sou · H8B351 · 2020-09-02 00:00:00 — Från organisationshåll finns dock önskemål om stora förändringar av regelverket, i första hand att försäljning av levande djur helt ska undantas från tillämpningsområdet för konsumentköpregleringen. Utredningen anser att det finns ett behov av särreglering när det gäller köp av levande djur men att den inte ska utformas på så sätt att köp av levande djur helt undantas från den nya lagens tillämpningsområde. Utredningen stannar för sitt förslag utifrån en avvägning mellan de speciella förhållandena på området och konsumentintresset. Enligt utredningens mening kan det inte sägas att konsumentintresset på området skulle vara svagt. Utifrån de övervägandena föreslår utredningen att en särskild regel ska införas om undersökning av ett levande djur före köpet när priset för djuret överstiger en tiondel av prisbasbeloppet enligt 2 kap. 6 och 7 §§ socialförsäkringsbalken. Om köparen före köpet har undersökt det levande djuret eller utan godtagbar anledning underlåtit att följa säljarens uppmaning att undersöka det, får köparen inte som fel åberopa vad han eller hon borde ha märkt vid undersökningen, om inte säljaren har handlat i strid mot tro och heder. Vidare föreslås en möjlighet att vid sådana köp avtala om att regeln om omvänd bevisbörda avseende fel som visar sig från köpet (presumtionsregeln) inte ska gälla. Den nya lagen och ändringen i marknadsföringslagen (2008:486) föreslås träda i kraft . Konsumentköplagen ska då upphöra att gälla. Enligt en övergångsbestämmelse ska konsumentköplagen fortfarande gälla för avtal om köp, om varor som ska tillverkas efter avtalsslutet och om byte av lösa saker, som har ingåtts före ikraftträdandet. Vidare föreslås en övergångsbestämmelse om att bestämmelserna om avtal om tillhandahållande av digitalt innehåll eller digitala tjänster i den nya lagen ska tillämpas på tillhandahållanden som äger rum , oavsett när avtalet om tillhandahållande ingicks. Dock ska bestämmelsen om ändring av det digitala innehållet eller den digitala tjänsten tillämpas endast om avtalet om tillhandahållande har ingåtts eller . Ekonomiska och andra konsekvenser Den nya enhetliga regleringen inom EU bedöms innebära besparingar för företag som bedriver verksamhet över nationsgränserna. bör regleringen kunna leda till bättre konkurrens och lägre priser för konsumenter. För företag kan det vid avtal om tillhandahållande av digitalt innehåll eller digitala tjänster initialt finnas ett visst behov av utbildningsinsatser och anpassning av avtalsvillkoren, och det även av avtal som redan ingåtts. Detta bedöms av utredningen medföra enbart begränsade kostnader i ett inledande skede. Förslaget till särreglering avseende dyrare levande djur innebär en viss sänkning av konsumentskyddet men bedöms leda till att näringsidkarna på den marknaden, till stor del små företag och enskilda näringsidkare, får en ökad förutsebarhet i sin verksamhet och minskad risk för rättsliga processer. Utredningen bedömer att förslagen inte leder till några ökade kostnader för det allmänna och att de inte har någon påverkan på jämställdheten mellan kvinnor och män. It is becoming increasingly common for private individuals to buy goods on the internet and to do so cross-border. A large share of these purchases are made from companies or other traders that can be based in , in another EEA country or in a third country. Moreover, the digital market is constantly evolving and traders supply digital content and digital services that consumers can, for example, stream or download. Sometimes the digital elements (content or services) are incorporated or inter-connected with a good that does not work without the digital element. Alongside this, many goods are still sold in shops and do not have digital features. Against this background, the EU adopted two directives in the area of consumer law in 2019. One is a directive on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods1 (of Goods Directive) and the other is a directive on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services2 (Digital Content Directive). The purpose of the new essentially fully harmonised Directives is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market while providing for a high level of consumer protection, by laying down common rules on certain requirements concerning contracts concluded between traders and consumers. The Directives regulate questions concerning the conformity of goods/digital content or a digital service with the contract, remedies in the event of a lack of such conformity and the modalities for the exercise of those remedies. The of Goods Directive also contains rules on 1Directive (EU) 2019/771 of Parliament and of 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods, amending Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC, and repealing Directive 1999/44/EC. 2Directive (EU) 2019/770 of Parliament and of 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services. commercial guarantees while the Digital Content Directive regulates failure to supply and modification of digital content or digital services. The Inquiry’s remit has been to consider how to implement the Directives in . The remit has included analysing the relationship between Swedish law and the Directives and proposing the necessary legislative amendments and other measures. The Inquiry has been able to consider other closely related questions and to also propose other measures, when needed. The remit has also included considering whether living animals should be exempted fully or partly from the application of the rules that implement the of Goods Directive and whether other measures should be taken to establish a system that is appropriate for both traders and consumers. Implement the Directives in a new act to replace the Consumer The Inquiry proposes implementing the Directives through provisions entered in a new act – the act on consumer protection in sales and certain other contracts. The Inquiry proposes basing the structure of the act on the Consumer but dividing it into chapters. Provisions on contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services should be gathered in a separate chapter. As far as possible, these provisions should be framed in terms of references to the provisions in the remainder of the act. The new act should be mandatory to the benefit of the consumer. The scope proposed for the new act covers both the same scope as the Consumer and certain contracts in which a trader will supply or develop digital content or a digital service for a con- sumer. With certain exceptions, the latter contracts should be covered by the act if the consumer will pay with money or a digital representation of value or will supply their personal data instead of paying. However, the act does not reach cases where the personal data supplied are only processed by the trader to comply with legal requirements or to be able to perform the contract. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of Parliament and of the Council3 (the 3Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of Parliament and of the Council of on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (Protection Regulation). Protection Regulation or GDPR) applies to the obligations of the trader concerning the consumer’s personal data. When a part of the contract refers to supply of digital content or a digital service, the provisions of the act on contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services apply to that part of the contract. Those provisions also apply when digital content is supplied on a tangible medium that serves exclusively as a of digital content, e.g. a CD containing music. In the case of goods with digital elements, a smart TV for instance, the act’s provisions on sales of goods apply instead. Provisions on requirements for conformity and lack of conformity given new structure and partly new content The Inquiry proposes framing the fundamental provisions on lack of conformity in a somewhat different way to the Consumer . The proposed new act contains introductory sections that deal with contractual (subjective) requirements for the good and objective requirements that apply over and above what has been agreed between the parties; they also provide that, unless otherwise agreed, digital content or a digital service in a good with digital elements shall be supplied in the most recent version available at the time of the conclusion of the contract. Then comes a main rule providing that the good shall be considered not in conformity if it deviates from the contractually agreed or objective requirements for the good or if the seller had failed to inform the buyer of a certain matter before the sale. It will be possible to deviate from the objective requirements in certain cases. But then the seller must have informed the buyer about the deviation at the time of the sale and the buyer must have accepted it expressly and separately. general reservations, such as the sale of second-hand goods in their “as is” condition, will no longer be possible. However, sales at certain types of auctions are exempted. The seller is given certain obligations to ensure that the buyer is informed of and supplied with updates of goods with digital elements. If a good no longer lives up to the requirements for the good on account of shortcomings in this respect, the good shall be con- sidered not in conformity. Just as under the Consumer , the good shall be considered not in conformity if there are shortcomings in its installation, but it is made clear that this also applies when an incorrect installation has been performed by the buyer if this is because of shortcomings in the installation instructions from the seller. Otherwise, largely the same rules as up to now are proposed to the effect that the good has a lack of conformity if it is not reliable from a safety point of wiew, if there are deviations from information provided in the marketing or in the event of the failure by the seller to give certain information and if the good has a legal defect. Longer period with reverse burden of proof The time for the assessment of whether there is a lack of conformity is proposed to be unchanged in the case of most goods, ie when the goods are delivered. According to the Consumer , if a lack of conformity in the good becomes apparent within six months after the good was delivered, the lack of conformity shall as a general rule be deemed to have existed at the time of delivery unless the seller proves that this is not the case (reversed burden of proof). The period for a reverse burden of proof for the seller is now proposed to be extended to one year. Unchanged rules are proposed that the buyer has an obligation to notify a lack of conformity within a certain period and that the maximum period for notifying a lack of conformity should be three years. In the case of the digital elements in a good with digital elements, we propose that special provisions should apply, in certain cases, to the point in time for the assessment of a lack of conformity, the maximum period to give notice of a lack of conformity and the reverse burden of proof. The of Goods Directive makes it necessary to clarify and supplement the Swedish regulation of guarantees. For the sake of clarification, the new act we propose provides that a buyer can turn to a third party that has provided a guarantee in accordance with what follows from that guarantee. If the producer of the good is the guarantor and they have undertaken to be responsible for the durability of the good for a certain period, the producer shall be liable for repair or replacement of the good. We also propose a provision stating that the conditions for the guarantee shall sometimes be those stated in the marketing of the good. This will apply if the conditions according to the guarantee statement are less advantageous to the consumer than those undertaken in the marketing and the marketing has not been corrected in a way that is equivalent to how the marketing was first done. We do not propose any regulation under civil law of guarantees given in connection with contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services, since no need of any such regulation has emerged. The Inquiry proposes certain adjustments to the Marketing Act; they include clarifications of what must be stated in the guarantee statement and an amendment of the last point in time for giving the guarantee statement to the buyer. Remedies for lack of conformity The Inquiry’s proposal contains provisions on repair, replacement, reduction in price, compensation in order to remedy a lack of conformity, termination, damages and the buyer’s possibility of withholding payment that correspond to a great extent to the regulation of these matters in the Consumer . We propose new rules that require the seller, in the case of replace- ment, to take back the non-conforming good at their own expense and – if certain conditions are in place – to remove the non-conforming good and to install a conforming good or bear the cost of the removal and the installation. Our proposal also requires the buyer to make the good available to the seller and provides that the buyer is not liable to pay for normal use made of a good that the seller takes back. We propose that the buyer should not be entitled to a reduction of the price or termination of the sales contract in cases where the seller has brought the good into conformity. However the buyer should always be entitled to a reduction of the price or termination of the sales contract if the seller does not live up to their obligations to take back or remove the non-conforming good and to install a conforming good or bear the cost of doing so. If the lack of con- formity is serious, the buyer should be entitled to a reduction of the price or termination of the sales contract without any prior attempt to bring the goods into conformity or deliver a substitute good. The Consumer only permits the buyer to terminate the sales contract if the lack of conformity is of material significance to them. In the proposed new act the position is, instead, that the buyer is not entitled to terminate the sales contract if the seller proves that the lack of conformity is only minor. In the Inquiry’s assessment, this change does not mean any substantive change of the cases in which the buyer is able to terminate the sales contract. The Inquiry proposes moving the provisions of the Consumer that do not conflict with the of Goods Directive to the new act. These are provisions about delivery of the goods, delay by the seller, the extent of damages, delay by the buyer and certain common provisions on matters including limitation of damage and the claims against traders in earlier stages in the transaction chain. Some adjustments are proposed on account of the Directive. If the seller has undertaken to install the good as part of the completion of the sale, the good should only be considered to be delivered when its installation has been carried out by the seller or by someone else on their behalf. A good with digital elements should only be considered to be delivered when the buyer has received the tangible movable item in their possession and been supplied with the digital elements. If the digital elements are to be supplied continuously over a period, their delivery should be considered to have taken place when the supply commences. We also propose a provision about when digital content or a digital service should be considered to be supplied. The risk for goods with digital elements should pass to the buyer when the tangible movable item has come into the possession of the buyer even if the digital elements were not supplied then. Cancellation should only be possible up until that point in time. Certain changes are proposed concerning the effects of termination. On termination the buyer should return the good at the expense of the seller and the seller should reimburse the purchase price on receipt of the good or of evidence provided by the buyer of having sent the good back. Contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services In our proposed act, references are made to a large number of provisions concerning goods. These include references to the pro- visions on when a good should be considered to be delivered and when digital content or a digital service should be considered to be supplied; to the provisions on requirements and the main rule about non-conforming goods, about updates and about agreements about deviations from the objective requirements for conformity; to the provisions on the buyer’s right to damages and the extent of damages; and to the provisions on what price has to be paid, the time for payment and delay by the buyer. In these references the seller means the trader, the buyer means the consumer, the purchase means the contract for the supply of digital content or a digital service and the good means the digital content or the digital service. The Inquiry also proposes a number of provisions only applicable to contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services. Delay by the trader is regulated separately and we propose special provisions regarding lack of conformity in the digital content or digital service due to incorrect integration; the assessment of whether there is a lack of conformity; the period for the trader's liability for lack of conformity; and certain remedies for lack of conformity. There are basically great similarities in cases where there are corresponding provisions regarding goods, but the regulations differ on certain points. For instance, the trader has the right to choose between repair and replacement and some separate regulation is needed since the consumer does not always pay for the digital content or digital service. Our proposals contain detailed separate provisions on the effects of termination, for example on the trader’s obligation to reimburse the consumer; on the trader’s use of content other than personal data supplied or created by the consumer; and on the consumer’s future use of the digital content or digital service. We propose a special article on the conditions under which the trader may modify features of the digital content or digital service and under which the consumer may then terminate the contract in certain cases. The means of reimbursement by the trader to the consumer and remedies for delay by the consumer are also regulated separately in our proposal. Exemption for purchases of living animals There are, in the view of the Inquiry, a couple of factors that are particularly distinctive for the sale of living animals compared with other goods. The first is that fact that living animals are just that, living beings with all that involves in terms of physical changes during their life and interaction between mind and body. The second is that in this area, especially in trade in more expensive living animals such as horses, dogs and certain pedigree cats, it is particularly common for there to be a seller who, while being assessed as a trader under consumer law, has very modest sales in their business. It is primarily the presumption rule in Section 20 a of the Consumer that has been identified in motions and by several organisations, including the and the Swedish , as being unsuitable and problematic for purchases of living animals. However, some organisations are advocating major changes in the regulations; they would, in the first place, like to see sales of living animals exempted from the scope of consumer sales legislation. The Inquiry considers that there is a need to regulate the purchase of living animals separately, but does not consider that these regulations should be framed in a way that exempts purchases of living animals from the scope of the new act. The Inquiry has arrived at its proposal by balancing the special circumstances in the area against the interests of consumers. In the opinion of the Inquiry, the interests of consumers in the area cannot be said to be weak. In the light of its deliberations, the Inquiry proposes introducing a special rule providing for the inspection of a living animal before a purchase when the price of the animal exceeds one tenth of the price base amount under Chapter 2, Sections 6 and 7 of the Social Insurance Code. If the buyer has inspected the living animal prior to the sale, or if the buyer has failed, without due cause, to accept the seller's invitation to inspect it, the buyer may not, provided that the seller has not acted in bad faith, invoke as a lack of conformity any matter which the buyer should have detected upon inspection. We also propose making it possible to agree in these sales that the rule about a reverse burden of proof regarding lack of conformity that arise within one year of the purchase (the presumption rule) will not be applicable. Entry-into-force and transitional provisions We propose that the new act and the amendment to the Marketing Act should enter into force on 1 January 2022. The Consumer will then cease to apply. Under a transitional provision, the Consumer will still be applicable to contracts for sales, for supply of goods to be manu- factured after the contract has been made and for replacement of tangible movable items entered into before entry into force. We also propose a transitional provision stating that the provisions about contracts for supply of the digital content or digital services in the new act shall be applied to supply that takes place as of 1 January 2022, irrespective of when the agreement on supply was entered into. However, we propose that the provision on modification of the digital content or digital services should only apply to agreements entered into as of 1 January 2022. Financial and other impacts In our assessment the new, uniform regulation in the EU means savings for businesses conducting cross-border operations. In the long term this regulation ought to be able to lead to better competition and lower prices for consumers. Companies making contracts for the supply of digital content or digital services may initially have a certain need to provide training and adapt contractual conditions, even regarding contracts already entered into. In the Inquiry’s assessment, this will only result in limited costs in an introductory phase. Our proposal of separate regulations regarding more expensive living animals entails a certain reduction of consumer protection but is also considered to lead to traders in that market, largely small businesses and sole traders, gaining increased predictability in their operations and a reduced risk of legal proceedings. The Inquiry’s assessment is that our proposals do not lead to any cost increases for public authorities and that they do not have any impact on gender equality. 1.1Förslag till lag om konsumentskydd vid köp och vissa andra avtal Härigenom föreskrivs1 följande. 1 § I denna lag finns bestämmelser om skydd för konsumenter vid köp av lösa saker (varor) om köparen är konsument och säljaren, eller en förmedlare av köpet, är näringsidkare. Lagen innehåller även bestämmelser om konsumentskydd vid avtal där en näringsidkare tillhandahåller en konsument digitalt innehåll eller digitala tjänster. 2 § Denna lag gäller köp av varor som en näringsidkare säljer till en konsument. Lagen gäller även i fall då säljaren inte är en näringsidkare, om köpet förmedlas för säljaren av en näringsidkare. I sådana fall svarar både näringsidkaren och säljaren för säljarens skyldigheter enligt lagen. Lagen gäller i tillämpliga delar även byte av varor.