Warranty on sale

What is the guarantee?

Warranty protection is independent of the warranty on sale. The warranty serves to provide the buyer with additional protection in addition to the warranty liability and the liability for damages for non-performance or undue performance of an obligation. The exercise of warranty rights does not affect the seller’s liability for non-compliance of the sold item with the contract.
A guarantee, unlike a warranty, is not mandatory. The guarantee is provided by the guarantor making a guarantee declaration. However, it is not necessary to issue a guarantee document for the guarantee to exist. Although the buyer may request the issuance of a guarantee document, this is not necessary for the guarantee to be granted.
The provision of a guarantee may be for a fee or free of charge. The buyer may agree to bear the cost of the guarantee protection. In the absence of this agreement, the guarantee is either not provided or is provided free of charge for a shorter period.
The guarantee statement sets out the obligations of the guarantor and the rights of the buyer if the thing sold does not have the characteristics described in the statement. The guarantee therefore refers to the characteristics of the thing sold.
The guarantor shall formulate the guarantee statement in a clear and comprehensible manner, and when the nature of the information allows it – in a commonly understood graphic form. If the item is marketed in the Republic of Poland, the guarantee statement shall be made in Polish. The requirement to use Polish does not apply to proper names, trademarks, trade names, designations of origin of goods and customary scientific and technical terminology.

Content of the guarantee statement

The guarantee statement includes:
1) expressly stating that, in the event of non-conformity of the thing sold with the contract, the buyer shall have remedies by law at the seller’s expense and at the seller’s expense, and that these remedies shall not be affected by the guarantee;
2. the name and address of the guarantor;
3) a description of the procedure to be followed by the right holder in order to benefit from the guarantee;
4) an indication of the items to which the guarantee relates;
5) warranty conditions.
Failure to comply with the statutory requirements as to the content of the guarantee does not affect the validity of the guarantee statement and does not deprive it of the rights arising therefrom.

Obligations of the guarantor

The obligations of the guarantor are defined by the guarantor in the guarantee statement. The seller is given a large degree of freedom to formulate the obligations incumbent on him in connection with the guarantee. These obligations may include, in particular, reimbursement of the price paid, replacement or repair of the item and the provision of other services.
If a guarantee has been given with regard to the quality of the item sold, the guarantor shall, in case of doubt, be deemed to be obliged to rectify any physical defect in the item or to deliver an item free from defects, provided that such defects become apparent within the period set out in the guarantee statement.
Unless otherwise stipulated in the guarantee, liability under the guarantee shall only cover defects arising from causes inherent in the thing sold.
The guarantor is obliged to perform its obligations within the period specified in the guarantee declaration and, if not specified, immediately, but no later than within fourteen days, counting from the date of delivery of the thing by the holder of the guarantee, and to deliver the thing at its expense to the place indicated in the guarantee or to the place where the thing was handed over when the guarantee was granted, unless the circumstances indicate that the defect should be removed at the place where the thing was at the time of disclosure of the defect.

Guarantee period

Unless a different period is stipulated, the warranty period is two years from the day the item is handed over to the buyer.
Legal status 18.12.2024