General conditions of sale General conditions of sale

General conditions of sale in France

The general terms and conditions of sale (GTC) provide a framework for French commercial relations.

They inform your customers, in a legible and understandable way, of their rights and obligations when selling your products and/or services.

This obligation of transparency considerably reduces the risk of litigation between you and your customers.

The mandatory nature and content of the general terms and conditions of sale vary depending on whether your offer of goods or services is addressed to private individuals or to professionals.

Individual customers

The terms and conditions of sale must appear on your website.

Failure to comply with this information obligation is punishable by a 3,000 fine for a sole proprietorship (including micro-entrepreneurs) and 15,000 for a company (SARL, SA, SAS, etc.).

The general sales conditions must contain the following information :

Essential characteristics of the goods and/or services

Price including VAT : All taxes included in euros

Costs, date and terms of delivery

Terms and conditions for the execution of the contract

Terms of payment: authorized methods of payment and the question of late payment

Right of withdrawal: deadline and conditions to cancel and return the order

Legal guarantee of conformity and guarantee of hidden defects

Commercial warranty and after-sales service : cost of remote communication

Duration of the contract and cancellation conditions

Security or guarantee to be provided by the customer, if applicable

Minimum duration of the customer’s contractual obligations

Existence of a code of conduct applicable to the contract, if applicable

Dispute resolution procedures: court of jurisdiction and possibility of recourse to a mediator

Essential characteristics of the goods and/or services

Price including VAT : All taxes included in euros

Costs, date and terms of delivery

Terms and conditions for the execution of the contract

Terms of payment: authorized methods of payment and the question of late payment

Right of withdrawal: deadline and conditions to cancel and return the order

Legal guarantee of conformity and guarantee of hidden defects

Commercial warranty and after-sales service : cost of remote communication

Duration of the contract and cancellation conditions

Security or guarantee to be provided by the customer, if applicable

Minimum duration of the customer’s contractual obligations

Existence of a code of conduct applicable to the contract, if applicable

Dispute resolution procedures: court of jurisdiction and possibility of recourse to a mediator

Professional customers

Between professionals, the GSC: General Sales Conditions are optional, but they must be communicated upon request.

Refusal to communicate with them is punishable by a fine of 15 000 for a sole proprietorship (including micro-entrepreneurs) and 75 000 for a company (SARL, SA, SAS, etc.).

The general sales conditions must contain the following information

Price before tax: HT : Excluding taxes in euros: price lists or price calculation method

Discounts and rebates: price reductions, one-time promotional discounts and deferred rebates. They must be fixed according to precise and objective criteria.

Commercial discounts : reduction granted to a customer in case of early payment

Payment terms: authorized payment methods and penalties applied in case of delay

Delivery date and charges

Dispute resolution : court of jurisdiction

Price before tax: HT : Excluding taxes in euros: price lists or price calculation method

Discounts and rebates : price reductions, one-time promotional discounts and deferred rebates. They must be fixed according to precise and objective criteria.

Commercial discounts : reduction granted to a customer in case of early payment

Payment terms: authorized payment methods and penalties applied in case of delay

Delivery date and charges

Dispute resolution : court of jurisdiction 

You also have the possibility of adding a clause of property reserve (clause which makes it possible to make correspond the date of the transfer of property with the integral payment of the price) a clause of limitation of responsibility, a clause relating to the cases of absolute necessity (exceptional, unforeseeable and irresistible event justifying to exonerate itself from an obligation, a commitment or a responsibility (for example: natural disaster for an insurance contract, death of the employee for a contract of employment…)) or the conditions of termination of the contract.

French online regulations

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