Law 83 for amending and supplementing the Government Ordinance no. 51/1997 on leasing operations and leasing companies was published in the Official Gazette no. 401 of April 16, 2021, with applicability from April 19, 2021.
According to Government Ordinance 51/1997, the leasing contracts, as well as the real and personal guarantees, constituted in order to guarantee the obligations assumed by the leasing contract, may represent executory titles.
The amendments brought by the new law consist in the fact that the above provisions do not apply in the situation where the lessee / user is a consumer, by consumer being understood any natural person or group of natural persons who has the quality of user / lessee in a contract. leasing, and acting for purposes outside its business.
The quality of consumer who acts for personal or family purposes is presumed and analyzed in relation to the contract that falls under the incidence of the ordinance, and not to the entire activity of the debtor.
In addition, the new law extends the grace period by another month in the case of those who have purchased a good by leasing and fail to pay the installments on time.
Old provision: “If the lessee / user does not execute the obligation to pay the full lease rate for two consecutive months, calculated from the maturity provided in the leasing contract, the lessor / financier has the right to terminate the leasing contract, and the lessee / user is obliged to return the property and to pay all the amounts due, until the date of restitution based on the leasing contract ”provided by Government Ordinance no. 51/1997
New provision: “If the lessee / user, who has the quality of consumer, does not cover the leasing rate for 3 consecutive months, calculated from the maturity provided in the leasing contract, the lessor / financier has the right to terminate the leasing contract ”.
With the publication of Law no. 83/2021, important changes are made in the contract termination procedure in case the lessee / user does not cover the leasing rate, as follows:
If the lessee / user, who has the quality of consumer, does not cover the leasing rate for 3 consecutive months, calculated from the maturity provided in the leasing contract, the lessor / financier has the right to terminate the leasing contract.
If the lessee / user returns the good within the term provided in the contract, the eventual compensations can only include the difference between the total amounts due according to the contract, diminished with the value obtained by capitalization, excluding VAT, or, as the case may be, with the value established by a valuation report of the good issued by an appraiser authorized according to the law.
Thus, the amounts due according to the leasing contract consist of issued and unpaid invoices, the entry value remaining to be paid until the end of the leasing period, including the residual value, expenses with property insurance, represented by the compulsory insurance policy and / or insurance policy. optional, traffic fines and fines for non-payment of rovinieta, as well as taxes related to the property.
In situations where the good was returned within the term provided in the contract, the consumer tenant / user or a third party buyer proposed by him within 5 days from fulfilling the delivery obligation benefits from the priority right to buy the good, valid for 30 days from the date of delivery, during which the firm and irrevocable purchase acceptance can be issued at a price at least equal to the value of all amounts due under the contract, and the tenant / consumer user has the obligation to credit the financier’s account with the necessary difference up to the amounts due according to the leasing contract, including the residual value to which VAT is added, according to Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, with subsequent amendments and completions.
If the purchase acceptance issued by the proposed third party buyer is less than the amount due under the contract, the lessee / consumer has the obligation to credit the financier’s account, with the necessary difference up to the amount due under the contract, at the latest on the date of collection. to the lessor / financier of the sale price related to the transfer of the good, in compliance with the term of 30 days
The transfer of the ownership right over the good will operate on the date of full collection of the amounts due according to the contract, which cannot be later than the expiration date of the priority right.
In case the lessee / consumer user or the proposed third party buyer does not comply with the above provisions, the lessor / financier may freely dispose of the good, and the lessee / user is obliged to pay the lessor the amounts established above (amounts due under the contract consists of the invoices issued and unpaid, the entry value remaining to be paid until the end of the leasing period, including the residual value, expenses with property insurance, represented by the compulsory insurance policy and / or the optional insurance policy, traffic fines and fines for non-payment of rovinieta, as well as taxes related to the property).
If the lessee / user does not return the good within the term provided by the contract, he will pay to the lessor / financier, besides the amounts due according to the leasing contract, also the expenses for the recovery of the good.
- Legal basis:
- Law 83/2021 for the amendment and completion of the Government Ordinance no. 51/1997 regarding leasing operations and leasing companies;
- OG 51/1997 on leasing operations and leasing companies – Republished