The purchase and sale agreement, the relationship between the acquirer and the seller, the consequences of violations of the terms of the transaction are stated in the norms of Ch. 30 GK. 469 article of the Code is devoted to the quality of goods. Let us analyze its official text posted in the consultant legal system.
Art. 469 of the Civil Code:
The first paragraph of the norm establishes that the seller must transfer to the acquirer a product whose quality meets the terms of the contract.
In practice, the quality of goods is not always specified in the agreement. In this case, on the basis of paragraph 2 of Art. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation , the seller must provide the acquirer with a product suitable for the purposes for which products of this kind are usually used. If the buyer at the conclusion of the contract informed the seller of the specific objectives of the purchase, the seller must provide him with the appropriate product.
Nuances
Currently, the sale of products according to the description or sample is quite common. As established by the current edition of Art. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation , in such cases, the buyer must be transferred the goods that correspond to the specified description or sample.
If the legislation or the procedure adopted in accordance with the rules of law provides for special mandatory requirements for the quality of the product, the seller-entrepreneur must provide the acquirer with an item that meets them.
Parties may agree on the transfer of a product that meets high quality requirements.
Art. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation with comments
The provisions of the analyzed article allow to formulate the concept of "quality" to a certain extent . In Art. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation , it means suitability for use for certain purposes.
It should be said that discussions around the term “quality” have been going on for quite some time.
So, the International Organization for Standardization gave the following definition:
"Quality is a set of characteristics of an object relating to its ability to satisfy established or anticipated needs."
The definitions that were later proposed by theorists were in many respects similar to the interpretation given above.
The ability to satisfy anticipated / established needs is described in two ways:
- By indicating the purpose of use (2 paragraph of Article 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
- By presenting requirements, meet certain characteristics: numerical, descriptive, given by any standard / sample (paragraph 3 of the analyzed norm).
Feature of quality provisions
Within the meaning of Art. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in the contract between the purchaser and the seller the condition for the quality of the goods may well be absent. Meanwhile, the obligation to provide the product that meets certain requirements rests with the seller without any exception due to legislative requirements.
Norm spaces
Of course, in all cases (in the absence of a quality clause in the contract as well), there is a condition providing for quality requirements for the product. When applied with t. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in practice , difficulties often arise related to the source of the emergence of these requirements and their content.
A number of experts who analyzed the rule in question proposed their wording of its provisions. In their opinion, a different interpretation may facilitate the settlement of disputes under Art. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in court. Analysts suggest the following article design:
- The product must comply with the agreement reached by the parties and fixed directly in the contract, description of the goods or in the characteristics of the provided sample.
- If the parties to the transaction did not specify the quality, the item must comply with the mandatory requirements established by law. If they are not presented to the product, then the product must be in a condition suitable for use for the purposes of which the acquirer informed the seller.
- If none of the above conditions is met, the product should be suitable for use for the purposes for which similar objects are commonly used.
According to experts, product quality requirements can be very detailed. But if their specific description is absent in the normative act or the contract itself, conditions that are not caused by the need to ensure the condition of the goods suitable for normal use, or by the proven fact of notifying the seller about the specific intentions of the acquirer, cannot be implied.
Quality elements
Analysts divide the quality of the product into 2 components: absolute and relative.
Information about the first is information about the purpose of using the item, that is, about the specific need that it is able to satisfy. As for relative quality, it should be understood as a way to meet the needs of the acquirer, specific properties, due to which it will become possible after the purchase. In this case, the indicator will be the level of compliance of the characteristics of the object with some basic parameters established normatively (for example, in GOST).
Given the above, an assessment of relative quality can be obtained as a result of a comparative study.
Compliance Features
Any product sold to consumers must comply with the parameters provided for in the technical regulations. This opinion is expressed by most federal supervisory authorities. In the framework of judicial practice under Art. 469 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the courts considering disputes support this position.
Meanwhile, according to some experts, this approach is somewhat contrary to current standards. Experts explain their position as follows.
Public legal requirements enshrined in the technical regulations established on the basis of the Federal Law No. 184 are considered mandatory only within the framework of the first contract, during the execution of which the object is put into circulation.
The seller’s obligation in future transactions is not to ensure compliance, but to provide confirmation that it previously took place and was established at the time of product release. According to some experts, for such subsequent contracts, a condition providing for the possibility of non-compliance of the product with mandatory requirements seems to be acceptable. For example, this applies to used goods.
In turn, failure to provide evidence of confirmation of compliance (certificate or declaration) should be regarded as a violation of the provisions of paragraph 2 of paragraph 456 of the Civil Code, unless otherwise provided by contract. However, in these cases, many courts are of the opinion that the supply of uncertified products is non-compliance with the quality requirements of products subject to mandatory certification.
Features of informing the buyer
The acquirer usually has a complete picture of his needs. But at the same time, by no means in all cases does he have information about the available methods (means) of satisfying them.
The need to inform the purchaser about the qualitative properties of the goods, methods of use, the rationale for the decision made by the buyer about the choice through familiarization with the available assortment is related to the contract, taking into account the required level of customer satisfaction.
When considering disputes, the court should proceed from the assumption that the consumer does not have the necessary knowledge about the properties and characteristics of the product. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the provisions of the Federal Law No. 2300-1, according to which the seller is obliged to timely provide the acquirer with reliable and necessary information about the product.
conclusions
At first glance, of course, the quality condition is one of the points of agreement between the parties. Previously, in Soviet law, an agreement was considered as a tool not only for determining how much quality improvement would be.
However, the use of such a model is limited to supply contracts, retail, and several other transactions. The peculiarity of such agreements is that either the subject on which an agreement is reached is absent, or the participants have a choice of several objects. The parties may agree on quality, set conditions regarding its indicators.
Another thing is if the item is not just available, it is individually defined. If it is impossible to change its characteristics, then it makes no sense to agree on this. The quality item can be considered an “element of accession”: one can disagree with the condition, but it is also inappropriate to argue.
In this situation, the provisions of the Civil Code become informational in nature. Together, product quality should be talked about the completeness, quality, reliability of product information.
The condition of informing the buyer about the quality of the offered product is implicitly included in the description of the subject of the agreement, by which, in fact, the product being sold is identified. Accordingly, it is covered by the condition on the subject, which, in turn, is essential by law.
The clause on the quality of the provided item may, according to the considered norm, not be included in the contract. This condition cannot be recognized as essential in the first place due to the fact that it is not "independent".