What is a claim and why is it needed?
Supply contracts are documents that are widely used in commercial activities by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. Their object is the delivery of any inventory items in a certain volume and on time.
If any clause of the contract is violated, the second party to the transaction has the right to write a claim to the counterparty. This document allows you not only to voice controversial issues and demand their resolution, but also not to bring the matter to court.
Contents of the claim for short supply of products
A claim for short supply of products must clearly indicate which types of goods and in what volume were not supplied. The claim proposes to resolve the dispute without litigation on a voluntary basis. The main provisions of the claim should be considered in more detail:
- The claim must contain a reference to a previously concluded supply agreement. It is necessary to indicate the date of signing and the object of the supply agreement;
- The claim includes information about the volume of goods that were not delivered. If several types of products are under-delivered, each type must be indicated separately;
- The claim contains a requirement to fulfill the agreement in full by making a delivery. In this case, the claim contains a specific deadline for the execution of the agreement, which is counted from the moment of receipt of this claim;
- The claim must warn the counterparty of the consequences of failure to comply. For example, about the accrual of penalties or fines.
These claims must include the date of signing, information about the signatory and the passport personal information of such person. In addition, the claim must include information about the company itself - name, address.
What could be the essence of the complaint?
As a rule, claims relate to various types of transaction violations. It could be:
- change in the volume of supply of goods towards a decrease
- re-grading of goods
- unilateral increase in contract value
- failure to fulfill obligations to pay or deliver on time
- defects or damage to packaging
- refusal to compensate for losses incurred, etc.
In addition, regardless of the terms of the contract, it is permissible to demand the counterparty to pay a penalty, even if there is no such clause in the document itself - this right is given to the injured party by law.
In what cases is it necessary to draw up a certificate of non-conformity of the delivered goods?
When accepting the goods, the responsible person is obliged to check its compliance with the accompanying documents.
There are underweight, shortage, and misgrading; The product may not be of the expected quality or may partially or completely lose its properties. If deviations are detected, according to Art. 513 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, you must immediately notify the supplier. Next, you need to draw up a report of non-conformity of the goods. The buyer may request a refund or replacement of the non-conforming product. A commission is appointed to draw up the act.
In which cases it is possible to unilaterally terminate a supply agreement without court, and in which cases it is necessary to go to court, find out from the Ready-made solution from ConsultantPlus. If you don't already have legal access, a full access trial is available for free.
When to make a claim
The law does not establish the procedure and period for filing a claim, so it is good if information about this is included in the main contract. In the absence of such a clause, the law says that it is permissible to file a claim with the counterparty within a “reasonable time”, which, in practice, in most cases is one calendar month .
Also, do not forget about the statute of limitations - in Russia they last three years - it is during this time that the party who considers its interests to be infringed has the opportunity to make a claim and go to court.
How to notify about an examination
It is useful to indicate in the technical specification that you are going to conduct an examination of the quality of the delivered goods. Please note to the supplier that you are aware of the quality problem with the products supplied.
Include a reminder in the technical specifications and the likelihood of delivering counterfeit goods will decrease. Moreover, highlight the warning in red font so that it is noticeable.
An example of such a memo: “Attention to procurement participants! The customer conducts an examination for compliance with <enter the name of the product> GOST <indicate a specific GOST and decipher it>. If the quality of <insert the name of the product> does not correspond to the attached passports and certificates, the contract will be terminated unilaterally, and the supplier will be included in the register of unscrupulous suppliers.”
Main nuances
Both the supply contracts themselves and the claims against them do not have single unified forms. This means that representatives of enterprises and organizations can write complaints in a free form, but subject to compliance with certain office work standards in their structure.
In addition, there is information that must be indicated in such documents.
In particular, in claims under a supply contract the following data must always be included the header
- name of the sending company;
- name of the organization to which the document is sent;
- addresses of both parties.
Also, the form must be titled and it must include a reference to the main agreement (number and date of its preparation).
In the second part, you need to indicate the essence of the claim, including naming the violated clauses and terms of the contract. If there are any additional papers, photo-video evidence of violations committed, they must be indicated in the document as a separate item in the form of an appendix.
After this, all of the above should be summarized - here it is permissible not only to enter the existing requirements and set a deadline for their fulfillment, but also to warn the other party that in case of refusal to fulfill contractual obligations, the interested party reserves the right to go to court (as shown practice, such a threat often turns out to be quite effective).
Sample claim for a refund for a product of inadequate quality
If you decide to return the money spent, you will need a sample claim to the supplier for a refund for goods of inadequate quality. In this case, you must indicate in the document how you want to receive them back, for example, indicate the current account number.
The buyer can contact the supplier with claims within two years after the purchase, unless other periods are specified in the contract (Article 477 of the Civil Code). But then he will have to prove that the goods had defects before their delivery.
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When filing a claim, various questions arise, for example, about the delivery of the disputed goods. We have sorted out the most common ones.
What other documents, besides the complaint to the supplier, need to be completed?
It is necessary to draw up a certificate of discrepancy in quality using the TORG-2 form. After drawing up this document, you can begin filing a claim for the return of goods of inadequate quality to the supplier. Sample here.
We have sent a return claim form to the supplier. Who should pay for shipping?
You have the right to demand that the supplier pick up the goods himself, or you can send the defective goods yourself, in which case the delivery costs will be covered by the seller.
As a sample claim for the return of goods of inadequate quality to the supplier, we took a document that has been used in our company since 1997. Isn't it outdated?
No. If it contains all the necessary details, you can use it, but it is better to check our free sample claim for returning goods to the supplier.
Decor
There are no special criteria for both drawing up and filing a claim - it can be written on a simple blank sheet of paper, or on the company’s letterhead, by hand (but only with a ballpoint pen) or printed on a computer (the latter option is convenient because it does not you need to “drive in” the sender’s details).
The only immutable rule that must be followed: the document must be signed by the director of the company or its representative responsible for resolving specific issues outlined in it. In this case, the signature must only be “live”; the use of facsimile autographs is excluded.
It is not necessary to certify a claim using various types of clichés, because from 2021, legal entities have the right to endorse their documentation with seals and stamps only if this norm is specified in their local regulations.
The claim under the supply agreement is drawn up in two identical and equivalent copies, which, after signature, are registered in the document log, and the sent version is also noted in the outgoing correspondence log.
How to determine the initial maximum contract price (IMCP)
If the NMCC is determined by the method of comparable market prices, you need to request commercial offers and invoices for payment from large well-known manufacturers, and not use advertising materials from websites.
Before bidding, the maximum contract price must be determined. A common problem for customers is to obtain high-quality commercial proposals to determine such a price.
Large organizations most often provide prices that exist in reality. And queries in search engines often result in unrealistic prices that suppliers cannot provide. Companies specifically place them to significantly increase the number of calls from customers.
For example, the water utility in Volgograd intends to purchase polyethylene pipes. The employee responsible for determining the NMCC begins monitoring prices by entering the query “PE pipe Volgograd buy” into a search engine. The system produces results from links, the first of which are always advertising. By clicking on them, you can see prices of 125 rubles/kg, 114 rubles/kg, 118 rubles/kg. While the cost of polyethylene alone for pipe production is 117 rubles/kg. Who can agree to participate in such a purchase? Only counterfeit manufacturers, since they deliberately produce pipes from raw materials that do not meet the requirements of the standards.
If information on proposals is not up to date, then the contract price will not correspond to market conditions, and a good supplier will not be able to participate in such a contract.
It is best to request quotes from large, well-known suppliers who can quote prices based on actual invoices or quotes. They may be overestimated, but they certainly will not be underestimated. Prices must be supported by official documents with signatures. In this case, the one who provided the commercial proposal is responsible for the information contained in it.
How to send a document
You can forward your claim in the following ways:
- By registered mail with return receipt requested.
- Deliver by courier or company employee. In this case, you should obtain an autograph from a representative of the counterparty confirming receipt of the document.
- Today, the development of technology allows the transfer of such documents through electronic means of communication, but only if the sender has an officially registered digital signature (although even this will not guarantee that the letter will be received and read by the recipient).
Definition of a complaint
The law does not contain a definition of what a complaint is, but mentions it when regulating legal relations.
A complaint is a claim of the parties to a legal relationship to each other: the buyer - to the seller, the supplier - to the buyer, the customer - to the contractor, etc.
In case of improperly fulfilled duties: late payment or delivery of goods, poor quality service, etc., a claim is filed.
ConsultantPlus experts discussed how to return a low-quality product to the seller. Use these instructions for free.
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