaccurate information on market conditions or possibilities for finding the product, with the aim of inducing the consumer to acquire the product under less favourable conditions than normal market conditions;
19° assert, in the context of a commercial practice, that a contest is organized or that a prize can be won without awarding the prices described or a reasonable equivalent;
20° describe a product as "free", "free of charge", "free of charge" or other similar terms if the consumer must pay anything other than the inevitable costs associated with the response to the offer and taking possession or delivery of the item;
21° include in the promotional material an invoice or similar document requesting payment, which gives the consumer the impression that he has already ordered the promoted product, whereas that is not the case;
22° to falsely state or give the impression that the company is not acting for purposes that fall within the framework of its professional activity, or to appear falsely as a consumer;
23° falsely create the impression that after-sales service in relation to a product is available in a Member State of the European Union other than that in which it is sold.
Sub-section 4. - Aggressive business practices
Art. 92. A commercial practice is deemed to be aggressive if, in its factual context, in the light of all its characteristics and circumstances, it affects or is likely to alter significantly, due to harassment, coercion, including the use of physical force, or an unjustified influence, the freedom of choice or conduct of the average consumer in respect of the product and, consequently, to take it or is likely to result in it.
Art. 93. In order to determine whether a commercial practice uses harassment, coercion, including physical force, or unwarranted influence, the following elements are taken into account:
1° the timing, location, nature and persistence of commercial practice;
2° the use of physical or verbal threat;
3° the company's knowledgeable exploitation of any misfortune or particular circumstance of a particular gravity that alters the consumer's judgment, in order to influence the consumer's decision on the product;
4° any non-contractual, paid or disproportionate obstacle imposed by the company when the consumer wishes to assert its contractual rights, including that of terminateing the contract or changing the product or business;
5° any threat of action while this action is not legally possible.
Art. 94. Are unfair business practices in all circumstances, aggressive business practices that aim to:
1° give the consumer the impression that he will not be able to leave the premises before a contract has been concluded;
2° make personal visits to the consumer's home, ignoring his request to see the company leave or not return to the premises, without prejudice to legal or regulatory provisions authorizing it to ensure the performance of a contractual obligation;
3° to engage in repeated and unsolicited requests by telephone, fax, e-mail or any other remote communication tool, without prejudice:
(a) legal or regulatory provisions authorizing it to ensure the performance of a contractual obligation;
(b) Article 100; and
(c) Article 14 of the Act of 11 March 2003 on certain legal aspects of the services of the information society;
4° oblige a consumer who wishes to apply for an insurance policy compensation to produce documents that cannot reasonably be considered relevant to the determination of the validity of the application, or to refrain from responding to relevant correspondence, with the aim of deterring the consumer from exercising his contractual rights;
5° in an advertisement, directly encourage children to buy or persuade their parents or other adults to buy them the advertised product;
6° require immediate or deferred payment of products provided by the company without the consumer having requested them, or require their removal or retention;
7° explicitly inform the consumer that if it does not buy the product or service, the employment of the data subject or the means of existence of the company will be threatened;
8° give the false impression that the consumer has already won or won, whether or not the completion of a formality, price or other equivalent benefit,
- whereas, in fact, there is no equivalent price or other advantage,
- the completion of formality in relation to the demand for the price or another equivalent benefit is subject to the obligation of the consumer to pay money or to bear a cost.
Section 2. - unfair market practices for persons other than consumers
Art. 95. Any act contrary to the honest practices of the market by which a company infringes or may affect the professional interests of one or more other companies.
Art. 96. Without prejudice to other legal or regulatory provisions, any advertisement of a company that:
1° all elements taken into account, in any way, including its presentation or omission of information, misleads or is likely to mislead the person to whom it addresses or touches, including:
(a) the characteristics of goods or services, such as their availability, nature, performance, composition, mode and date of manufacture or delivery, environmental effects, appropriateness, uses, quantity, specifications, geographic or commercial origin, results that may be expected of their use, the results and essential characteristics of tests or controls carried out on goods or services;
(b) the price or mode of establishment and the conditions for the provision of goods or services;
(c) the nature, qualities, qualifications and rights of a company, such as its identity, heritage, skills and industrial, commercial or intellectual property rights or the prices received and its distinctions;
and which, for these reasons, is likely to affect its economic behaviour or which, for these reasons, damages or is likely to harm a business;
2° has denigrating elements in respect of another company, its goods, services or business;
3° allows without legitimate reason to identify one or more other companies;
4° promotes an act that must be considered a breach of this Act or an offence under sections 124 to 127.
Art. 97. Without prejudice to other legal or regulatory provisions, any advertisement of a company that:
1° includes an invoice or similar document requesting payment, which gives the impression that the property or service has already been ordered, whereas this is not the case;
2° conceals or provides in a unclear way substantial information on the consequences of the response given by the recipient or conceals, provides in a unclear manner or does not indicate its true commercial intention, provided that it does not clearly reflect the context.
Art. 98. It is prohibited for any company to send to another person, without prior request from him, any property, by inviting him to acquire that property against payment of its price, to keep it or to return it to its shipper, even at no cost.
It is also prohibited for any company to provide to another person, without prior request from him, any service by inviting him to accept this service against payment of its price.
The Minister may grant exemptions to these prohibitions for offers made for philanthropic purposes. In this case, the authorization number obtained and the following statement "The consignee has no obligation, no payment, no return" must appear in a legible, apparent and unambiguous manner on the supply documents.
In no case shall the consignee be required to pay the service provided or the property sent or to return the service provided, the absence of a response from the consignee regarding the service delivery or the provision of the property that is not in consent to the service.
Art. 99. It is prohibited to create, operate or promote a pyramidal promotion system in which a company pays an interest in exchange for the possibility of receiving counterparties rather from the entry of new companies into the system than the sale or consumption of products.
Section 3. - Undesired communications
Art. 100. § 1^er. The use of automated call systems without human intervention and facsimile for advertising purposes specifically addressed to a natural person is prohibited without the prior, free, specific and informed consent of the recipient of the messages.
The natural person who has given consent may withdraw it at any time, without giving reasons and without any costs being charged.
Any legal person may notify a specified issuer, at no cost or indication of reasons, of their willingness to no longer receive advertisements sent by means of a technique referred to in paragraph 1^er.
The King may, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers, extend the prohibition referred to in paragraph 1^er other communication techniques, than those mentioned, given their evolution.
§ 2. Without prejudice to Article 14 of the Law of 11 March 2003 on certain legal aspects of the services of the information society, personalized advertisements, broadcast by other techniques than those mentioned in § 1^er or determined pursuant to it may only be determined in the absence of a manifest opposition from the recipient, a natural or legal person. No fee may be charged to the recipient because of the exercise of his right of opposition.
§ 3. When sending advertising using a communication technique mentioned in § 1^er, or determined pursuant to it, the issuer provides clear and understandable information regarding the right to object, for the future, to receive advertisements.
§ 4. When sending any advertisement using a communication technique referred to in § 2, it is prohibited to conceal the identity of the company in whose name the communication is made.
§ 5. The burden of proof that the advertisement sent through a communication technique referred to in § 1^er, or determined pursuant to it has been requested, is the responsibility of the sender of the message.
Section 4. - Loss sale
Art. 101. § 1^er. It is prohibited for any company to offer for sale or sell property for loss.
Is considered a loss sale, any sale at a price that is not at least equal to the price at which the company purchased the property or that the company should pay at the time of replenishment, after deduction of any reductions granted and definitively acquired. To determine the existence of a loss sale, it is not taken into account the reductions granted, exclusively or not, in exchange for undertakings of the undertaking other than the purchase of goods.
§ 2. In the case of a joint offer of several goods, whether identical or not, the prohibition referred to in § 1^erParagraph 1^er, only applies when the offer as a whole constitutes a loss sale.
Art. 102. § 1^er. The prohibition under Article 101, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, however, is not applicable:
1° for goods sold in liquidation or sold on sale;
2° for property whose conservation cannot be ensured;
3° for goods that the company, following external circumstances, cannot reasonably sell at a price equal to or greater than their purchase price;
4° for goods whose selling price is aligned, due to the necessity of competition, with the price requested by competition for the same good or for a competing property.
§ 2. Contractual clauses prohibiting the sale to the consumer are not enforceable to the person who sells the property in the cases referred to in § 1^er.
Section 5. - Rules of evidence
Art. 103. § 1^er. The Minister or agent commissioned by him under Article 133, § 1^er, may require a company to provide evidence regarding the material accuracy of the factual data it discloses in a commercial practice.
The company must provide, within a maximum of one month, evidence of the material accuracy of this data.
If the evidence required under paragraph 1^er is not made or deemed to be insufficient, the Minister or officer commissioned to do so may consider commercial practice as contrary to the provisions of this chapter.
§ 2. The company is also required to provide such evidence when a termination action is initiated by:
1st the Minister and, where applicable, the competent minister referred to in section 115;
2° other persons referred to in section 113, provided that, in the light of the legitimate interests of the company and any other party to the proceedings, the President of the Commercial Court considers that such a requirement is appropriate in the circumstances of the case.
If the evidence required under alinea 1^er are not made or deemed insufficient, the President of the Commercial Court may consider factual data as inaccurate.
CHAPTER 5. - Collective consumer agreements
Art. 104. § 1^er. Consumer collective agreements may relate to the general terms and conditions that will be proposed to consumers, the information that will be provided to them, the modes of commercial promotion, the elements relating to the quality, conformity and security of goods and services, and the methods of resolving consumer disputes.
§ 2. The consumer collective agreement determines its scope, date of entry into force and duration.
The consumer collective agreement does not apply to existing contracts unless otherwise provided that it is more favourable to the consumer.
The consumer collective agreement determines the terms and conditions under which agreement information is given to both companies and consumers.
§ 3. Where applicable, the consumer collective agreement sets out the terms of its revision and extension.
It also sets out the conditions of its denunciation by the whole or part of the signatories or members, as well as the duration of the notice, which may not be less than six months.
Art. 105. Collective consumer agreements are negotiated and signed within the Consumer Council.
The request to negotiate a consumer collective agreement is introduced by a member of the Consumer Council or by a member of the government.
If the application concerns a sector that is not represented on the Consumer Council, industry companies or their representatives are invited to attend.
The consumer collective agreement cannot be concluded without their approval.
The consumer collective agreement must be the subject of a unanimous position of the Consumer Council, both to begin negotiations and to conclude an agreement.
A specific cell is established within the secretariat of the Consumer Council to provide the secretariat for collective consumer agreements and to maintain a register of them.
An internal regulation sets out the procedure to be followed, as well as the quorum of presences required, within each group of the Consumer Council, to make decisions unanimously. It must be approved by the King, by a deliberate decree in the Council of Ministers.
Art. 106. The general terms and conditions set out in collective consumer agreements must be submitted to the Commission for advice on abusive clauses, which renders its opinion within three months. After this period, the collective consumer agreement can be concluded.
Art. 107. The consumer collective agreement is forwarded to the government by the minister.
In the absence of opposition from a member of the government within fifteen days, it is published in the Belgian Monitor.
In the event of a member's opposition, he is on the agenda of the next Council of Ministers.
In the absence of validation by the Council of Ministers, the collective agreement of consumption becomes irrelevant.
Any modification, renewal or denunciation of a collective agreement of consumption shall be submitted to the Council of Ministers and then published to the Belgian Monitor.
Art. 108. The signatories and adherents of a collective consumer agreement ensure its correct application.
The consumer collective agreement provides for how consumer complaints are handled.
Failure to comply with a collective consumer agreement by a company may be considered an unfair trade practice vis-à-vis the consumer within the meaning of Chapter 4, Section 1^re.
Art. 109. The King, by deliberate decree in the Council of Ministers, may, on unanimous advice of the Council of Consumer Affairs, impose on a whole sector the application of a collective consumer agreement whose scope is national.
CHAPTER 6. - On-line action
Art. 110. Where the offence relates to an advertisement, the termination action may not be brought by the head of breach of the provisions of sections 19, 84 to 86, 96 and 97 except by the advertiser of the incriminated advertisement.
However, when the advertiser is not domiciled in Belgium and has not designated a responsible person with his or her home in Belgium, the termination action may also be taken by:
- the publisher of written advertising or the producer of audiovisual advertising;
- the printer or director, if the publisher or producer does not have their domicile in Belgium and did not designate a responsible person with his domicile in Belgium;
- the distributor as well as any person who knowingly contributes to the effect of advertising, if the printer or director do not have their domicile in Belgium and did not designate a responsible person with his domicile in Belgium.
Art. 111. Cessation action may be brought against a business for commercial practices of its agent used outside the premises of that agent, where the agent has not made clear his or her identity and that his or her identity could not be reasonably known to the person who initiates the action on termination.
Art. 112. The President of the Commercial Court may grant the offender a time limit to terminate the offence, where the nature of the offence requires it. He or she may grant termination when he or she has been terminated.
Art. 113. The action based on Article 2 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection is filed upon application:
1° of interested persons;
2° of the Minister or Director General of General Management Control and Mediation of the Federal Public Service Economy, P.M.E., Average Classes and Energy, except where the application relates to an act referred to in section 95;
3° of a professional or interprofessional group with civil personality;
4° of an association whose purpose is to defend the interests of consumers and to enjoy civil personality, provided that it is represented on the Consumer Council or that it is approved by the Minister, according to criteria determined by royal decree deliberated in the Council of Ministers, except where the application concerns an act referred to in section 95.
By derogation from the provisions of articles 17 and 18 of the Judicial Code, the associations and groups referred to in paragraph 1, 3 and 4 may act in court for the defence of their statutoryly defined collective interests.
Cessation of acts prohibited by section 75 may be directed, separately or jointly, against several companies in the same economic sector or their associations that use or recommend the use of the same general contractual clauses, or similar clauses.
The action based on section 2 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection, for acts referred to in section 87, may also be formed by the Minister who is competent for the matter concerned.
Art. 114. The action based on Article 3 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection is formed at the request of persons authorized to act in counterfeit according to the law on the relevant intellectual property law.
Art. 115. Without prejudice to the possible application of section 95 and section 2 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and the protection of the consumer to the acts they are intended, the action for violation of section 4 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 relating to the protection of the consumer concerned shall be taken exclusively by the Minister.
The action based on Article 4, 9°, of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection is formed at the request of the Minister of the Environment. The Committee established by the Act of 14 July 1994 establishing the European Ecological Label Committee may propose to the Minister such action.
Art. 116. The President of the Commercial Court may authorize the posting of his or her decision or the summary that he or she prepares, during the period that he or she determines, both outside and within the institutions of the offender and order the publication of his or her judgment or summary by newspapers or in any other way, at the expense of the offender.
These advertising measures may, however, be permitted only if they are likely to contribute to the cessation of the offence or its effects.
The President of the Commercial Court shall determine the amount that the party to whom an advertising measure has been granted in accordance with paragraph 1^er and who has executed the measure despite a timely appeal against the judgment, will have to pay the party to the detriment of which the advertising measure was pronounced, if it is cancelled on appeal.
Art. 117. The action referred to in sections 2 to 4 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection may no longer be brought one year after the alleged facts have ended.
Art. 118. The action is formed and educated according to the forms of the referee.
The judgment is enforceable by provision, notwithstanding any appeal and without bail.
Any decision made on an action based on sections 2 to 4 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection is, in the eighties, and the due diligence of the Registrar of the competent court, communicated to the Minister, unless the decision was made at his request.
In addition, the Clerk is required to promptly inform the Minister of the appeal against any decision made under sections 2 to 4 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection.
CHAPTER 7. - Specific provisions in matter of original name
Art. 119. § 1^er. The registered names are protected against all:
(a) direct or indirect commercial use of a registered name for products not covered by the registration, to the extent that these products are comparable to those registered under that name or to the extent that this use allows to benefit from the reputation of the protected name;
(b) usurpation, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the product is indicated or if the protected denomination is translated or accompanied by an expression such as "genus", "type", "method", "how", "imitation" or a similar expression;
(c) another false or misleading indication of the origin, origin, nature or material qualities of the product on the packaging or packaging, on the advertisement or on documents relating to the product concerned, as well as against the use for the packaging of a receptacle that creates an incorrect impression on the origin;
(d) another practice likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product.
When a registered name contains in itself the name of a product considered generic, the use of this generic name on products is not considered to be contrary to paragraph 1^er(a) or (b).
§ 2. Registered names cannot become generic.
Art. 120. When the judge finds an infringement of the rules relating to the registered names, he or she shall order the termination of the record to any perpetrator of the breach.
The judge may also make a termination injunction against intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe the rules relating to registered names.
Art. 121. § 1^er. Without prejudice to any damages caused to the injured party because of the breach and without compensation of any kind, the judge may order, at the request of the party entitled to act in counterfeit, the recall of the commercial circuits, the final removal of the commercial circuits or the destruction of the counterfeit goods, as well as, in the appropriate cases, materials and instruments that have primarily been used for the creation or manufacture of the goods.
These measures are implemented at the offender's expense, unless specific reasons exist.
When assessing an application referred to in paragraph 1^er, the proportionality between the severity of the breach and the ordered measures, as well as the interests of third parties, shall be taken into account.
§ 2. Where in the course of a proceeding, the judge finds an infringement, the judge may order, at the request of the party authorized to act in counterfeit, the perpetrator of the breach to provide to the party that introduces this action all the information available to it regarding the origin and distribution networks of counterfeit goods or services and to provide it with all the relevant data, provided that it is a proportionate measure.
The same injunction may be made to the person who has been found in possession of counterfeit goods at the commercial level, who has been found using counterfeit services at the commercial level or who has been found to provide, at the commercial level, services used in counterfeiting activities.
§ 3. The judge may order that his or her custodial in the context of this article and/or in the context of section 120 or the summary that he or she writes be posted during the period that he or she determines, both outside and within the institutions of the offender and order the publication of his or her judgment or summary by means of newspapers or in any other way, at all costs of the offender.
Art. 122. § 1^er. The injured party is entitled to compensation for any damage that it suffers as a result of an infringement of section 119.
§ 2. Where the extent of the injury cannot be determined in any other way, the judge may, in a reasonable and fair manner, set a lump sum as damages.
The judge may, as damages, order the grant to the claimant party of counterfeit goods, as well as, in appropriate cases, materials and instruments that have been used primarily for the creation or manufacture of such property, and that are still in possession of the defendant. If the value of these goods, materials and instruments exceeds the extent of actual damage, the judge fixes the relief to be paid by the applicant.
In the event of bad faith, the judge may, as damages, order the assignment of all or part of the benefit realized as a result of the breach, as well as the accountability in this regard. Only the fees directly related to the counterfeit activities concerned are deducted to determine the profit to be given.
CHAPTER 8. - From the warning procedure
Art. 123. Where it is found that an act constitutes an offence to this Act, to any of its enforcement orders or to the orders referred to in section 139 or that it may give rise to a cessation action in accordance with section 113, paragraph 1^er, 2°, the agent that the competent minister or minister for the subject matter shall commission under section 133, § 1^er, may send a warning to the offender to terminate the act without prejudice to section 103.
The notice shall be notified to the offender within three weeks of the date of the finding of the facts, by registered letter to the position with acknowledgement of receipt or by a copy of the notice of the facts.
The warning mentions:
1° the facts charged and the legal provisions infringed;
2° the period in which it must be terminated;
3° that in the event that the warning is not followed, a cessation action shall be formed in accordance with section 113, paragraph 1^er, 2°, or agents commissioned under Article 133, § 1^er, or pursuant to section 136, respectively, may notify the Crown Prosecutor or apply the settlement by transaction under section 136;
4° that the offender's commitment to ending the offence may be made public.
A detailed annual report on the operation of the warning procedure is submitted within a reasonable time to the Legislative Chambers, which decide on its possible publication.
The data provided in this report is anonymous.
CHAPTER 9. - Criminal sanctions
Art. 124. Are punished with a fine of 250 to 10,000 euros, those who commit an offence to the provisions:
1° of Articles 5 to 8 relating to the indication of prices and orders taken in execution of Article 9;
2° of Article 10 relating to the designation, composition and labelling of products and orders pursuant to Articles 11 and 12;
3° of articles 13 to 17 relating to the indication of the quantity and order made pursuant to article 18;
4° of articles 20 and 21 relating to the reference to its own previously applied price and the decrees taken in execution of articles 22 and 23;
5° of articles 24 and 25 relating to liquidation sales;
6° of articles 27 to 29 and section 32 relating to sales and waiting period;
7° of Article 42 concerning the presentation to the consumer, for signature, of a letter of exchange;
8° of articles 45 to 56 relating to distance contracts and orders issued pursuant to Article 57;
9° of articles 58 to 64 relating to sales concluded outside the company premises;
10° of Article 70 imposing on departmental officers, responsible for conducting public sales, the obligation to refuse their competition in certain circumstances;
11° of Articles 79 and 80 relating to the order form and supporting documents and orders pursuant to Articles 79 and 80;
12° of the decrees taken pursuant to Article 109 concerning collective consumer agreements;
13° of articles 86, 91 and 94 relating to unfair commercial practices with respect to consumers, with the exception of articles 91, 12°, 14°, 16° and 17°, and 94, 1°, 2° and 8°;
14° of section 98 on forced purchases against businesses.
However, where an offence of enforcement orders referred to in section 9 of this Act is also an offence under the Consumer Health Protection Act of 24 January 1977 in respect of foodstuffs and other products, the penalties prescribed by this Act are only applicable.
Art. 125. A fine of 500 to 20,000 euros shall be punished, those who, in bad faith, commit an offence to the provisions of this Act, with the exception of those referred to in sections 124, 126 and 127 and with the exception of the offences referred to in section 95.
Art. 126. Are punished with a fine of 1,000 to 20,000 euros:
1° those who do not comply with a judgment or judgment made under section 2 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection following an action on termination;
(2) those who voluntarily prevent or hinder the execution of the mission of the persons referred to in sections 133 to 134 in order to seek and determine the offences or breaches of the provisions of this Act;
3° those who voluntarily, in person or by person interposed, delete, conceal or lay completely or partially the posters affixed under articles 116 and 130.
Art. 127. A person who commits an offence under articles 91, 12°, 14°, 16° and 17°, and 94, 1°, 2° and 8°, relating to unfair commercial practices shall be liable to imprisonment for one month to five years and a fine of 26 to 20,000 euros or one of these penalties only.
Art. 128. When the facts submitted to the court are the subject of an action on termination, it can only be decided on criminal action after a decision in force of judgment has been made with respect to the action on termination.
Art. 129. Without prejudice to the application of the usual rules on recidivism, the penalty provided for in section 126 is doubled in the event of an offence referred to in the 1st of this article, acting within five years of the date of a conviction cast in force of a sentence pronounced by the head of the same offence.
Art. 130. The court may order the posting of the judgment or summary that it prepares during the time it determines, both outside and inside the offender's institutions and at the expense of the offender, as well as the publication of the judgment or its summary at the offender's expense through the newspapers or in any other manner; it may also order the confiscation of the illicit profits realized in favour of the offence.
Art. 131. Corporations and associations with civil personality are civilly liable for convictions for damages, fines, fees, confiscations, restitution and monetary penalties, imposed for violation of the provisions of this Act against their organs or agents.
The same is true of members of all trade associations without civil personality, when the offence was committed by a partner, manager or agent during an operation entering into the activity of the association. However, the civilly responsible partner is personally held up to the sums or values it has withdrawn from the transaction.
These societies, associations and members may be quoted directly before the criminal court by the public prosecutor or the civil party.
Art. 132. The provisions of Book I of the Criminal Code, without exception of Chapter 7 and Article 85, are applicable to offences covered by this Act.
By derogation from section 43 of the Criminal Code, the court shall, when making a conviction for any of the offences referred to in this Act, determine whether special confiscation is warranted. This provision is not applicable in the case of recidivism referred to in section 129 of this Act.
Upon the expiry of a period of ten days from the date of delivery, the Registrar of the Court or the Court is required to notify the Minister, by ordinary letter, of any judgment or judgment relating to an offence referred to in this Act.
The Clerk is also required to promptly notify the Minister of any appeal against such a decision.
CHAPTER 10. - Research and recognition of offences
Art. 133. § 1^er. Without prejudice to the duties of judicial police officers, the officers commissioned by the Minister are competent to investigate and observe the offences referred to in sections 124 to 127. The minutes issued by these officers are held to prove the contrary.
§ 2. In the performance of their duties, the agents referred to in § 1^er may:
1° enter, during the usual hours of opening or working, in the workshops, buildings, adjacent courses and enclosures whose access is necessary for the fulfilment of their mission;
2° make all useful observations, be produced, on first requisition and without displacement, the documents, documents or books necessary for their research and findings and take a copy thereof;
3° seize, against receipt, the documents referred to in point 2 that are necessary to prove an offence or to search for co-authors or accomplices of offenders;
4° to collect samples, according to the modes and conditions determined by the King;
5° if they have reason to believe that an offence exists, enter the inhabited premises with the prior authorization of the judge of the police court; visits to inhabited premises must be carried out between eight and eighteen hours and be made jointly by at least two officers.
§ 3. In the exercise of their function, the agents referred to in § 1^er may require assistance from local or federal police.
§ 4. The commissioned officers exercise their powers under this section under the supervision of the Attorney General, without prejudice to their subordination to their superiors in the administration.
§ 5. Offences referred to in Article 124, paragraph 2, may be sought and found both by the agents referred to in § 1^er only by those referred to in Article 11 of the Act of 24 January 1977 on the protection of the health of consumers with regard to food and other products.
§ 6. In the case of application of Article 123, the minutes referred to in § 1^er is transmitted to the King's Prosecutor only when it has not been given following the warning. In the event of the application of section 136, the minutes are transmitted to the King's Prosecutor only when the offender has not accepted the proposed transaction.
Art. 134. § 1^er. The agents referred to in Article 133, § 1^er, are also competent to seek and determine the acts which, without being punishable, may be the subject of a cessation action formed at the initiative of the Minister. Verbatim records in this regard are held to prove the contrary.
§ 2. In the performance of their duties, the agents referred to in § 1^er have the powers mentioned in Article 133, § 2, 1°, 2° and 4°.
Art. 135. § 1^er. The officers commissioned for this purpose by the ministers referred to in Article 115 are competent to seek and determine the offences that may result in the action provided for in Article 4 of the Act of 6 April 2010 concerning the regulation of certain procedures under the Act of 6 April 2010 on market practices and consumer protection. Verbatim records in this regard are held to prove the contrary.
§ 2. In the performance of their duties, the agents referred to in § 1^er have the powers mentioned in Article 133, § 2, 1°, 2° and 4°.
Art. 136. Agents commissioned for this purpose by the Minister may, in the light of the minutes that find an offence under sections 124 to 127 and made by the agents referred to in section 133, § 1^er, propose to the offenders the payment of a sum that extinguishes public action.
The rates as well as the payment and collection modalities are fixed by the King.
Art. 137. § 1^er. The Public Prosecutor's Office, in the light of the minutes issued pursuant to Article 133, § 1^er, may order the seizure of property under the offence.
The commissioned officials, when they find an offence under the powers conferred on them by section 133, § 1^er, may, as a precautionary measure, proceed with the seizure of property subject to the offence. Such seizure shall be confirmed by the Public Prosecutor's Office within a period not exceeding eight days, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1^er.
The person in whose hands the property is seized may be incorporated as a judicial guardian.
The seizure is brought up in full right by the judgment ending the prosecution, when this judgment has passed into force of judgment, or by classification without action.
The Public Prosecution Service may release the seizure that it has ordered or confirmed, if the offender renounces the offer of the property under the conditions giving rise to the prosecution; this waiver does not imply any recognition of the merits of these proceedings.
§ 2. The investigating judge, in the light of the minutes issued pursuant to Article 133, § 1^er, and finding violations of the provisions referred to in section 124, 8°, may, by reason of order, enjoin to the communication technology operators, where they are able to do so, suspend, within and for the time it determines and which cannot exceed one month, the provision to the offender of the communication technique used for the commission of the offence.
The examining magistrate may extend the effects of his or her order once or more; He must put an end to it as soon as the circumstances that justified him have disappeared.
CHAPTER 11. - Amending, abrogatory and transitional provisions
Art. 138. Are repealed:
1° the Act of 14 July 1991 on trade practices and information and consumer protection;
2° Article 112 of the Act of 13 June 2005 on electronic communications.
Art. 139. § 1^er. The legal provisions not contrary to this Act, which refer to provisions of the Act of 14 July 1991 on trade practices and information and consumer protection, are presumed to refer to the equivalent provisions of this Act.
§ 2. The regulatory provisions made pursuant to the Act of 14 July 1971 on Trade Practices or the Act of 14 July 1991 on Trade Practices and on Consumer Information and Protection not contrary to this Act, remain in force until they are repealed or replaced by orders issued pursuant to this Act.
Offences to the provisions of the Orders pursuant to the Act of 9 February 1960 allowing the King to regulate the use of the denominations under which the goods are placed in the trade and the Act of 14 July 1971 on trade practices and the Act of 14 July 1991 on trade practices and information and consumer protection are sought, found and punished in accordance with Chapters 8, 9 and 10 of this Act.
Art. 140. The King may coordinate the provisions of this Act and the provisions that would have expressly or implicitly amended them at the time the coordination is established.
To this end, He may:
1° amend the order, numbering and, in general, the presentation of the provisions to be coordinated;
2° amend the references contained in the provisions to be coordinated with a view to aligning them with the new numbering;
3° amend the drafting of the provisions to be coordinated in order to ensure their consistency and to unify the terminology, without prejudice to the principles enshrined in these provisions.
The coordination will bear the title determined by the King.
CHAPTER 12. - Final provisions
Art. 141. The King exercises the powers to Him entrusted by the provisions of chapters 2, 3, 4, sections 1^re and 3, and Chapter 5, on the joint proposal of Ministers who have Economy, Average Class and Consumption in their responsibilities.
The King exercises the powers to Him entrusted by the provisions of Chapter 4, sections 2 and 4, on the joint proposal of the Ministers who have the Economy and the Average Classes in their powers.
Where measures to be taken pursuant to this Act relate to goods or services that, in the areas covered by Chapters 2 to 5, are regulated or subject to regulation by other Ministers other than those who have Economy, Average Class and Consumption in their responsibilities pursuant to paragraphs 1^er and 2, these measures must refer in their preamble to the agreement of the ministers concerned. Where appropriate, these measures are proposed jointly by the Ministers concerned and executed by them, with mutual agreement, each with respect to it.
The same is true when, in the areas covered by Chapters 2 to 5, measures to be taken, at the initiative of other Ministers other than those who have the Economy, the Average Class and the Consumer in their responsibilities, relate to controlled or regulated goods or services that may be regulated under this Act.
Art. 142. This Act comes into force 30 days after its publication to the Belgian Monitor.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given at Châteauneuf-de-Grasse, April 6, 2010.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of P.M.E., Independents, Agriculture and Science Policy,
Mrs. S. LARUELLE
Minister of Climate and Energy
P. MAGNETTE
Minister for Business and Simplification,
VAN QUICKENBORNE
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
S. DE CLERCK
____
Note
(1) Regular session 2009-2010.
House of Representatives.
Parliamentary documents. - Bill No. 2340/1. - Amendments, No. 2340/2, 2340/3 and 2340/4. - Report made on behalf of the commission, no. 2340/5. - Text adopted by the commission, no. 2340/6. - Amendments in plenary meeting, No. 2340/7. - Text adopted by the commission, No. 2340/8. - Text adopted by the Commission, No. 2340/9. - Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate, No. 2340/10.
Full report: 11 February 2010.
Senate.
Parliamentary documents. - Project referred to by the Senate, No. 4-1657/1. - Amendments, No. 4-1657/2. - Report made on behalf of the commission, No. 4-1657/3. - Text corrected by commission, no. 4-1657/4. - Decision not to amend, No. 4-1657/5.