The Department of Agriculture will proceed immediately with the harmonization law that institutes the prohibition of 13 unfair commercial practices for agricultural products related to the time period of payment of suppliers, cancellation of orders and retroactive and unilateral change of the terms of the supply agreement.
In its announcement on the harmonizing law "On Unfair Commercial Practices in the Supply Chain of Agricultural Products and Food Law", which was passed by the Parliament and will enter into force with its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic, the Department clarifies that through 13 unfair commercial practices are prohibited in the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in other products which are processed for use as foodstuffs using the products listed in Annex I.
With the publication of the Law, the Department of Agriculture will proceed with its immediate implementation, examining ex officio or upon submission of a complaint, by a supplier or buyer, any violations.
According to the Department of Agriculture, in addition to the ban on 13 unfair commercial practices, the Law prohibits a further 6 practices for all fruit and vegetables, while for other products the Law prohibits such practices in the event that no prior agreements have been reached. in clear and unequivocal terms.
The 13 unfair commercial practices prohibited is for the buyer to pay the supplier after 30 days for perishable agricultural products and 60 days for other products, for the buyer to cancel orders for perishable agricultural products and food with less than 30 days notice. the buyer or supplier (except in cases of force majeure) to change unilaterally and retroactively the terms of the supply agreement.
The buyer should also require the supplier to pay for the deterioration or loss of agricultural products and food resulting in the buyer's premises after ownership has been transferred to the buyer and which were not caused by the buyer's negligence or error, the buyer owns or to place agricultural products and foodstuffs of one supplier in packaging or transport boxes of another supplier, the buyer to retain reusable packaging or transport boxes of agricultural products and foodstuffs owned by the supplier, for a period of more than thirty days from the date of based on the date on the sales invoice.
It is an unfair practice for the supplier to place agricultural products and food in boxes of packaging or transport of another supplier, the supplier does not immediately issue invoices for the agricultural products and food he has sold (with the exception of products for which the sale price is required to be determined laboratory analysis, in which case the invoice must be issued within 10 days), the buyer to demand payments from the supplier that are not related to the sale of agricultural products and food of the supplier.
Like the buyer refusing to confirm in writing the terms of a supply agreement between himself and the supplier and for which the supplier requested written confirmation (with the exception of conditional supply agreements relating to products delivered by a supplier who is a member the buyer illegally obtains, uses or discloses the trade secret of the supplier, the buyer threatens to carry out or carry out commercial retaliation against the supplier, the buyer demands compensation from the supplier , which are related to the sale of the supplier's products, for which the supplier is not responsible in any way.
The following 6 unfair commercial practices are also prohibited for all fruit and vegetables, while for the other products the prohibitions apply in cases where no previous agreements have been reached with clear and unambiguous terms:
The buyer to return to the supplier agricultural products and food, which were not sold, without having paid for these products, or without having paid for the disposal of these products or both.
The buyer must pay payment to the supplier as a condition for storing, displaying for sale or adding his agricultural products or food to his list or for placing these products on the market.
The buyer should require the supplier to bear all or part of the cost of any discounts on agricultural products and food sold by the buyer as part of the promotion (exceptions apply).
The buyer should require the supplier to pay for the advertisement from the buyer of the agricultural products and food.
The buyer should require the supplier to pay for costs related to the promotion and marketing by the buyer of agricultural products and food.
The buyer charges the supplier for the staff responsible for arranging the premises used for the sale of the supplier's products.
Source: KYPE