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Law No. 37 From 16 January 2002 Approving Ordinance No. 58/2000 For The Modification And Completion Of The Government Ordinance. 21/1992 On Consumer Protection

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 37 din 16 ianuarie 2002 privind aprobarea Ordonanţei Guvernului nr. 58/2000 pentru modificarea şi completarea Ordonanţei Guvernului nr. 21/1992 privind protecţia consumatorilor

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LEGE no. 37 37 of 16 January 2002 on approval Government Ordinance no. 58/2000 to amend and supplement Government Ordinance no. 21/1992 on consumer protection
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 91 91 of 2 February 2002



The Romanian Parliament adopts this law + Article 1 Approval Government Ordinance no. 58 58 of 30 January 2000 to amend and supplement Government Ordinance no. 21/1992 on consumer protection issued under art. 1 lit. U of Law no. 206/1999 on the empowerment of the Government to issue ordinances and published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 43 of 31 January 2000, with the following amendments: 1. In Article I, point 1, paragraph 2 of Article 1 shall read as follows: " The provisions of this ordinance apply to the marketing of new, used or reconditioned products and services intended for consumers, with the exception of products that are marketed as antiques and products necessary to be repaired or reconditioned to be used, provided that the economic operator informs the buyer about it. " 2. In Article I, point 2, Article 2 shall read as follows: "" Art. 2. -For the purposes of this ordinance, it is understood by -quality-the whole of properties and characteristics of a product or service, which gives it the ability to satisfy, according to its destination, the explicit or implicit needs; -consumer-natural person or group of natural persons constituted in associations, who buy, acquire, use or consume products or services, outside his professional activity; -economic agent-natural or legal person, authorized, who in his professional activity manufactures, imports, transports or sells products or parts thereof or provides services; --manufacturer: a) the economic operator who manufactures a finished product or a component of a product; b) the economic agent manufacturing the raw material; c) the economic operator applying its name, trade mark or other distinctive mark to the product; d) the economic agent reconditioning the product; e) the economic agent or distributor which, by activity, changes the characteristics of f) the registered representative in Romania of an economic agent who is not based in Romania or, in case of non-existence, the importer of the product; g) the economic agent who imports products in order to carry out a sale, lease, lease or any other form of distribution specific to the business; h) the distributor of the imported product, if the importer is not known, even if the manufacturer is mentioned; i) the distributor of the product, if the importer cannot be identified, if he does not inform the injured person within 30 days of his request on the identity of the importer; -distributor-the economic agent in the distribution chain; -seller-the distributor offering the product to the consumer; -provider-the economic operator providing services; -product-good material whose final destination is individual or collective consumption or use; electricity, heat, water and gas delivered for individual consumption are considered; -safe product-the product which, used under normal or foreseeable conditions, does not pose risks or poses minimal risks, taking into account its use; the risk shall be considered acceptable and compatible with a high degree of protection for the safety and health of consumers, depending on the following: a) the characteristics of the product, packaging and assembly and maintenance instructions; b) the effect on other products, together with which it can be used; c) the presentation of the product, the labelling, the instructions for use and any other indications and information provided by the manufacturer d) the category of consumers at risk by using the product; -dangerous product-the product that cannot be defined as a safe product; -product with defects-the product to which the presentation mode, the foreseeable use and the date of purchase do not provide the consumer's safety, causing damage to the consumer; -damage-the damage created to the consumer by the use of a dangerous product or a product with defects, as well as that created by improper services provided by the provider. Injury can be material, injury to bodily integrity or health, as well as loss of life. In the case of use of a defective product, damage or destruction of any good other than the defective product shall be deemed to be damage, provided that the property is normally intended for use or private consumption and has been used by the injured person for personal use or consumption, and the value of the damage should not be less than 2 million lei; -durable product-relatively complex product, consisting of parts and sub-assemblies, designed and built in order to be used during the medium term of use and on which repairs or maintenance activities can be carried out; -service-activity, other than that from which products result, carried out in order to satisfy some consumer needs; -declaration of conformity-the declaration made by a producer or a provider, by which he informs, on his own responsibility, that a product or service is in conformity with a normative technical document; -the abusive clause-a contractual clause that has not been negotiated directly with the consumer and which by itself or together with other provisions in the contract creates, to the detriment of the consumer and contrary to the requirements of good faith, an imbalance significant rights and obligations of the parties; -warranty period-time limit, which flows from the date of acquisition of the product or service, until which the manufacturer or the provider assumes responsibility for the remediation or replacement of the product or service purchased, at his expense, if deficiencies are not attributable to the consumer; -shelf life-time limit, set by the manufacturer, by which a perishable product or a product which in a short time may present an immediate danger to the health of the consumer retains the specific characteristics, if they have been comply with the conditions of transport, handling, storage and storage; for food products it represents the consumer limit date; -the date of minimum durability-the date fixed by the manufacturer until which a foodstuff retains its specific characteristics under appropriate storage conditions; the products for which the date of minimum durability is determined must not be either dangerous after that date; -the average duration of use-the time frame, set out in normative technical documents or declared by the manufacturer or agreed between the parties, in which the durable products must maintain their functional characteristics, if the conditions of transport, handling, storage and operation have been complied with; -hidden vice-the qualitative deficiency of a delivered product or a service provided that was not known nor could be known by the consumer through the usual means of verification; -abusive trade practices-restrictive or conditional sales methods affecting the interests of consumers; -placing on the market-the action to make available for the first time, for a fee or free of charge, a product or service for distribution or use. " 3. Article I, after point 2, insert point 2 ^ 1 with the following contents: "" 2 ^ 1. Point d) of Article 3 shall read as follows: Lt; d) to be compensated for damages generated by the improper quality of products and services, using for this purpose means provided by law; gt; gt; " 4. In Article I, point 3, Article 4 shall read as follows: "" Art. 4. -The marketing of products or the provision of services which, used under normal conditions, may endanger the life, health or safety of consumers. The production, import and marketing of falsified or counterfeit products shall be prohibited. " 5. In Article I, point 4, Article 5 shall read as follows: "" Art. 5. -The products shall be marketed only within the period of validity or the date of minimum durability set by the manufacturer. It shall be prohibited to amend the term of validity or the date of minimum durability entered on the product, on the label, on the packaging or in the accompanying documents. ' 6. Article I, after point 4, insert point 4 ^ 1 with the following contents: "" 4 ^ 1. The introductory part and point (b) of paragraph 1 of Article 6 shall read as follows: It; the Government, through its specialized bodies, establishes specific rules and regulations or improves existing ones, when the protection of life, health or safety of consumers is required, in the following cases: ............................................................... b) the supply and use of the products and the provision of services gt; gt; ' 7. In Article I, point 5, Article 7 shall read as follows: "" Art. 7. -Economic agents are obliged to: a) producers: -to answer for the current and future damage caused by the defective product, as well as for the one caused as a cumulative result of the defective product with an action or omission of a third person; -to put on the market only safe products and, if the normative acts in force provide, they are tested and/or certified; -to put on the market only products that comply with the prescribed or declared conditions; -to stop deliveries, respectively to withdraw from the market or from consumers the products to which the competent bodies or their own specialists found the failure to meet the prescribed characteristics, declared or which could affect life, health or the security of consumers, if this measure is the only means by which those non-conformities can be eliminated -ensure in production hygienic-sanitary conditions according to the sanitary norms in force; b) distributors: -ensure that the products offered for sale are safe and comply with the conditions prescribed or declared; -not to market products about which they hold information or consider that they may be dangerous; -immediately notify the competent public authorities and the manufacturer of the existence on the market of any product of which they are aware that it is dangerous; -withdraw from marketing the products to which the law enforcement bodies have found that they do not meet the prescribed or declared characteristics, if this is the only means by which the respective non-conformities can be eliminated; -to ensure the technical conditions established by the manufacturer, as well as hygienic-sanitary conditions during transport, handling, storage and disposal, according to the rules in force; c) service providers: -to use, within the services provided, only safe products and procedures and, as the case may be, if the normative acts in force provide, they are tested and/or certified, and immediately announce the existence on the market of any product they have knowledge that it is dangerous; -provide only services that do not affect the life, health or safety of consumers or their economic interests; -comply with the conditions prescribed or declared, as well as the clauses provided in the contracts; -to ensure, when providing the services, the technical conditions established by the manufacturer, as well as the hygienic-sanitary conditions, according to the -to answer for the current and future damage caused by the faulty service provided. " 8. In Article I, point 6, Article 9 shall read as follows: "" Art. 9. -Economic agents are obliged to place only products or services on the market that correspond to the characteristics prescribed or declared, to behave correctly in relations with consumers and not to use abusive trade practices. " 9. In Article I, points 6 ^ 1 -6 ^ 5 shall be inserted after point 6: "" 6 ^ 1. Letter a) of Article 10 shall read as follows: lt; a) the freedom to take decisions on the purchase of products and services, without being required in contracts unfair terms or which may favour the use of abusive commercial practices on sale, likely to influence their choice; gt; gt; 6 6 ^ 2. In Article 10, the letter g) shall be inserted after letter f): Lt; g) to refer consumer protection associations and public administration bodies to the violation of their legitimate rights and interests, as consumers, and to make proposals on improving quality products and services. gt; gt; 6 6 ^ 3. In Article 11, paragraph 2 is inserted as follows: Lt; The indications of measuring instruments shall be legible and at the sight of the purchaser. gt; gt; 6 6 ^ 4. Article 12 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 12. -Consumers have the right to claim to the sellers the free remediation or replacement of the products and services obtained, as well as compensation for the losses suffered as a result of the deficiencies found within the warranty or validity. After the expiry of this period consumers may claim to remedy or replace products that cannot be used according to the purpose for which they were made, as a result of hidden defects that occurred during the average duration of their use. The seller bears all expenses related to these deficiencies, a situation that does not exonerate the producer from liability in his relationship with the seller. gt; gt; 6 6 ^ 5. In Article 13, paragraph 1 shall read as follows: Lt; Remediation of deficiencies in products or services or the replacement of products that do not correspond within the term of guarantee or validity and which are not attributable to the consumer shall be made within the maximum period established by regulations or, where applicable, by contract. gt; gt; ' 10. In Article I, point 7, paragraph 2 of Article 15 shall read as follows: " The refund of the value of the product or service is made at its updated value, calculated according to the inflation index communicated by the National Institute of Statistics. The updated value thus calculated shall not be less than the value of the product or service which the economic operator liable to refund shall charge for goods or services of the same kind at the time of the refund. ' 11. In Article I, after point 7, points 7 ^ 1 -7 ^ 3 are inserted with the following contents: "" 7 ^ 1. In Article 15, paragraph 4 is inserted as follows: Lt; Lt; Persons empowered according to art. 49 to find the contravention and to apply the sanction provided by this ordinance will establish a date with the sanction and remedial measures, replacement of the product or service, as well as the refund of its value, as the case may be. gt; gt; 7 7 ^ 2. Article 17 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 17. -The seller shall ensure all the operations necessary for the reinstatement, replacement of the products or remediation of the services claimed within the term of guarantee or validity, respectively for hidden defects within the average duration of use, as well as those occasioned by the transport, handling, diagnosis, expertise, dismantling, installation and packaging thereof; the seller also bears the expenses related to them, a situation that does not exonerate the producer from liability in the relationship to the seller. gt; gt; 7 7 ^ 3. Article 19 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 19. -Consumer information about the products and services offered is made, necessarily, by means of identification and characterization of them, which register on view, as the case may be, on the product, label, sales packaging or in the book technique, instructions for use or the like, accompanying the product or service, depending on its nature. gt; gt; ' 12. In Article I, point 8, Article 20 shall read as follows: "" Art. 20. -The manufacturer must inform the manufacturer's name, name and/or brand name, address of the manufacturer, the quantity and, as the case may be, the term of warranty, validity or date of minimum durability, the main characteristics technical and qualitative, composition, additives used, about possible foreseeable risks, use, handling, storage, preservation or storage, about contraindications, as well as about nutritional value prepacked and about the producing country, in the case of imported products. Durable products must be accompanied by the warranty certificate and, if the regulations in force provide, by the declaration of conformity, as well as by the technical book or by the instructions for use, installation, operation, maintenance, issued by the manufacturer. The seller must inform consumers about the price of the product and provide them with all the information and technical documents that must accompany the product. All information on products and services offered to consumers, accompanying documents, as well as pre-formulated contracts must be written in Romanian, regardless of their country of origin, without excluding presentation and in other languages. " 13. Article I, after point 9, insert point 9 ^ 1 with the following contents: "" 9 ^ 1. Article 25 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 25. -Prices and tariffs must be clearly indicated and in an unequivocal form, easy to read. gt; gt; ' 14. In Article I, point 10, Article 26 shall read as follows: "" Art. 26. -The marketing of products and the provision of services are made in places and authorized spaces, according to the legal regulations in force. It is mandatory to display, visibly, the name of the unit, the operating authorization, as well as the display and observance of the operating schedule. The opening hours shall be determined, as the case may be, in accordance with the decisions of the local public administration. " 15. In Article I, points 10 ^ 1 and 10 ^ 2 are inserted after point 10: "" 10 ^ 1. Article 27 is repealed. 10 10 ^ 2. Articles 28 to 32 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 28. -The National Authority for Consumer Protection, specialized body of the central public administration, subordinated to the Government, coordinates and realizes the Government's policy in the field of consumer protection. Article 29. -The attributions and the organization and functioning of the National Authority for Consumer Protection, as well as the relations between it and other competent bodies in the field, shall be established by Government decisions. The government will establish consumer protection regulations for central public administration's specialized bodies and for some public services of ministries and other public administration authorities, respectively. central, organized in counties and in Bucharest. The government will establish framework regulations in the field of consumer protection for specialized bodies and public services of local public administration. Fees charged by public administration services or bodies, with a role in the field of consumer protection, shall be established according to the law, and tariffs for tests carried out in own laboratories, subordinated or agreed, according to normative acts in force. Article 30. -The National Authority for Consumer Protection, based on consultation with other interested bodies of central and local public administration, as well as non-governmental ones, elaborates regulations on concrete modalities of collaboration and mutual support and proposes them for approval to the Government. Article 31. -For the purposes of this ordinance, consumer protection associations are considered non-governmental organizations, as legal entities, according to the law, and which, without pursuing profit making for their members, have as sole purpose the defense the rights and legitimate interests of their members or consumers in general. Article 32. -Consumer protection associations can be social partners with the right of representation in advisory boards with a role in the field of consumer protection, in which public administration bodies are represented, if they meet conditions of this ordinance gt; gt; ' 16. In Article I, point 11, the introductory part of Article 33 shall read as follows: "" Art. 33. -Consumer Protection Associations that defend the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, in general, are, in law, social partners in the advisory councils provided for in this Ordinance, if: " 17. In Article I, points 11 ^ 1 and 11 ^ 2 are inserted after point 11: "" 11 ^ 1. Article 36 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 36. -The management staff and employees of the specialized bodies of the public administration, as well as of decentralized public services of ministries or other authorities, with powers on the line of consumer protection do not have the right to holds positions in the governing bodies of consumer protection associations. gt; gt; 11 11 ^ 2. The introductory part of Article 37 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 37. -Consumer protection associations are consulted by the services and bodies of the public administration provided in art. 36, according to the powers, to the elaboration of the provisions and procedures of a general nature and other works aimed at the protection of consumers, with regard to: gt; gt; " 18. In Article I, point 12 shall read as follows: "" 12. Article 38 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 38. -Consumer protection associations have the following rights and obligations: a) to be logistically supported by central and local public administration bodies in order to achieve their objectives; b) to receive amounts from the state budget and local budgets; c) to request the competent authorities to take measures to stop the production or withdrawal from the market of products or services that do not ensure the qualitative level prescribed in the documents established by law or that endanger life, health or safety of consumers; d) to require economic agents to carry out products and services under special conditions, in order to satisfy the needs of consumers with disabilities or the third age; e) to be consulted on the occasion of the drafting of normative acts, standards or specifications defining the technical and qualitative characteristics of products and services intended for consumers; f) to request and obtain information on the price and qualitative characteristics of the products or services, such as to help the consumer to make a decision on their purchase; g) to inform public opinion, through the media, of the quality deficiencies of products and services, as well as their harmful consequences for consumers; h) to bring legal action to defend the legitimate rights and interests of consumers; i) to request the services or bodies of the public administration, provided in art. 36, carrying out analyses and trials of products intended for consumers and to publish the results; j) to initiate own actions, in order to identify cases in which economic agents do not respect the rights of consumers provided by law, as well as cases of non-compliance of products or services, and to refer, within a emergency procedures, services or specialized bodies of the public administration empowered to act accordingly. gt; gt; ' 19. in Article I, after point 13, points 13 ^ 1 -13 ^ 7 are inserted as follows: "" 13 ^ 1. After Article 38, Articles 38 and 1 -38 ^ 6 are inserted as follows: Lt; Art. 38 38 ^ 1. -Consumer consulting and information centers can be organized at the level of offices in the organizational structure of consumer protection associations and carry out free activities for their benefit consisting of information, recommendations and advice on issues related to the purchase of a product or service. Art. 38 ^ 2. -The amounts received from the state budget, through the National Authority for Consumer Protection, are used exclusively for the establishment and operation of consumer consulting and information centers, respectively for: a) the remuneration or, where appropriate, the remuneration of the staff used in the consumer consulting and information centres, which will be based on the time actually worked, up to the maximum level of the equivalent function used in the Authority National Consumer Protection; b) material expenses incurred for the maintenance of the premises and related facilities; c) current expenses and those occasioned by the printing of informative materials. Amounts provided in par. 1 1 is used under the conditions Law no. 72/1996 on public finances, and the amounts left unused at the end of the financial year shall be returned to the state budget. Art. 38 ^ 3. -The amounts received from local budgets by decisions of local councils or, as the case may be, of county councils will be used under the conditions established by the conventions concluded by them with the respective associations, according to the law. Amounts provided in par. 1 1 is used under the conditions Law no. 72/1996 on public finances, and the remaining unused amounts shall be returned to those local budgets. Art. 38 ^ 4. -Control over the activities carried out in the consumer consulting and information centres of the consumer protection associations, which received amounts from the state budget or local budgets, shall be exercised by National Authority for Consumer Protection. Art. 38 ^ 5. -For 2000, 200 million lei were allocated from the approved budget of the National Authority for Consumer Protection for the establishment and operation of a consumer consulting and information center in Bucharest and 195 million lei for the financing of programs in the field of consumer protection, editing of materials and organization of actions on informing public opinion through the media. Art. 38 ^ 6. -The consulting and consumer information centers benefit from specialized assistance from the staff of the National Authority for Consumer Protection, empowered for this purpose. gt; gt; 13 13 ^ 2. The title of Chapter VII shall read as follows: Lt; Lt; Advisory Council gt; gt; 13 13 ^ 3. Letter a) of Article 40 shall read as follows: lt; a) representatives of all decentralised services and public administration bodies having general or special competence in the field of consumer protection and have organisational structures at that level; gt; gt; 13 13 ^ 4. The title of Chapter VIII shall read as follows: Lt; Lt; Legal reports between prejudiced consumers and economic agents gt; gt; 13 13 ^ 5. Article 42 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 42. -Economic agents are responsible for any damage due to deficiencies in the quality of the products or services, arising within the term of their warranty or validity and which is not attributable to the consumer, as well as to possible hidden defects found during the average duration of use, which do not allow the consumer to use the product or service according to the purpose for which it was made and purchased or which may affect life, health or consumer security. Liability shall also be maintained if the delivery of the products or the provision of services is made free of charge or with a reduced price or if they are marketed as spare parts or distributed in other forms. If two or more persons are liable for the same damage, they shall be jointly and severally liable. gt; gt; 13 13 ^ 6. After Article 42, Articles 42 ^ 1 -42 ^ 7 are inserted as follows: Lt; Art. 42 42 ^ 1. -For the employment of the civil liability of the economic agent the injured consumer must prove the damage, the defect and the causal relationship between the defect and the damage. Art. 42 ^ 2. -The economic agent shall be exempt from liability if it proves that one of the following situations: a) it is not him who put the product into circulation; b) the defect that generated the damage did not exist on the date on which the product was put into circulation or appeared after the putting into circulation of the product due to causes not attributable to it; c) the product has not been manufactured to be marketed or for any other form of distribution for economic purposes; d) the damage is due to compliance with mandatory conditions imposed by the regulations issued by the competent authorities; e) the level of scientific and technical knowledge at the time of circulation of the product did not allow the existence of the defect. The component manufacturer shall be exempt from liability if it proves that the defect is attributable to the manufacturer of the finished product due to the wrong design of the assembly in which it was fitted or the instructions given by it. Art. 42 ^ 3. -The liability of the economic agent may be limited by the competent court if the damage is caused, together, by the defect of the product and the fault of the injured or injured consumer or another person, for which it is held to Answer. Art. 42 ^ 4. -The application of the provisions of this ordinance does not exclude the possibility of the injured or prejudiced consumer to claim compensation under contractual or non-contractual liability or other special liability regime existing at the time the entry into force of the law approving this ordinance. Insurance companies have a right of regression against the economic agent liable, according to the law, for the amounts paid to the injured persons. Art. 42 ^ 5. -Any contractual abusive clause limiting or exonerating the economic agent, concluded between the trader and the consumer, is hit by absolute nullity. Art. 42 ^ 6. -The right to action to repair the damage, arising from the provisions of this ordinance, is prescribed within 3 years, which flows from the date on which the applicant had or should have been aware of the existence of damage, defect and the identity of the economic operator, but not later than 10 years after the date on which the economic agent put the product into circulation, provided that the damage had occurred within the 10-year period. Art. 42 ^ 7. -The action to repair the damage caused is the jurisdiction of the court in whose territorial area the damage occurred or the consumer is domiciled or the registered economic agent is based, as the case may be. gt; gt; 13 13 ^ 7. Article 43 will read as follows: Lt; Art. 43. -The legal actions directed by the consumer protection associations, established under the conditions provided in art. 33 and 34, against economic agents who have harmed the legitimate rights and interests of consumers are exempt from stamp duty. gt; gt; ' 20. In Article I, point 14, Article 46 shall read as follows: "" Art. 46. -It constitutes contraventions, if they have not been committed in such conditions that, according to the criminal law, they are considered crimes, and are sanctioned as follows: a) violation of art. 4 4, art. 7 lit. a) 2nd, 3rd and 5th indents, lit. c) the first and 2nd indents, art. 15 15 para. 1, with contravention fine from 10,000,000 lei to 100,000,000 lei; b) violation of art. 7 lit. a) 4th indent, lit. b) the 3rd and 4th indents, with contravention fine from 7,000,000 lei to 70,000,000 lei; c) violation of art. 5 5, art. 7 lit. b) the first, 2nd and 5th indents, lit. c) 3rd and 4th indents, art. 9 9 and art. 11, with contravention fine from 5,000,000 lei to 30,000,000 lei; d) violation of art. 13 13 para. 1 1, art. 14 14 para. 1 1, art. 17 17-25 and art. 26 26 para. 1, with contravention fine from 2,000,000 lei to 20,000,000 lei. " 21. In Article I, point 15, Article 46 ^ 1 shall read as follows: "" Art. 46 46 ^ 1. -Preventing, in any form, the bodies of the public administration responsible for the protection of consumers from exercising the duties of service relating to the prevention and control of facts which may affect life, health or safety consumers or their economic interests constitute contravention, if it was not committed in such conditions that, according to the criminal law, it is considered a crime, and is sanctioned with contravention imprisonment from 15 days to 2 on Monday or with a fine from 10,000,000 lei to 100,000,000 lei. " 22. In Article I, point 18, Article 49 shall read as follows: "" Art. 49. -Finding the contraventions and applying the sanctions provided in art. 46 and 46 1 shall be made by the authorized representatives of the National Authority for Consumer Protection, as well as by the authorized representatives of other public administration bodies, according to the competences established by the acts normative in force. In the case of sanctions with contravention imprisonment, the measure shall be applied by the competent court to the complaint of the body to which the ascertaining agent belongs. Police bodies are obliged to grant, on request, the necessary support to the authorized persons provided in par. 1, in the exercise of their duties, or to accompany them, as the case may be. The control bodies referred to in par. 1 may preleva products for testing them in laboratories. The value of the products taken and the expenses related to their testing shall be borne by the public administration body if the testing does not find non-conformities to the security and/or quality requirements prescribed or declared. Otherwise that expenditure shall be borne by the economic operator. " 23. In Article I, point 20, Article 50 ^ 1 shall read as follows: "" Art. 50 50 ^ 1. -In order to limit consumer damage, the finding agent may propose the following measures: 1. final stop of import, manufacture, marketing and withdrawal from the human consumption circuit of products which: a) are dangerous, falsified or counterfeit; b) have expired validity; c) are forbidden to human consumption through legal regulations; 2. temporary cessation of import, manufacture and marketing of products not intended for human consumption or for the provision of services, until the deficiencies are remedied, in cases where: a) are dangerous, falsified or counterfeit; b) services that may endanger the life, health or safety of consumers; 3. temporary cessation of the marketing of products or their use in the provision of services, until the deficiencies are remedied, if: a) products are not tested and/or certified according to legal norms; b) the products do not meet the prescribed or declared characteristics, without them being dangerous; c) the products do not present the identification and characterization elements, as well as the accompanying documents, according to the provisions of art. 18-22 18-22; 4. destruction of dangerous products permanently stopped from marketing, if it constitutes the only means that makes the danger cease. Heads of public authorities referred to in Article 49 49 para. 1 may order by order or decision, published under the law in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, the definitive stop of import, manufacture, marketing and/or withdrawal from the market of products that are confirmed, by analysis and/or uncertain bulletins, as being dangerous, falsified or counterfeit by means of the nature, composition, technical and functional characteristics or intrinsic qualities thereof. " 24. In Article I, point 24, Article 54 shall read as follows: "" Art. 54. -The dangerous, falsified or counterfeit products shall be confiscated by the law enforcement bodies, upon referral to the ascertaining agent, and shall be destroyed or capitalized, as the case may be, according to the legal provisions. Income wronged by economic agents, as a result of violation of the provisions of art. 4 4, art. 7 lit. a) 2nd, 3rd and 4th indents, art. 7 lit. b) the first and 2nd indents and art. 7 lit. c) the first and 2nd indents, shall be taken to the state budget by the competent bodies of the Ministry of Public Finance. " 25. in Article I, points 24 ^ 1 -24 ^ 5 shall be inserted after point 24: "" 24 ^ 1. After Article 56, Articles 56 ^ 1 and 56 ^ 2 are inserted as follows: Lt; Art. 56 56 ^ 1. -The provisions of this ordinance shall be supplemented by the provisions of Art. 56 ^ 2. -The provisions of this ordinance shall not apply: a) damage caused by products put into circulation before the date of entry into force; b) damage resulting from nuclear accidents. gt; gt; 24 24 ^ 2. Article 57 is repealed. 24 24 ^ 3. After Article 58, Article 58 ^ 1 is inserted as follows: Lt; Art. 58 58 ^ 1. -Since 2001 the number of consulting and consumer information centers for which amounts are granted from the state budget will be established by Government decision, after the approval of the state budget law for that year, with the amounts approved with this destination. gt; gt; 24 24 ^ 4. Article 59 is repealed. 24 24 ^ 5. After Article 59, Article 59 ^ 1 is inserted as follows: Lt; Art. 59 59 ^ 1. -The National Consumer Protection Authority approves or changes the criteria for evaluating and selecting consumer protection associations that establish and operate consumer consulting and information centers, as well as the model of convention referred to in Article 38 ^ 3 para. 1. gt; gt; ' 26. Article III shall read as follows: " Art. III. -Government Ordinance no. 21/1992 , approved by Law no. 11/1994 , republished, with subsequent amendments and completions, with those brought by this ordinance and by the law approving it, will be republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, giving the texts a new numbering. " + Article 2 Date of entry into force of this Law Government Ordinance no. 87/2000 on the liability of producers for damage caused by defective products and Government Ordinance no. 88/2000 on the financing of consumer consulting and information centres is repealed. This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies at the meeting of December 17, 2001, in compliance with the provisions of 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT VALER DORNEANU This law was adopted by the Senate at the meeting of December 20, 2001, in compliance with the provisions of art 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. SENATE PRESIDENT NICOLAE VACAROIU ----------------