MPs of the Legislative Chamber at the February 4 meeting passed a bill on consumer protection and sent it to the Senate, the press service of the Chamber said.
The bill, which proposed a penalty for sellers for late delivery of goods, was passed in the first reading on February 5. Based on the proposals of deputies, the bill was revised.
MP from UzLiDeP Bobur Bekmurodov said that it was necessary to protect the interests of businesses, however at the same time, the interests of consumers should not be forgotten either.
According to him, there is a loophole in the legislation: if a consumer orders a product, and the seller fails to deliver it within the agreed timeline, then there is no liability. To fill this loophole, the bill has proposed a penalty of 0.5% for each overdue unit of time (minutes, hours and days).
He specified that this concerns the agreed delivery times. If, for example, the seller promises delivery within 100 days, but the goods arrive on the 101st day, the consumer has the right to collect a penalty of 0.5% for each day of delay. "This will encourage suppliers to plan correctly and more accurately indicate delivery times," he noted.
According to the bill, the penalty will be set at a level of no less than 0.5%. The maximum payment can be up to 100% of the price of the goods not delivered on time. The obligation shall also apply to food delivery services. At the same time, delivery is a service regulated by Article 19 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights. If the seller and the delivery person are different, then in the event of late receipt of the goods, the delivering party shall pay 1% for the delay, if this happened due to his fault. And if the seller is at fault, the penalty will be 0.5%.
At the same time, the payment of a penalty does not relieve the seller who violated the contractual obligations from compensation for damages caused by the delay in the delivery of goods or the underdelivery of goods.
If the seller proves that the delay in the delivery of goods occurred due to the fault of the consumer, then he/she shall be relieved from paying the penalty.
During the vote in the second reading, 144 MPs supported the bill, 1 did not vote. Later, the document was passed by the MPs in the third reading and was sent to the Senate for approval.
