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could be extended with up to ten (10) days upon written notification of
the supplier; the New Regulation obliges the supplier to execute the
order within the period it is promised, which cannot exceed thirty (30)
days. As a novelty, the New Regulation also entitles the consumer to
terminate the distance contract in the event of nonfulfillment of the
foregoing obligation. In such a case, the supplier is required to return
the payment, including the delivery costs and the default interest, to the
consumer within fourteen (14) days following receipt of the termina-
tion notification, together with the promissory documents obtained
from the consumer, if any.
Notification and return periods in the event of impossibility of the
performance have also changed, obliging the supplier to notify the con-
sumer within three (3) days following its awareness of the impossibil-
ity and to return any payment within fourteen (14) days following its
notification. The former Regulation did not contain any specific notifi-
cation period, and regulated the return period as ten (10) days.
As a newly introduced provision, the New Regulation holds the
seller of the goods liable for any damage and loss until the delivery of
the goods has been made to the consumer, including the period where
the goods are kept by the carrier, unless the consumer requested deliv-
ery through a carrier other than determined by the seller.
Additional Payments
In order to request additional payments from the consumer aside
from the originally agreed amounts arising from the obligations under
the contract, the New Regulation requires the explicit approval of the
consumer. If the consumer made an additional payment due to the fact
that the options presented to him were already selected without his
explicit approval, the supplier is required to return such payment
immediately. This provision means that the options must be presented
to the consumer, and the choice must be made only by the consumer.
Record Keeping
The New Regulation did not change the obligation to retain all
kinds of documents and information relating to the elements of the dis-
tance contract for a period of three (3) years, yet burdens intermediary
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