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Law No. 296 Of 28 June 2004 (Republished) Regarding The Consumer Code *)

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 296 din 28 iunie 2004 (*republicată*) privind Codul consumului*)

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LEGE no. 296 296 of 28 June 2004 (** republished) (* updated *) on the Consumer Code *) ((updated until 22 July 2010 *)
ISSUER PARLIAMENT




** **) Republicated pursuant to the provisions art. V lit. e) 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. 296/2004 on the Consumer Code was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 593 of 1 July 2004 and has been amended and supplemented by: - Law no. 363/2005 for amending and supplementing certain normative acts in the field of consumer protection in order to respect the commitments made by Romania for the accession to the European Union, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 1.147 1.147 of 19 December 2005; - Law no. 425/2006 to amend and supplement Law no. 296/2004 on the Consumer Code, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 968 968 of 4 December 2006. + Chapter I General provisions General provisions + Article 1 This Law, hereinafter referred to as the Code, has as its object the regulation of legal relations created between economic operators and consumers, with regard to the purchase of products and services, including financial services, ensuring the framework necessary access to products and services, their complete and correct information about their essential characteristics, defence and ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of consumers against abusive practices, participation to substantiate and make decisions that interest them as consumers. + Article 2 The provisions of this Code apply to the marketing of new, used or reconditioned products and services, including financial services, intended for consumers, consumer contracts, advertising rules products and services, with the exception of products and services that are regulated by special laws, products that are marketed as antiques and products necessary to be repaired or reconditioned to be used, provided that the economic operator informs the consumer about it. + Article 3 Normative acts on consumer protection must not include barriers to the free movement of goods and services. + Article 4 The basic principles of consumer protection are: a) contradictoriality-it involves ensuring the possibility of persons in dissenting positions to express themselves about any act or fact that is related to the possible violation of the provisions on consumer protection; b) the speed of the research procedure-implies the obligation of the competent authority in the field of consumer protection to proceed without delay to the research of consumer referral, in compliance with the rights of the persons involved and the rules provided by law; c) proportionality-according to which a correct report must be observed between the gravity or the consequences of the act found, the circumstances of its commission and the sanctioned sanction d) the legality of the proposed/willing measures-implies that the competent authorities cannot propose/dispose only the measures provided by law; e) confidentiality-the obligation of the staff of the competent authorities to preserve the confidentiality of data, acts, information of any nature, by which the disclosure may be prejudiced to natural or legal persons, who are or may be mentioned in this information; f) mutual recognition-any legal product manufactured or marketed in a Member State of the European Union or in Turkey or legally manufactured in another State belonging to the European Economic Area is admitted on the territory of Romania, if provides an equivalent degree of protection with the one imposed by the Romanian norms. + Article 5 The State, through the central authority responsible for consumer protection, shall have as its objectives: a) consumer protection against the risk of purchasing a product or being provided with a service that could harm their lives, health or safety or affect their legitimate rights and interests; b) promotion and protection of consumers ' economic interests; c) consumers ' access to complete, accurate and accurate information on the essential characteristics of products and services, so that the decision they adopt in relation to them is as appropriate as possible to their needs; d) educating consumers; e) effective consumer compensation; f) supporting consumers or other representative groups or organisations to organise themselves, in order to set out their views in the decision-making processes; g) promotion of international cooperation in the field of consumer protection and participation in rapid exchange of information; h) preventing and combating, by all means, abusive trade practices and the provision of services, including financial ones that may affect the economic interests of consumers. + Article 6 The provisions contained in this Code are mandatory for all consumers and economic operators who carry out acts and acts of trade, under the law. + Article 7 The terms used in the consumer protection legislation are listed as an example in the Annex which forms an integral part of this Code. + Chapter II Obligations of economic Obligations of economic + Article 8 Economic operators are obliged to place only safe products or services on the market, which correspond to the characteristics prescribed or declared, to behave correctly in relations with consumers and not to use abusive trade practices. + Article 9 Import, manufacture, distribution, as well as the marketing of falsified or counterfeit products, dangerous or having non-compliant security parameters that may affect the life, health or safety of consumers are prohibited. + Article 10 It is forbidden to condition the sale to the consumer of a product, the purchase of an imposed quantity or the concurrent purchase of another product or service. It is also forbidden to provide a service to the consumer, conditional on the provision of another service or the purchase of a product. + Article 11 Any forced sale is prohibited. The dispatch of a product or the provision of a service to a person is made only on the basis of a prior order from it. + Article 12 Expenses related to the replacement of defective products, remediation or refund of their consideration will be borne by the seller and recovered by him from the manufacturer or, as the case may be, from the importer or the previous supplier on the distribution chain, if by the contract concluded between them has not been established otherwise. + Article 13 Any person who has the status of a manufacturer, distributor or seller of food products will only market food that presents safety for the consumer, are sanitary and fit for human consumption. + Article 14 Consumers must receive all the necessary information for proper use, according to the original destination of the goods. + Article 15 Where economic operators are aware, at a later date of placing on the market of marketed products, of the existence of hazards which, at the time of placing on the market, could not be known, must notify, without delay, the competent authorities and to make this public information. + Article 16 In the case of products identified or identifiable with defects, manufacturers and/or distributors are required to withdraw them from the market, replace or repair them, and if these measures cannot be made within a period of time. the reasonable time, agreed between the seller and the consumer and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer, the consumer must be compensated accordingly. + Article 17 In case of lack of conformity, as provided for in the normative acts in the field of conformity of the products, found by the consumer, he has the right to request the seller, as a remedy, to repair or replace the products, in each case without payment, unless this request is impossible or disproportionate. + Article 18 Any repair or replacement of the products will be made within a reasonable period of time, agreed between the seller and the consumer and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer, taking into account the nature of the products and the purpose for which he requested the products, under the law. + Article 19 The government develops provisions on security rules and rules on the preparation of compliance documents, which ensure that products marketed on the market are safe. + Article 20 The packaging of products must ensure the integrity and protection of their quality, while also complying with the legal provisions regarding the protection of work, environment and consumer security. + Article 21 Economic operators are obliged to market food which: a) are accompanied by documents certifying their origin, origin and security, as the case may be; b) are handled and marketed in appropriate hygiene conditions, which do not endanger the life and health of consumers and which comply with the sanitary norms in force; c) does not affect consumers ' lives and health + Article 22 It is prohibited to market products that mimic food products, without being such products and that pose the risk of endangering the health or safety of consumers, according to the legal regulations in force. + Article 23 Manufacturer obligations: a) 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; b) to put on the market only safe products and, if the normative acts in force provide, they are tested and/or certified; c) to put on the market only products that comply with the prescribed or declared conditions; d) 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 that could affect life, health or the security of consumers, if this measure is the only means by which those non-conformities can be eliminated e) to ensure, during the production process, hygienic-sanitary conditions according to the sanitary norms in force. + Article 24 Obligations of distributors: a) ensure that the products offered for sale are safe and comply with the conditions prescribed or declared; b) not to market products about which they hold information or consider that they may be dangerous; c) immediately notify the competent public authorities, as well as the manufacturer, of the existence on the market of any product of which they are aware that it is dangerous; d) to withdraw from marketing the products to which the law enforcement bodies found that they do not meet the prescribed or declared characteristics, if it constitutes the only means by which the respective non-conformities can be eliminated; e) 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. + Article 25 Obligations of service providers: a) 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; b) to provide only services that do not affect the life, health or safety of consumers or their economic interests; c) comply with the prescribed or declared conditions, as well as the clauses provided in the contracts; d) to ensure, when providing the services, the technical conditions established by the manufacturer, as well as the hygienic-sanitary conditions, according to the e) to answer for the current and future damage caused by the faulty service provided. + Article 26 (1) Other obligations of economic operators are: a) to sell or offer, free of charge, only safe products within the shelf life and which do not pose risks to the life, health and/or safety of consumers; b) not to market, in spaces where the storage conditions required by the manufacturer cannot be ensured in order to prevent accelerated perishability, prepackaged or packaged food products; c) not to sell, under conditions other than those required by the legislation in force, new non-food products, used or reconditioned, without being able to be, where appropriate, probate, verified or insured the storage conditions required by manufacturer, to ensure that the initial characteristics of the products are maintained; d) not to import, for distribution by way of onerous or free of charge, dangerous products, expired or which may affect the life, health and/or safety of consumers by their use. (2) Provisions of para. ((1) shall also apply to natural or legal persons who may be the economic operator. + Chapter III Consumer rights Consumer rights + Article 27 Consumers benefit from the following rights: a) to be protected against the risk of purchasing a product or to be provided with a service which could harm their life, health or safety or to harm their legitimate rights and interests; b) to be informed completely, correctly and precisely, of the essential characteristics of the products and services, so that the decision they adopt in relation to them should as best correspond to their needs as well as to be educated in quality their consumer; c) to have access to markets that provide them with a wide range of quality products and services; d) to be compensated in a real and appropriate way for the damage caused by the improper quality of the products and services, using for this purpose means provided by law; e) to organize in consumer associations, in order to defend their rights and interests; f) to refuse the conclusion of contracts that include abusive clauses, according to the legal provisions in force; g) not to be prohibited by an economic operator from obtaining a benefit expressly provided by law. + Article 28 It is prohibited to refuse to sell a product or to provide a service to a consumer without a justified reason according to the legal provisions in force. + Chapter IV Organisational framework of non-governmental organisations Organisational framework of non-governmental organisations + Article 29 Non-governmental organisations of consumers may be social partners with the right of representation in bodies set up at central or local level, with a role in the field of consumer protection, in which public administration bodies are represented. + Article 30 The management staff and employees of the specialized bodies of the public administration, as well as of the devolved public services of ministries or other authorities, with powers in the field of consumer protection, do not have the right to holds positions in the governing bodies of non-governmental organisations of consumers. + Article 31 Non-governmental consumer organisations may be consulted by the public administration authorities responsible for the protection of consumers, the development of general provisions and procedures and other works which have to protect consumers, with regard to: a) knowledge of consumer requirements regarding the assortments and quality of products and services; b) the formation of a correct attitude of economic operators, employees in the production and marketing of products and services, compared to their quality; c) the prevention of abusive commercial practices and of the nature of the rights and legitimate interests of consumers. + Article 32 Non-governmental consumer organisations have the following rights 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 be consulted, on the occasion of the elaboration of draft normative acts, standards or specifications that define the technical and qualitative characteristics of products and services intended for consumers; d) to bring legal action to defend the legitimate rights and interests of consumers; e) to obtain information on the price and qualitative characteristics of products or services, such as to help the consumer to make a decision on their purchase. + Article 33 Non-governmental consumer organisations have the following obligations a) 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 provided in the documents established by law or that endanger life, health or safety of consumers; b) to propose to economic operators the realization of products and services under special conditions, in order to satisfy the needs of consumers with disabilities or of the third age; c) to request information on the price and qualitative characteristics of the products or services, likely to help the consumer to make a decision on their purchase; d) to inform public opinion, through the media, of the non-compliance of existing products and services on the market, as well as their possible proven harmful consequences for consumers. + Article 34 Representatives of non-governmental consumer organisations do not have the right to control economic operators. + Chapter V General framework of product security General framework of product security + Article 35 The risk is considered acceptable and compatible with a high degree of protection for consumer safety and health, with the risk assessment being based on the following issues: 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. + Article 36 ((. Any economic operator shall only place on the market safe products for the life, health and safety of consumers. ((2) Any trader must ensure that the products offered for sale are safe and inform consumers of the risk factors in their use and/or consumption. + Article 37 It is forbidden to sell products that are not safe and of products not accompanied by the mandatory documentation provided by law, stating that they have been tested and/or certified, as the case may be. + Chapter VI General framework on the obligation to inform and educate consumers General framework on the obligation to inform and educate consumers + Article 38 The state must realize and encourage the use of programs aimed at providing consumers with proper information and education, in order to allow them to act distinctly, with a view to a fair election based on an information corresponding to goods and services and to be knowledgeable of their rights and responsibilities. + Article 39 The state, by its means, aims to protect consumers when purchasing products and services, as well as protecting the general public interest against misleading advertising, the negative consequences of advertising and establishes the conditions under which comparative advertising is permitted. + Article 40 Educating consumers is a part of the education program and a component of the study objects. Skills training in the field of consumer and environmental protection is carried out within the framework of the education programme The training of practical skills is also achieved through the collaboration of pre-university education institutions with economic operators in the field + Article 41 In the consumer education and information programmes, important aspects of their protection are included: a) consumer protection legislation, consumer agencies and organisations; b) health, nutrition, disease prevention and prevention of the purchase of falsified food products; c) risks of products; d) the economic interests of consumers when purchasing services, including financial services; e) the commercial practices of producers, suppliers or distributors and the prevention of acts of unfair trade; f) labelling of products, specifying the information necessary for consumers; g) information about difficulties and measures to solve them, prices, quality, credit conditions; h) environmental protection, as appropriate. + Article 42 Programmes concerning the education and information of consumers can also be implemented through non-governmental organisations of consumers. + Article 43 Economic operators can contribute and collaborate with third parties to the realisation of real and effective consumer education and information programmes. + Article 44 In view of the need to ensure full, concrete and comprehensible consumer information, consumer information programmes can be initiated via massmedia. + Article 45 Consumers have the right to be informed, completely, correctly and precisely, of the essential characteristics of products and services, including financial services offered by economic operators, so as to have the possibility to make a rational choice between the products and services offered, in accordance with their economic and other interests and be able to use them, according to their destination, in complete safety and security. + Article 46 Information on the protection of life, health and safety of consumers must be communicated to them, as far as possible and through international graphic symbols, easy to understand. + Article 47 The information of consumers about the products and services offered shall be made, on a mandatory basis, by means of identification and characterization thereof, visible, visible, legible and easy to understand, as the case may be, on the product, the label, sales packaging or in the technical book, instructions for use or the like, accompanying the product or service, depending on its nature. + Article 48 Consumers must be informed about the risks to which they are subjected by normal or predictable use of goods. + Article 49 The purpose of the labelling is to provide consumers with the necessary, sufficient, verifiable and easy to compare information so as to enable them to choose that product which meets their needs in terms of needs and their financial possibilities, as well as to know the possible risks to which they may be subjected. + Article 50 The information on the labels of the products must be entered in Romanian, regardless of the producing country, without excluding their presentation and in other languages, to be visible, legible and inscribed in a way that does not allow their erasure. + Article 51 The labelling and methods by which it is carried out must not assign to food properties to prevent, treat or cure diseases or make references to such properties; mineral waters are exempted from this prohibition. natural, as well as any food with special nutritional destinations, expressly provided by normative acts. + Article 52 (. For foodstuffs, the manufacturer, as defined in the Annex, shall be required to inform the name, the name and/or the manufacturer's mark, the quantity and, where applicable, the term of validity or the date of sustainability. minimale, the list of ingredients, about possible foreseeable risks, the way of use, handling, storage or storage, about contraindications, additional mentions by product groups, as well as other mentions provided by law. (2) The manufacturer has the obligation to specify his address on the label until the date of accession of Romania to the + Article 53 For durable products, they 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, according to the legal provisions. + Article 54 The seller must inform consumers about the final price of the product and provide them with all the information and technical documents that must accompany the product. + Article 55 All information regarding 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 the presentation and in other languages. + Article 56 The name under which the food is sold to the consumer or to economic operators who prepare or provide food for the population is that provided for by the respective food regulations. + Article 57 In the case of service provision, the information must include the qualitative category of the service, as the case may be, the time of realization, the term of guarantee and the postguarantee, the prices and tariffs, the foreseeable risks and, where applicable, other documents provided for express the law. In the case of financial services, economic operators are obliged to provide consumers with complete, accurate and precise information on their rights and obligations. + Article 58 In the placing on the market of durable products, economic operators may carry out demonstrations of use, in public or through the media, in order to promote that product. + Article 59 Economic operators are obliged to demonstrate to consumers, at their request, on the occasion of purchase, how to use and operate the products to be sold, as the case may be. + Article 60 The obligation to inform the consumer of the essential elements relating to the purchased product cannot be removed, by the economic operator who marketed it, by invoking trade or professional secrecy, except in cases provided by law. + Article 61 It shall be prohibited to submit, by any means, the claims and indications which do not conform to the parameters characterising the products and services and which cannot be proved. + Article 62 The marketing of products and the provision of services are made only in places and authorized spaces, according to the legal regulations in force + Article 63 It is mandatory to display, visibly, the name of the unit, the operating authorization, the mandatory warnings provided by law, as well as the display of the operating schedule. + Chapter VII General framework on prices and tariffs General framework on prices and tariffs + Article 64 The economic operator who, in the distribution network, offers for sale products/services must indicate the sales price/price charged and the price per unit of measure, according to the legal regulations in force. + Article 65 Prices and tariffs must be clearly indicated and in an unequivocal form, easy to read, by marking, labeling and/or displaying. + Article 66 The information provided by the measuring devices used to determine the quantity of products sold in bulk shall be clear and readily visible to the consumer. + Article 67 When the delivery of the product or the provision of the service is made after payment of an amount of money in advance, the economic operator is obliged to release to the consumer, upon payment of the payment, a tax document according to the legislation in force case, a written contract and comply with the contractual conditions. + Article 68 Economic operators who, according to the legislation in force, are obliged to use fiscal electronic cash registers will issue tax receipts to consumers of products/services, which are required to keep these documents, at least until the time of leaving the respective commercial space. + Chapter VIII Advertising of products and services Advertising of products and services + Article 69 Advertising must be decent, fair and elaborate in the spirit of social responsibility. + Article 70 Advertising shall be prohibited which: a) is misleading; b) is subliminal; c) prejudices respect for human dignity and public morals; d) includes discrimination based on race, gender, language, origin, social origin, ethnic identity or nationality; e) attacks on religious or political beliefs; f) damages the image, honor, dignity and particular life of persons; g) exploit superstitions, credulity or fear of persons; h) prejudices the security of persons or incites violence; i) encourage behaviour that prejudicial to the environment; j) favours the marketing of goods or services, which are produced or distributed contrary to legal provisions. + Article 71 The author, the advertiser and the legal representative of the means of broadcasting shall be jointly and severally liable to the person who advertises, in case of violation of the provisions of this Code, except as expressly provided by law and to which liability is mentioned in another person's task. + Article 72 If the person who advertises is not based in Romania or if he cannot be identified, the liability lies, as the case may be, to his legal representative in Romania, to the author, advertising producer or legal representative of the middle of the broadcast. + Article 73 The person who advertises must be able to prove the accuracy of the claims, indications or presentations in the advertisement and is obliged, at the request of the institutions and public authorities empowered to apply and note the contraventions in the field of advertising, to provide the documents to prove their accuracy. If the documents are not provided within a maximum of 7 days after the request or if they are considered insufficient, the statements in the advertisement in question will be considered inaccurate. + Article 74 In order to protect the life, health, safety and correct information of consumers, the State may adopt measures to prohibit all or part of the advertising of certain products. + Chapter IX Consumer rights when concluding contracts Consumer rights when concluding contracts + Article 75 Any contract concluded between traders and consumers, for the sale of goods or the provision of services, will include clear, unequivocal contractual clauses for the understanding of which no expert knowledge is required. + Article 76 Any information on package holidays, their prices, consumer credit agreements and all other conditions applicable to the contract, communicated by the organiser or by the consumer to the consumer, shall contain indications correct and clear, that do not allow their equivocal interpretations. + Article 77 In case of doubt on the interpretation of contractual clauses, they will be interpreted in favour of the consumer. + Article 78 Traders are prohibited from stipulating unfair terms in consumer contracts. + Article 79 A contractual clause that has not been negotiated directly with the consumer will be considered abusive if, by itself or together with other provisions in the contract, it creates, to the detriment of the consumer and contrary to the requirements of good faith, an imbalance significant rights and obligations of the parties. + Article 80 A contractual clause will be considered as not directly negotiated with the consumer, if it has been established without enabling the consumer to influence its nature, such as pre-formulated contracts or general conditions of sale. practiced by traders on the market of the respective product or service. + Article 81 The fact that certain aspects of the contractual clauses or only one of the clauses was negotiated directly with the consumer does not exclude the application of the legal provisions for the rest of the contract, if a global assessment of the contract highlights that it was unilaterally preset by the trader. If a trader claims that a preformulated clause has been negotiated directly with the consumer it is his duty to present evidence in this regard. + Article 82 The contract must stipulate, in large and immediate vicinity of the place reserved for the signature of the consumer, the express clause about the right of unilateral denunciation of the contract, as the case may be, as well as the name and address of the trader to which the consumer may exercise this right, according to the legal provisions. + Article 83 The trader is obliged to give the consumer a copy of the contract concluded and to be able to prove this before the control bodies. + Article 84 The consumer's right to denunciation or termination of the contract cannot be annulled or restricted by any contractual clause or agreement between the parties, in the cases provided by law, which is considered null and void of law. The rights of the parties relating to a fair compensation shall not be affected in the event of unilateral denunciation -------- Article 84 has been amended by art. I of LAW no. 161 161 of 12 July 2010 , published in MONITORUL OFFICIAL no. 497 497 of 19 July 2010. + Chapter X Final and transitional provisions Final and transitional provisions + Article 85 (1) The control and surveillance actions of the market shall be carried out by the authorized personnel of the central and territorial public authorities responsible for consumer protection, according to the specific competences. (2) The staff provided in par. ((1) is authorized to make copies of the materials and documents related to the subject of control and which are in possession of those inspected and to request references about them, only if a deviation from the law has been found. (3) The authorized staff shall be obliged to keep professional secrecy and not to disclose to a third party the trade secrets or other confidential or particular information obtained during or in connection with the control actions, if they are not requires it to do so by a judicial authority or by the inspected party. If the personnel with control powers identify or suspect non-compliance with the provisions of the normative acts in the field of consumer protection in force, he/she may adopt and/or order measures in accordance with the provisions to them. (4) The staff provided in par. (1) may request, during the control, to carry out in good conditions the duties of the service, as the case may be, the personal protection and the support of the bodies responsible for public order and peace that have the obligation to support them in that sense. (5) Documents containing personal data, complaints and complaints of applicants, as well as contravention finding and sanctioning documents may not be of a public nature, except as expressly provided by law or cases in which the parties whose data are identified or identifiable in writing, in writing, this fact. + Article 86 (1) In order to provide economic operators and consumers with a neutral information tool, as a result of market studies and opinion surveys, distribution strategies, commercial practices, National Consumer Institute, in coordination of the National Authority for Consumer Protection. (2) The organization and functioning of the National Institute of Consumer shall be established by Government decision. (3) The National Institute of Consumer is organized as a public institution of national interest, with legal personality, in the form of a research, information and studies center in the field of consumption, whose incomes are granted from budgetary sources and extra-thinking, under the law. ((4) The activities of the National Consumer Institute shall be carried out with the support of representatives of central public administration, civil society, personalities in the field, employers ' organizations and non-governmental organizations of the consumers. (5) The National Consumer Institute supports non-governmental organizations of consumers in the activity of informing and educating consumers. + Article 87 The consumer protection authority, in all cases where it finds non-compliance with normative acts in the field of consumer protection, is empowered to apply main, complementary contravention sanctions to order complementary measures and notify the criminal investigation bodies if the facts found can constitute crimes. + Article 88 (1) The legal regulations in force on consumer protection that are not covered by this law shall be taken over as annexes thereof. (2) Within 18 months from the date of publication of the present law in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, the Government will present to the Parliament, for adoption, the draft law on the annexes provided in par. ((1). + Article 89 This Law shall enter into force on 1 January 2007. + Annex ----- DEFINITIONS For the purposes of consumer protection law, the following terms and expressions shall be defined as follows: 1. economic operator-natural or legal person, authorized, who within the framework of his professional activity, import, store, transport or sell products or parts thereof or provide services; 2. non-prepackaged food-bulk food which is not subject to the pre-packaging operation and which, for sale, is measured or weighed in the presence of the consumer; 3. authority responsible for the protection of consumers the authority of the central public administration and its devolved services empowered to find and apply sanctions for non-compliance with the provisions on consumer protection; 4. 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; 5. commercial center-sales structure with medium or large area in which retail activities of products, market and food services are carried out, which use a common infrastructure and adequate utilities; 6. the abusive clause-the 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 consumers and contrary to the requirements of good faith, an imbalance significant rights and obligations of the parties; 7. trader-natural or legal person authorized to carry out the marketing of products and market services; 8. ambulant trade-retail activity carried out by way of one place to another, in mobile caravans, mobile stands, mobile kiosks or in specially arranged vehicles; 9. retail/retail trade-the activity carried out by economic operators who sell products, as a rule, directly to consumers for their personal use; 10. wholesale/wholesale trade-the activity carried out by economic operators who buy products in large quantities, in order to resale them in smaller quantities to other traders or professional and collective users; 11. trade of thick cash and carry/form of self-service trade, on the basis of access card-the activity carried out by economic operators who sell goods through the self-service system to legal persons or authorized individuals and family associations authorized according to the law, registered in the seller's database, for the purpose of resale and/or processing, as well as their use as consumable products; 12. trade in public areas-activity of marketing of products and services, carried out permanently or seasonally in markets, fairs, shutters, public passages, ports, airports, railway stations, bus stations, public roads and streets or any other area nature intended for public use; 13. consumer-any natural person or group of natural persons constituted in associations, acting for purposes outside his commercial, industrial or production, artisanal or liberal activity; 14. contract concluded with consumers-contracts concluded between traders and consumers, including warranty certificates, order vouchers, invoices, borderos or delivery vouchers, tickets, vouchers containing stipulations or references to predetermined general conditions; 15. 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 be dangerous even after that date; 16. 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; 17. distributor-the economic operator in the distribution chain, whose professional activity does not affect the characteristics of the product; 18. the average duration of use-the time frame, established in the normative technical documents or declared by the manufacturer or agreed between the parties, in which the durable products must maintain their characteristics functional, if the conditions of transport, handling, storage and operation have been observed; 19. the label-any written, printed, lithographed, engraved or illustrated material, containing elements of identification of the product and accompanying its product is adherent to its packaging; 20. commercial exercise-one or more wholesale, retail, cash and carry marketing activities, of public catering, as well as of services carried out by a trader; 21. warranty-any commitment made by the seller or producer to the consumer, without the request of additional costs, refund of the price paid by the consumer, repair or replacement of the purchased product, if it does not corresponds to the conditions set out in the declarations relating to the guarantee or the related advertising; 22. food ingredient-any substance, including additives, used in the production or preparation of a food and which will also be contained in the finished product as such or in a modified form; 23. lot-an assembly of units of sale from a food manufactured, processed or packaged under virtually identical conditions; 24. package of tourist services-the predetermined combination of at least two of the following three groups of services, provided that their uninterrupted duration exceeds 24 hours or includes an overnight stay, namely, transport, accommodation and other services, not related to transport or accommodation or which are not their accessories and which represent a significant part of the package of tourist services, such as: food, spa treatment, leisure and the like; 25. damage-the damage created to consumers by the use of a dangerous product or a product with defects, as well as the one created by improper services provided by the provider. Injury can be material, injury to bodily integrity or health, as well as loss of life; 26. abusive trade practices-restrictive or conditional sales methods affecting the interests of consumers; 27. provider-the economic operator providing services; 28. manufacturer: a) the economic operator who manufactures a finished product or a component of a product; b) the economic operator manufacturing the raw material; c) the economic operator applying its name, trade mark or other distinctive mark to the product; d) the economic operator reconditioning the product; e) the economic operator or the distributor which by its activity changes the product characteristics; f) 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; g) the economic operator that imports products in order to carry out a sale, lease, lease or any other form of distribution specific to its 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; 29. product-good material whose final destination is individual or collective consumption or use; electricity, heat, water and gas delivered for individual consumption are considered; 30. product with defects-the product to which the presentation mode, the foreseeable use and the date of purchase do not provide the safety of consumers, causing their damage; 31. 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; 32. counterfeit product-any good, including its packaging, to which it is found the use without authorization of a brand that is identical to a registered trademark, or the product that cannot be differentiated in its essential aspects of a the trademark product, which violates the legal rights of the legal holder of the trade mark; 33. falsified product-product to which the alteration is found in any form of the elements of identification of a trademark, names, logos or legally registered industrial drawing, likely to mislead its provenance, to products that have not been manufactured by the legal holder of the trade mark or processor, or to which the use of the registered trademark was found without the consent of the proprietor; 34. product used-product used by another consumer, repaired and tested, technically and functionally appropriate to a similar new or reconditioned product, and which is a safe product; 35. dangerous product-the product that cannot be defined as safe product; 36. reconditioned product-new product with damaged packaging, improper external physical appearance, small manufacturing defects, but which is brought to the technical parameters of initial operation given by the manufacturer by remedy; 37. 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; 38. 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; 39. refurbishment-repair of a new product before placing on the market, in order to meet the conditions stated in the warranty statements or in the related advertising, to the specifications provided for in the sales contract for a product new and unrepaired; 40. Repair-bringing the product that does not correspond to the conditions stated in the warranty statements or in the related advertising to the specifications provided in the sales contract, other documents, or in other legal provisions; 41. service-activity, other than that from which products result, carried out in order to satisfy some consumer needs; 42. food service-the activity of preparation, preparation, presentation and service of products and beverages for their consumption in specialized units or at the consumer's home/workplace; 43. financial service-some banking services, loans, insurance, private pensions, investments or payments; 44. market service-any action or performance that is the subject of sale-purchase on the market and which does not have as a consequence the transfer of ownership of a good body, carried out in order to satisfy some consumer needs; 45. sales structure-the space of one or more commercial exercises; 46. sale structure with large area-sales structure having a sales area of more than 1,000 my; 47. sale structure with medium surface-sales structure having a sales area of between 4001.000 my inclusive; 48. sale structure with small area-sales structure having a sales area of up to 400 my inclusive; 49. sale area-the area intended for the access of consumers for the purchase of the product/service, the exposure of the products offered, their payment and the movement of the personnel Does not constitute sales areas for the storage and storage of goods; 50. the sales area of a shopping centre-the sum of the retail areas of products and services of the market and food contained therein; 51. 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 the expense to, if the deficiencies are not attributable to consumers; 52. term of validity-time limit, established by the manufacturer, until which a perishable product or a product that in a short time may present an immediate danger to the health of consumers retains its specific characteristics, if they have the conditions of transport, handling, storage and storage have been complied with; for foodstuffs it represents the consumer limit date; 53. seller-the distributor offering the product to consumers; 54. hidden vice-qualitative deficiency of a product delivered or a service provided that was not known nor could be known by the consumer through the usual means of verification. ----