Law 4512/2018 (“Arrangements for the implementation of the Structural Reforms of the Economic Adjustment Programme and other provisions”) brought significant amendments to the law on Consumer’s Protection (Law 2251/1994), which thereafter (by virtue of Ministerial Decision number 5338/17.1.2018) was codified into a single text.
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The most important amendments to Law 2251/1994 are the following:
- Definitions for both “consumer” and “supplier” are clarified, reducing the workload of courts and limiting the tensions in the market. In particular, only natural persons -and not legal persons as applicable in some cases so far- fall under the notion of “consumer”
- In the field of General Terms of Transactions, protection is provided to the very small businesses, either natural or legal persons, as if it was offered to an individual.
- It is set forth anew that all goods are accompanied by a free-of-charge two-year statutory guarantee, and clarifications are provided regarding the differences between the mandatory two-year guarantee and the optional commercial guarantee, as well as on salesmen and suppliers’ obligations resulting therefrom.
- Salesmen or manufacturers’ obligation to provide an additional (commercial) guarantee is abolished. However, a commercial guarantee may be offered by payment of a consideration or/and by means of extension of the guarantee that has been already provided, upon agreement of both parties.
- Arrangements are launched for the provision of instructions for use and after-sales technical support, i.e. the ongoing provision of technical services for the maintenance and repair of a product, as well as the easy procurement of spare parts and any other goods, required for its use. The time period for the provision of technical support for new consumer durables is set at two (2) years as of the delivery of such products.
- Specific definitions are set more clearly for the General Product Safety and the respective obligations for manufacturers and distributors. Furthermore, the obligations pertaining to the general principles for the affixing of the CE marking are defined.
- The provisions for the protection of the mental health of minors are reformed and specific arrangements are introduced for the prohibition of the placement on the market of products that entail risks for the mental or moral development of minors or encourage discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability or sexual orientation.
It is hereby noted that the Ministerial Decision codifying Law 2251/1994 will come into force on the 17th of March 2018.
