Government draft Consumer Warranty Act

Jul 7, 2021 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The new Consumer Warranty Act (VGG) is intended to implement both the Digital Content Directive and the Sale of Goods Directive. Full implementation is to be achieved through amendments to the Austrian General Civil Code (ABGB) and the Consumer Protection Act (KSchG).

The aim of the new law is to strengthen consumer protection in contracts for the sale of goods, digital content and digital services, and to ensure legal certainty for consumers by creating specific warranty regulations. It is also intended to make it easier for consumers to assert warranty claims.

For example, the transposition of the two directives changes the existing tiered system of warranty remedies by including the coverage of digital content and digital services, a new category of digital content and the obligation to update it, new rules for the objective requirements for conformity of an item to the contract and the extension of the presumption period for the reversal of the burden of proof to one or two years.

The new Consumer Warranty Act (VGG) applies not only to “standard” sales contracts for movable goods, but also to the provision of digital services in return for payment or the provision of the consumer's personal data. Statutory regulations on "goods with digital elements" are also to be introduced. The express consent of the consumer is necessary should the purchased item not have the “objectively required characteristics”. According to the explanatory notes, while these are arguably largely the same as the "usually assumed characteristics", they represent a completely new concept for the minimum standards of contractual conformity. In addition, warranty rights can be asserted by means of a form-free declaration; the mandatory assertion before a court is no longer required. Further, the definition and length of the presumption period for the reversal of the burden of proof (from six months to one year) and the statute of limitations (warranty claims are generally time-barred three months after expiry of the warranty period) have been adjusted and extended. Although recourse to the seller/transferor liable for the warranty is extended, the new provisions are not expected to result in any particularly significant additional costs for the entrepreneur. However, the overall level of consumer protection in contracts for the purchase of goods and for the provision of digital services will be improved.

949 dB (XXVII GP) - Government Bill