LEGE no. 449 449 of 12 November 2003 (** republished) (* updated *) on the sale of products and their associated guarantees * *) ((updated until 28 February 2016 *)
ISSUER
PARLIAMENT
---------- Note ... ---------- ** **) Republicated pursuant to the provisions art. V lit. n) of Title III of Law no. 363/2007 on combating unfair practices of traders in relation to consumers and harmonising regulations with European consumer protection law, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 899 of 28 December 2007, giving the texts a new numbering. Law no. 449/2003 on the sale of products and their associated guarantees was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 812 812 of 18 November 2003. ---------- + Chapter I General provisions + Article 1 This law regulates aspects regarding the sale of products, including those executed on order, and the guarantees associated with them, in order to ensure consumer protection. + Article 2 For the purposes of this Law, the following terms shall be defined a) consumer-the person thus defined art. 2 2 section 2 of Government Ordinance no. 21/1992 on consumer protection, republished, with subsequent amendments and completions; ... ---------- Lit. a) of art. 2 2 has been amended by section 4.2 1 1 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. b) product-good mobile material whose final destination is consumption or individual or collective use. It is not covered by the provisions of this law the goods sold as a result of confiscations, within the enforcement procedure or on the basis of another act issued by the courts, water and gas that are not packed in a limited volume or in a fixed quantity and electricity; ... c) seller-authorized natural or legal person, who, within the framework of his activity, sells products under the terms of a contract concluded with the consumer; ... d) manufacturer: ... 1. the economic operator who manufactures a finished product or a component of a product; 2. the economic operator who manufactures the raw material; 3. the economic operator applying its name, trade mark or other distinctive mark to the product; 4. the economic operator who refurbishes the product; 5. the economic operator or distributor who changes, through his activity, the characteristics of the product; 6. the registered representative in Romania of an economic operator who is not based in Romania or, in case of non-existence, the importer of the product; 7. the economic operator that imports products in order to carry out a sale, lease, lease or any other form of distribution specific to the business; 8. the distributor of the imported product, if the importer is not known, even if the manufacturer is mentioned; 9. 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, of the identity of the importer; e) the commercial guarantee-any commitment made by the seller to the consumer, without the request for additional costs, to refund the price paid by the consumer, to repair or replace the purchased product, if it does not corresponds to the conditions set out in the declarations relating to the guarantee or the related advertising; ... ---------- Lit. e) of art. 2 2 has been amended by section 4.2 1 1 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. e ^ 1) the legal guarantee of conformity-the legal protection of the consumer resulting from the effect of the law in relation to the lack of conformity, representing the legal obligation of the seller to the consumer that, without the request of additional costs, bring the product to conformity, including the refund of the price paid by the consumer, the repair or replacement of the product, if it does not correspond to the conditions set out in the declarations relating to the guarantee or ---------- Lit. e ^ 1) of art. 2 2 was introduced by section 4.2. 2 2 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. f) repair-in case of lack of conformity, bringing a product to conformity with the sales-purchase contract; ... ------------- Letter f) of art. 2 2 has been amended by section 4.2 1 1 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. g) hidden vice-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; ... ------------- Letter g) of art. 2 2 was introduced by section 4.2. 2 2 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. h) the average duration of use-the time frame, established 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. ... ------------- Letter h) of art. 2 2 was introduced by section 4.2. 2 2 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. i) durable product-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. ... ---------- Lit. i) of art. 2 2 was introduced by section 4.2. 3 3 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Article 3 The products used that are sold through the public tender procedure are not subject to the provisions of this law, to which the consumer has the possibility to participate + Article 4 It is subject to the provisions of this law and the products that will be purchased on the basis of a sales contract of products to be manufactured or processed. + Chapter II Conformity of products with the specifications contained in the sales contract + Article 5 (1) The seller is obliged to deliver to the consumer products that are in accordance with the sales contract. ... (. The products shall be deemed to be in accordance with the sales contract if: ... a) correspond to the description made by the seller and have the same qualities as the products that the seller presented to the consumer as a sample or model; ... b) correspond to any specific purpose requested by the consumer, purpose made known to the seller and accepted by him at the conclusion of the sales contract; ... c) correspond to the purposes for which products of the same type are normally used; ... d) being of the same type, presents quality parameters and normal performance, to which the consumer can reasonably expect, given the nature of the product and public statements on its concrete characteristics, made by the seller, the manufacturer or his representative, in particular by advertising or by signing up on the label of the product. ... + Article 6 It is not considered to be the lack of conformity if at the time of conclusion of the sale-purchase contract the consumer knew or could not, reasonably, not know this lack of conformity or if the lack of conformity has its origin in materials supplied by the consumer. + Article 7 The seller is not liable for the public statements provided in art. 5 5 para. ((2) lit. d), in any of the following situations, if they prove that: a) he did not know and could not reasonably have known the statements in question; ... b) the declaration had been corrected at the time of conclusion of the sale-purchase contract; ... c) the decision to buy the product could not be influenced by the public statements in question. ... + Article 8 (1) Any lack of conformity resulting from an incorrect installation of the products will be considered equivalent to a lack of conformity of the products, if the installation is part of the product sales contract and the products have been installed by seller or liability. ... (2) Provisions of para. ((1) applies also if the product intended to be installed by the consumer is installed by it and incorrect installation is due to a deficiency in the installation instructions. ... + Chapter III Legal guarantee of conformity ---------- Head title. III has been amended by section 4 4 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Article 9 The seller is liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity existing at the time the products were delivered. + Article 10 In case of lack of conformity, the consumer has the right to request the seller to be brought the product to conformity, without payment, by repair or replacement, according to art. 11, or to benefit from the corresponding reduction in the price or termination of the contract on this product, under the conditions of art. 13 13 and 14. ------------- Article 10 has been amended by section 10. 3 3 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. + Article 11 (1) In the event of a lack of conformity, the consumer has the right to request the seller first of all the repair of the product or has the right to request the replacement of the product, in each case without payment, unless the measure is impossible or disproportionate. ... ------------- Alin. ((1) of art. 11 11 has been amended by section 4 4 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. (. A restorative measure shall be regarded as disproportionate if it imposes on the seller costs which are unreasonable in comparison with the other remedy, taking into account: ... a) the value that the products would have had if there had been no lack of conformity; ... b) importance of lack of conformity; ... c) if the other repair measure could be carried out without significant inconvenience to the consumer. ... (3) A restorative measure will be considered as impossible if the seller cannot provide identical products for replacement or replacement parts for repair, including as a result of the lack of machinery or related technology. ... ------------- Alin. ((3) of art. 11 11 has been amended by section 4 4 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. ((4) Any repair or replacement of the products will be made within a period of time, established by mutual agreement, in writing, between the seller and the consumer, taking into account the nature of the products and the purpose for which he requested the products. The period of time set may not exceed 15 calendar days from the date on which the buyer, as the case may be, brought to the attention of the seller the lack of conformity of the product or handed over the product to the seller or to the person designated by him a takeover-takeover document. ... ---------- Alin. ((4) of art. 11 11 has been amended by section 5 5 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. (5) In the case of repair of the product, only new parts will be fitted in it. ... ------------- Alin. ((5) of art. 11 11 has been introduced by section 5 5 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. (6) The seller has the same obligations for the product replaced as for the original sold product. ... ---------- Alin. ((6) of art. 11 11 has been introduced by section 6 6 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Article 12 The notion without payment, provided in art. 10 and 11, refer to all costs necessary to bring products to compliance, including postal costs, transport, handling, diagnostics, expertise, disassembly, mounting, workmanship, materials used and packaging. ------------- Article 12 has been amended by section 4.2. 6 6 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. + Article 13 The consumer may request a corresponding reduction in the price or termination of the contract in any of the following cases: a) if they do not benefit from the repair or replacement of the product; ... b) if the seller has not taken the remedy within a reasonable period of time; ... c) if the seller has not taken the remedy, according to art. 11 11 para. (4), without significant inconvenience to the consumer. ... + Article 14 The consumer is not entitled to request the termination of the contract if the lack of conformity is minor. + Chapter IV Action in setback + Article 15 If the seller is liable to the consumer for the lack of conformity resulting from an action or omission of the manufacturer or an economic operator from the same contractual chain, the seller has the right to move against the one responsible for the lack of conformity, under the law. + Chapter V Deadlines + Article 16 The seller's liability regarding the legal guarantee of conformity, according to the provisions 9-14, is employed if the lack of conformity occurs within 2 years, calculated from the delivery of the product. ---------- Article 16 has been amended by section 4. 7 7 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Article 16 ^ 1 After the deadline provided for in art. 16, consumers can claim to remedy or replace products that cannot be used for the purpose for which they were made as a result of hidden defects occurring within the average duration of use, under the law. ------------- Article 16 ^ 1 has been introduced by item 1. 7 7 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. + Article 16 ^ 2 For products whose average duration of use is less than 2 years, the term provided for in art. 16 16 is reduced to this duration. ------------- Article 16 ^ 2 was introduced by the section 7 7 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. + Article 17 The consumer must inform the seller about the lack of conformity within two months of the date he found it. + Article 18 Until proven otherwise, the lack of conformity arising within 6 months after the delivery of the product is presumed to have existed at the time of its delivery, except where the presumption is incompatible with the nature of the product or lack of conformity. + Chapter VI Guarantees + Article 19 The commercial guarantee is legally binding for the bidder, under the conditions specified in the warranty statements and the related advertising. ---------- Article 19 has been amended by section 6.6. 8 8 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Article 20 (. The guarantee certificate, issued on the basis of the commercial guarantee, shall contain particulars of the rights conferred by law to the consumer and shall state clearly that those rights are not affected by the security provided. ... (2) The guarantee certificate, issued on the basis of the commercial guarantee, must specify the product identification elements, the warranty period, the average duration of use, the ways of ensuring the guarantee-maintenance, repair, replacement and the time limit for their achievement, including the name and address of the seller and the specialised service unit. ... (3) The guarantee certificate must be drawn up in simple and easy to understand terms. ... ---------- Article 20 has been amended by point 9 9 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Article 21 (1) At the request of the consumer the warranty certificate will be offered in writing or on any other durable medium, available and accessible to it. ... (2) If the guarantee certificate does not comply with the provisions of par. ((1) and of art. 20, its validity is not affected, the consumer having the right to request the seller to fulfill the conditions included in the statements regarding the guarantee. ... (3) The durable products must be accompanied by the guarantee certificate issued on the basis of the commercial guarantee and, if the regulations in force provide, by the declaration of conformity, as well as by the technical book or by the instructions of use, installation, operation, maintenance, issued by the manufacturer. ... (4) If no commercial guarantee is offered, the consumer will be notified by the seller, by a written document, the rights conferred by the head. V-"Terms". ... ---------- Article 21 has been amended by point 10 10 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Article 22 (1) Contract clauses or agreements concluded between the seller and the consumer before the lack of conformity is known to the consumer and communicated to the seller, which limits or removes, directly or indirectly, the rights of the consumer provided by this law, are null and void. ... (2) In the case of the products used, the consumer and the seller may agree to reduce the term provided in 16, but not less than one year after the date of delivery of the product. ... (3) The downtime due to the lack of conformity arising within the warranty period extends the legal guarantee period of conformity and that of the commercial guarantee and flows, as the case may be, from the moment it was brought to the seller's knowledge of the lack of conformity of the product or from the moment of presentation of the product to the seller/service unit until the product is brought into normal state of use and the notification in writing in order to raise the product or actual delivery of the product to the consumer. ... ---------- Alin. ((3) of art. 22 22 has been introduced by section 11 11 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. (4) The durable products that replace the defective products within the warranty period will benefit from a new warranty term flowing from the date of the product exchange. ... ---------- Alin. ((4) of art. 22 22 has been introduced by section 11 11 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. (5) The durable products defected within the legal warranty period of conformity, when they cannot be repaired or when the cumulative duration of non-operation due to deficiencies occurred within the legal warranty period of conformity exceeds 10% of the duration of this term, at the request of the consumer, will be replaced by the seller or it will refund the consumer the value of that product. ... ---------- Alin. ((5) of art. 22 22 has been introduced by section 11 11 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. (6) The term of guarantee flows from the date of entry into the consumer's possession, including for durable new goods, obtained by drawing lots at sweepstakes, won at competitions and similar or granted with a discount price or free of charge by economic operators. ... ---------- Alin. ((6) of art. 22 22 has been introduced by section 11 11 of art. I of ORDINANCE no. 9 9 of 27 January 2016 published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 66 66 of 29 January 2016. + Chapter VII Sanctions + Article 23 (1) It constitutes the following facts and is sanctioned as follows: ... a) non-compliance with 20 and 21, with a fine of 1,000 lei to 2,000 lei *); ... b) non-compliance with 9, 11 and 19, with a fine of 5,000 lei to 25,000 lei. ... ---------- Point b) of par. ((1) of art. 23 23 has been amended by section 4.2 9 9 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. ---------- *) The amount of fines is expressed in new currency according to the provisions Law no. 348/2004 on the denomination of the national currency published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 664 of 23 July 2004, with subsequent amendments and completions. (2) The finding of contraventions and the application of sanctions shall be made by the authorized representatives of the National Authority for Consumer Protection. ... + Article 24 Contraventions provided for in art. 23 the provisions of Government Ordinance no. 2/2001 on the legal regime of contraventions, approved with amendments and additions by Law no. 180/2002 , with subsequent amendments and completions. + Chapter VIII Transitional and final provisions + Article 25 (1) The rights of consumers provided for by this Law are exercised without prejudice to other rights that the consumer may invoke under the other legal provisions governing contractual or non-contractual liability. ... ((2) If the contracting parties choose as the law applicable to the contract the law of a state not part of the European Union, and the contract has a close connection with the territory of Romania or with other Member States of the European Union and in the case in which this law has more favourable provisions for the consumer, the latter will apply. ... + Article 26 The National Authority for Consumer Protection will propose to the Government for approval, by decision, methodological norms for the application of this law, by groups of products. ---------- Article 26 has been amended by section 6.6. 10 10 of art. I of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 174 174 of 19 November 2008 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 795 795 of 27 November 2008. + Article 27 (. This Law shall enter into force on 1 January 2007. ... (. On the date of entry into force of this Law, it shall be repealed: ... a) art. 14 14 para. 1 1 and art. 20 20 para. 2 of Government Ordinance no. 21/1992 on consumer protection, republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 75 of 23 March 1994, with subsequent amendments and completions *); ... ------------ * *) Government Ordinance no. 21/1992 on consumer protection has been republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 208 208 of 28 March 2007 and subsequently amended and supplemented by Law no. 363/2007 . b) Government Decision no. 394/1995 on the obligations of economic agents-natural or legal persons-in the marketing of durable products for consumers, republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 10 of 27 January 1997, as amended; ... c) Government Decision no. 665/1995 on the replacement, remediation or refund of products representing quality deficiencies, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 206 206 of 6 September 1995, as amended. ... + Article 27 ^ 1 The National Authority for Consumer Protection informs the European Commission of the adoption or maintenance of stricter provisions than the provisions Directive 1999 /44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and related guarantees, in particular as regards art. 16 16-18 and art. 22 22 para. ((1) and (2) of this Emergency Ordinance, as well as in connection with any subsequent amendment. -------------- Art. 27 ^ 1 was introduced by par. ((2) art. 29, Cap. VII of EMERGENCY ORDINANCE no. 34 34 of 4 June 2014 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 427 427 of 11 June 2014. This law transposes the provisions Directive 1999 /44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and related guarantees, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (JOCE) no. L 171 of 7 July 1999. -----
