S.L. 117.42 Art. 8Prohibited practices. 

(1) The following unfair trading practices shall be prohibited:

(a) without prejudice to sub-regulation (2), the buyer pays the supplier, where the supply agreement provides for the delivery of products:

(i) if said delivery is on a regular basis and it concerns perishable agricultural and food products, later than thirty (30) days after the end of an agreed delivery period in which deliveries have been made or later than thirty (30) days after the date on which the amount payable for that delivery period is set, whichever of those two dates is the later;

(ii) if said delivery is on a regular basis and it concerns other agricultural and food products, later than sixty (60) days after the end of an agreed delivery period in which deliveries have been made or later than (60) days after the date on which the amount payable for that delivery period is set, whichever of those two dates is the later;

(iii) if said delivery is not on a regular basis and it concerns perishable agricultural and food products, later than thirty (30) days after the date of delivery or later than thirty (30) days after the date on which the amount payable is set, whichever of those two dates is the later; or

(iv) if said delivery is not on a regular basis and it concerns other agricultural and food products, later than sixty (60) days after the date of delivery or later than sixty (60) days after the date on which the amount payable is set, whichever of those two dates is the later:

Provided that for the purposes of the payment periods in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii), the agreed delivery periods shall in any event be considered not to exceed one (1) month:

Provided further that for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (i) to (iv), where the buyer establishes the amount payable, the payment periods provided for in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) shall start to run from the end of an agreed delivery period during which the deliveries have been made, while the payment periods provided for in sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv) shall start to run from the date of delivery:

Provided further that paragraph (a) shall be without prejudice to the consequences of late payments and remedies as provided according to the Commercial Code, which shall apply, by way of derogation from the payment periods set out in the Commercial Code, on the basis of the payment periods set out in these regulations:

Provided further that paragraph (a) shall be without prejudice to the option of a buyer and a supplier to agree on a value sharing clause within the meaning of Article 172a of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;

(b) the buyer cancels orders of perishable agricultural and food products at such short notice that a supplier cannot reasonably be expected to find an alternative means of commercialising or using those products:

Provided that a notice of less than thirty (30) days shall always be considered as a short notice;

(c) the buyer unilaterally changes the terms of a supply agreement for agricultural and food products that concern the frequency, method, place, timing or volume of the supply or delivery of the agricultural and food products, the quality standards, the terms of payment or the prices, or as regards the provision of services insofar as these are explicitly referred to in sub-regulation (2);

(d) the buyer requires payments from the supplier that are not related to the sale of the agricultural and food products of the supplier;

(e) the buyer requires the supplier to pay for the deterioration or loss, or both, of agricultural and food products that occurs on the buyer's premises or after ownership has been transferred to the buyer, where such deterioration or loss is not caused by the negligence or fault of the supplier;

(f) the buyer refuses to confirm in writing the terms of a supply agreement between the buyer and the supplier for which the supplier has asked for written confirmation save if the supply agreement concerns products to be delivered by a member of a producer organisation, including a cooperative, to the producer organisation of which the supplier is a member, if the statutes of that producer organisation or the rules and decisions provided for in, or derived from, those statutes contain provisions having similar effects to the terms of the supply agreement;

(g) the buyer unlawfully acquires, uses or discloses the trade secrets of the supplier within the meaning of Directive

(EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure;

(h) the buyer threatens to carry out, or carries out, acts of commercial retaliation against the supplier if the supplier exercises his contractual or legal rights, including by filing a complaint with enforcement authorities or by cooperating with enforcement authorities during an investigation;

(i) the buyer requires compensation from the supplier for the cost of examining customer complaints relating to the sale of the supplier's products despite the absence of negligence or fault on the part of the supplier;

(j) trading practices falling under the provisions of the proviso of paragraph (c) of sub-regulation (3).

(2) Paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (1) shall not apply to payments:

(a) made by a buyer to a supplier where such payments are made in the framework of the school scheme pursuant to Article 23 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;

(b) made by public entities providing health care according to article 26D of the Commercial Code;

(c) made under supply agreements between suppliers of grapes or must for wine production and their direct buyers: Provided that specific terms of payment for the sales transactions are included in standard contracts which have been made binding pursuant to Article 164 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 before 1 January 2019, and that this extension of the standard contracts is renewed from that date without any significant changes to the terms of payment to the disadvantage of suppliers of grapes or must, and that the supply agreements between suppliers of grapes or must for wine production and their direct buyers are multiannual or become multiannual.

(3) The following practices shall be prohibited unless they have been previously agreed in clear and unambiguous terms in the supply agreement or in a subsequent agreement between the supplier and the buyer:

(a) the buyer returns unsold agricultural and food products to the supplier without paying for those unsold products or without paying for the disposal of those products, or both;

(b) the supplier is charged payment as a condition for stocking, displaying or listing its agricultural and food products, or of making such products available on the market;

(c) the buyer requires the supplier to bear all or part of the cost of any discounts on agricultural and food products that are sold by the buyer as part of a promotion:

Provided that this trading practice shall be prohibited, notwithstanding an agreement as aforesaid, unless the buyer, prior to a promotion that is initiated by the buyer, specifies the period of the promotion and the expected quantity of the agricultural and food products to be ordered at the discounted price;

(d) the buyer requires the supplier to pay for the advertising by the buyer of agricultural and food products;

(e) the buyer requires the supplier to pay for the marketing by the buyer of agricultural and food products;

(f) the buyer charges the supplier for staff for fitting-out premises used for the sale of the supplier's products.

(4) Upon determining that a prohibited practice according to this regulation is in effect between a supplier and a buyer, the Board shall order their immediate cessation.