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Consumer protection

Treatment for commerce (mail order and remote)

» Excerpt from D.L.114 of 31-3-98
In accordance with Article 1336 of the Civil Code, the owner of a retail business proceeds with sales in compliance with the chronological order of requests for special retail sales forms:
1) sales to employees of entities or companies, public or private, members of consumer cooperatives, members of private clubs, as well as sales in schools, hospitals, and military facilities exclusively for those entitled to access them;
2) sales through vending machines;
3) sales by mail order or via television or other communication systems;
4) sales at the consumer’s residence.

This decree does not apply:
(…)
h) to those who sell or display their own works of art for sale, as well as creative intellectual works, including their own scientific or informative publications, also created using digital media;
(…)

Art. 18
Mail order sales, television, or other communication systems
1. Mail order retail sales or sales via television or other communication systems are subject to prior notification to the municipality where the operator resides, if a natural person, or has their registered office. The activity can begin thirty days after receipt of the notification. 
2. It is forbidden to send products to the consumer unless specifically requested. Samples or gifts may be sent without any cost or obligation for the consumer. 
3. In the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the declaration must confirm compliance with the requirements of Article 5 and the merchandise sector. 
4. In cases where sales operations are conducted via television, the television broadcaster must verify, before broadcasting, that the business owner meets the requirements of this decree for retail sales. During the broadcast, the name, trade name or business name, and the seller's registered office, business registration number, and VAT number must be indicated. Supervisory bodies must have free access to the premises indicated as the seller’s headquarters. 
5. Auction sales conducted through television or other communication systems are prohibited. 
6. Those conducting sales on television on behalf of third parties must hold the license required by Article 115 of the consolidated text of public security laws, approved by Royal Decree of June 18, 1931, no. 773. 
7. The provisions of Legislative Decree of January 15, 1992, no. 50, on contracts negotiated outside commercial premises, also apply to sales referred to in this article. 

Art. 21.
E-commerce
1. The Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Crafts promotes the introduction and use of e-commerce with actions aimed at:
a) supporting balanced growth of the electronic market;
b) protecting consumer interests;
c) promoting the development of information and learning campaigns for sector operators and service operators;
d) implementing specific actions to improve the global competitiveness of businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, through the use of e-commerce;
e) encouraging the use of quality management tools and techniques to ensure operator reliability and increase consumer trust;
f) ensuring Italian participation in European and international cooperation and negotiation processes for e-commerce development. 
2. For the actions referred to in paragraph 1, the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Crafts may enter into agreements and program contracts with interested public or private entities, as well as with representative associations of businesses and consumers. 

» Excerpt from D.L. 185 of 22-05-1999

Art. 1.
Definitions
1. For the purposes of this decree:
a) distance contract: a contract for goods or services concluded between a supplier and a consumer within a distance sales or service system organized by the supplier, who, for this contract, uses exclusively one or more distance communication techniques up to the conclusion of the contract, including the conclusion itself;
b) consumer: the natural person who, in relation to contracts referred to in letter a), acts for purposes unrelated to any professional activity they may carry out;
c) supplier: the natural or legal person who, in distance contracts, acts within their professional activity;
d) distance communication technique: any means that, without the simultaneous physical presence of the supplier and consumer, can be used to conclude the contract between the parties; an indicative list of techniques covered by this decree is provided in Annex I;
e) communication technique operator: the natural or legal person, public or private, whose professional activity involves making one or more distance communication techniques available to suppliers.
(…)

Art. 3.
Consumer information
1. The consumer must receive the following information in good time before concluding any distance contract:
a) the supplier's identity and, in the case of contracts involving prepayment, the supplier's address;
b) essential characteristics of the goods or services;
c) the price of the goods or services, including all taxes or fees;
d) delivery charges;
e) the method of payment, delivery of the goods or service, and any other form of contract execution;
f) the existence of the right of withdrawal or its exclusion according to Article 5, paragraph 3;
g) methods and timing for returning or collecting goods in case of exercising the right of withdrawal;
h) the cost of using the distance communication technique when calculated on a basis other than the standard rate;
i) the validity period of the offer and price;
l) the minimum contract duration in case of contracts for the continuous or periodic supply of products or services.
2. The information referred to in paragraph 1, which must have a clear commercial purpose, must be provided in a clear and understandable manner, using any means appropriate to the employed distance communication technique, while observing good faith and fairness principles in commercial transactions, especially for the protection of particularly vulnerable consumer categories.
3. In telephone communications, the supplier’s identity and the commercial purpose of the call must be clearly stated at the beginning of the conversation with the consumer, under penalty of contract invalidity.
4. For techniques that allow individual communication, the information referred to in paragraph 1 is provided in Italian if the consumer requests it. In such cases, the confirmation and additional information referred to in Article 4 must also be provided in the same language.

Art. 4.
Written confirmation of information
1. The consumer must receive confirmation in writing or, at their choice, on another durable medium available and accessible to them, of all information specified in Article 3, paragraph 1, before or at the time of contract execution. The following information must also be provided in the same manner:
a) information on the conditions and methods for exercising the right of withdrawal under Article 5, including cases referred to in Article 5, paragraph 2;
b) the geographic address of the supplier’s headquarters where the consumer can submit complaints;
c) information on existing assistance services and commercial guarantees;
d) contract termination conditions for contracts of indefinite duration or lasting more than one year.
2. The provisions of this article do not apply to services provided through a distance communication technique if such services are delivered in a single instance and billed by the communication technique operator. However, the consumer must still have access to the geographic address of the supplier's headquarters for complaints.

Art. 5.
Exercise of the right of withdrawal
1. The consumer has the right to withdraw from any distance contract, without penalty and without specifying the reason, within ten working days, starting:
a) for goods, from the day they are received by the consumer, if the obligations under Article 4 have been met, or from the day these are fulfilled if done after the contract conclusion, provided that this is within three months of the contract's conclusion;
b) for services, from the day of contract conclusion or from the day the obligations under Article 4 are met, if done after the contract conclusion, provided that this is within three months of the conclusion.
2. If the supplier has not fulfilled the obligations under Article 4, the withdrawal period is three months, starting:
a) for goods, from the day they are received by the consumer;
b) for services, from the day of contract conclusion.
3. Unless otherwise agreed, the consumer cannot exercise the right of withdrawal as provided in paragraphs 1 and 2 for contracts:
a) for services whose performance has begun, with the consumer's consent, before the ten-day period specified in paragraph 1;
b) for goods or services whose price is subject to fluctuations in financial market rates that the supplier cannot control;
c) for goods made to measure or clearly personalized, or that cannot be returned due to their nature or are likely to deteriorate or expire quickly;
d) for audiovisual products or sealed software opened by the consumer;
e) for newspapers, periodicals, and magazines;
f) for betting and lottery services.
4. The right of withdrawal is exercised by sending a written notice within the prescribed period to the supplier's headquarters via registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. The notice may also be sent within the same period by telegram, telex, or fax, provided that it is confirmed by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt within the following 48 hours.
5. If goods have been delivered, the consumer is required to return them or make them available to the supplier or the person designated by them, following the contract-specified methods and times. The return period cannot be less than ten working days from the date the goods were received.
6. The only cost payable by the consumer for exercising the right of withdrawal under this article is the direct cost of returning the goods to the sender, if expressly specified in the distance contract.
7. If the right of withdrawal is exercised by the consumer following the provisions of this article, the supplier is required to reimburse the amounts paid by the consumer. Reimbursement must be made without charge, as soon as possible and, in any case, within thirty days from when the supplier became aware of the consumer's exercise of the right of withdrawal.
8. If the price of a good or service under a distance contract is entirely or partially covered by a credit granted to the consumer, either by the supplier or by third parties under an agreement with the supplier, the credit contract is terminated without penalty if the consumer exercises the right of withdrawal following the preceding paragraphs. The supplier must inform the credit provider of the consumer's exercise of the right of withdrawal. Any amounts paid by the credit provider to cover the goods or services until they are aware of the consumer's exercise of the right of withdrawal must be refunded to the provider by the supplier, without penalty, except for the payment of accrued legal interest.

Art. 6.
Contract execution
1. Unless otherwise agreed, the supplier must fulfill the order within thirty days from the day following the one on which the consumer transmitted the order to the supplier.
2. If the supplier fails to fulfill the order due to the unavailability, even temporary, of the requested goods or service, the supplier must inform the consumer within the period specified in paragraph 1, in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 1, and refund any amounts already paid for the supply. Unless the consumer agrees, expressed before or at the time of contract conclusion, the supplier cannot fulfill the order with a supply different from the one agreed upon, even if of equivalent or higher value and quality.
(…)

Art. 10.
Limits on the use of certain distance communication techniques
1. The supplier’s use of telephone, email, automated calling systems without operator intervention, or fax requires the consumer's prior consent.
2. Distance communication techniques other than those referred to in paragraph 1, if they allow individual communication, may be used by the supplier if the consumer does not expressly object.

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