A letter of guarantee is a commercial document where the sender promises to fulfill specific conditions or to perform such actions in which the addressee is interested. Basically, it is necessary when a party is not sure of the fulfillment of the agreements by the deadline of one hundred percent. Therefore, a letter of guarantee is required. We will talk about the legal force and legal nature of it as a whole, as well as about particular points in the article.
General Provisions
The scope of these documents is business correspondence, the purpose of which is to convince the fulfillment of certain conditions or obligations within the specified time and scope. The law does not regulate letters of guarantee. Therefore, correspondence is carried out exclusively according to the rules established by the paperwork.
At the same time, a letter of guarantee may appear in the form of an offer and acceptance.
The offer is regulated by Article 435 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It recognizes a document that is sent to a legal entity with an offer to consider the agreement concluded if it suits the addressee. For example, a company that has drawn up an appropriate guarantee demonstrates its readiness to consider a contract concluded. Moreover, this obligation is considered an offer. It should contain all the important conditions. For example, when performing repairs, such is an indication of the beginning and end of work.
Acceptance is referred to in article 438 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The acceptance gives its consent to the offer, for example, a response to a commercial offer. In such agreement, it is not necessary to prescribe all the conditions. However, it is necessary to unambiguously express consent to those that have been proposed.
Content
This sales document must contain the following information:
- Information about the party that made it up, as well as who the letter is addressed to.
- Date.
- The essence of the guarantee, including terms and other components.
- Position and full name of the person who has signed.
- Stamp of the company.
- Signature of the artist.
It is advisable to use letterhead when writing a letter of guarantee. This will not affect legal force. But such a document will look more impressive than if it were executed on a regular A4 sheet.
What should be considered when compiling?
The established requirements for the preparation of a letter of guarantee are not established by law. But in order for it to be perceived by the partner properly, the following recommendations exist:
- Business writing style.
- Brevity of presentation. Phrases that do not make sense are excluded. In this case, all those proposals that convey the essence of the whole are used.
- The specifics. Facts are indicated, words such as “guarantee”, “undertake” are used.
- Clarity. The text is transmitted in such a way that every reader can catch the writing.
- Speech, spelling, and other errors are excluded.
Compilation Example
The legal force of a letter of guarantee without an agreement or, if any, may be needed in cases where there is uncertainty about the integrity of the partner. The relevant document may be as follows.
- In the upper right corner, the person to whom the letter is addressed is indicated (company name or full name of the individual).
- Company information is entered below.
- Then in the middle in capital letters the name of the document is entered: “Letter of guarantee”.
- After this, the text is typed, which may be as follows: "The company undertakes to perform work (list) for the organization during the term (indicate the period)."
- After the text is stamped and signed.
All letters of guarantee are drawn up the same way. The difference lies only in the obligations that the addressee guarantees to fulfill.
Details of individuals
Separately, it must be said about the data that indicate in relation to individuals. It:
- FULL NAME.
- Passport information.
- Registration address (temporary or permanent).
Legal force
I must say that there is no law that would provide for certain provisions on the letter of guarantee. Does such a document then have legal force? Rather, it has a psychological effect on the partner. When this sheet is presented, this indicates serious intentions. He can also play a role in court if it comes to that.
It turns out that despite the absence of relevant provisions of the law, does the letter of guarantee have legal force in court? It depends on how the sales document is compiled. If the letter contains all the necessary information that confirms consent to the performance of obligations, the court will certainly take it into account. However, if the drafting is incorrect, the letter may be ignored or taken into account as insignificant evidence.
Thus, in each case, the court raises the question of the legal force of the letter of guarantee. Judicial practice does not have a firm stance on this score. The case materials are studied, and the decision is made on the basis of specific circumstances. Therefore, a commercial document may be cited as evidence. At the same time, one should not rely on him as serious and, moreover, the only evidence.
Types of letters of guarantee
The most common types of letters include the following:
- Confirmation of payment and repayment of debt.
- Confirmation of work or services.
- Providing a legal address.
- Letter of employment.
We consider each of these cases in more detail.
Payment and debt repayment
Most often it is a guarantee letter about payment. Its legal force remains unchanged, but the document is often used in case of unforeseen situations that will impede the fulfillment of relevant obligations. Unlike other types, in this commercial document is signed not only the head, but also the chief accountant. So the letter receives even more weighty evidence.
Features of its filling are as follows:
- Typical details with the outgoing document number.
- The text prescribes the amount payable or debt, details of the document in connection with which the debt has arrived, payment deadlines, details of the payer, a fine for failure to fulfill another obligation, as well as any other information.
- In addition to the signatures of the head and chief accountant, a seal is placed on the organization.
Performance of work and provision of services
This document provides a guarantee that the work will be completed or the service rendered in a timely manner, in accordance with the terms of the contract. In the case of its phased execution, it is possible to register several dates. The contractor also guarantees the proper quality that meets one or another standard.
Such a letter of guarantee is mainly used in case of violation of the terms specified in the contract. But it can be applied before signing the document. Then the entire volume is indicated in the main part of the letter of guarantee.
Features of the preparation of the document are as follows:
- The details of the document are typical.
- The text prescribes: the type of work or service, the period of the order, the number and date of the contract, other details of the document on the basis of which a letter of guarantee is drawn up, legal issues.
- The address and other characteristics of the facility where the work is performed or the service is provided.
Providing a legal address
The document is used for presentation to the tax office if the legal entity does not have its own premises. Since the state registration must specify the address, it is allowed to use the address of the leased premises. Then its owner draws up a letter of guarantee, and the tenant provides it to the tax.
Features in this case are as follows:
- The addressee is a branch of the Federal Tax Service, where the tenant will subsequently apply.
- The text contains information about the owner of the premises, basic information about him (address, area, other description), consent not only to provide this premises, but also about using it as a legal address, conclusion of an appropriate lease agreement.
- A letter of proof of ownership is attached to the letter of guarantee. When concluding a sublease agreement with the tax office, a copy of the lease agreement is provided, which should contain a clause on the tenant's right to sublease the premises.
About hiring
A letter of guarantee may also be required when hiring a foreigner. Its legal force is not called into question, since the document is presented to the migration service, where it is taken into account as evidence of the employment of a foreign citizen. In addition, students need a document to present to the university, and to former prisoners to the bodies that carry out administrative supervision.
Features of the preparation of the document are as follows:
- The addressee is a specific organization (or government agency), and if it is not known, then the phrase is written: "at the place of demand."
- The compilation date is registered and the outgoing number is indicated.
- The text refers to the person hired, indicates the procedure for calculating salaries.
- It can be sent directly to the place of demand or issued to the future employee in the hands of a letter of guarantee. The legal strength of this does not change.
Delivery Methods
A letter of guarantee can be delivered in the following ways:
- Personally. Then the addressee only needs to put his signature.
- Via postal service. In this case, the departure is carried out by registered mail with a notification.
- Using email.
It is better to apply the first or second option, since the third is not initially weighty evidence. But if it is possible to reliably establish the owner of the one who sent the letter, then this method can be used along with the rest.
Conclusion
Why is a guarantee letter nevertheless necessary? Does this document have legal force? Since the concept is not regulated by laws, it should be taken as a paper that exerts a psychological influence and demonstrates the seriousness of the company's intentions. Such is the role of the letter of guarantee and legal force in court.
However, when presented at various state authorities (for example, at the tax office when registering a legal entity or at the migration service when employing a foreigner), the document is accepted as confirmation of the actions of the premises owner, in the first case or the employer, in the second case. Therefore, here we can talk about a letter of guarantee as a legally binding document.
Thus, answering the question of what legal force a guarantee letter has, it is imperative to say that it can have many different meanings depending on the context, as well as the will of the parties. To use the letter of guarantee as evidence, ambiguity and ambiguity should be avoided in writing. The text should be presented in a concise concise and unambiguous form.