The Civil Code stipulates the right of commercial organizations, when concluding sales contracts, to set any price, guided by market conditions and the terms of each specific transaction. But there is a form of contracts that, given certain conditions, are considered public, in which case any party that is a buyer receives a product or service at a fixed price.
Public contract terms
Typical legal features of a public contract are given in Article 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This is a civil contract concluded by the seller - a commercial organization that performs certain types of work that it must provide to anyone who turns to her as a buyer. The code includes retail trade, transportation by public transport, communication services, energy supply, medical, tourist, hotel services to such types of work.
For a contract to be recognized as public, it must satisfy the totality of the characteristics of such contracts. These signs are:
- the composition of the subjects of the contract, limited only by the commercial enterprise-seller and buyer-consumer of goods, works or services;
- a commercial enterprise provides its services and carries out its activities in relation to any natural or legal person who applied to it as a buyer;
- a single cost of goods, works or services for each buyer.
Benefits of a public contract for the buyer
Thus, the law allows for a contract to be recognized as public not on the basis of formalities, but on the basis of the material characteristics listed above, in the presence of which any contract of sale can be classified as public. This is very beneficial for the buyer, who in this case receives additional benefits that he does not have when concluding a regular contract. In this case, the buyer is a consumer and is subject to the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights".
In this law, however, only individuals who purchase goods or order works and services for their personal needs are classified as consumers. Can a legal entity be considered a consumer, in Art. 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is not specified, but in some by-laws concerning the conclusion of public contracts, there is no indication at all who may be the subject of such contracts. On the basis of this, jurists conclude that, where it is not specifically stipulated, both an individual and a legal entity can act as a consumer-buyer. For example, public contracts for household services and bank deposits specifically stipulate that consumers in these cases can only be individuals.
Recognition of the subject of a public contract - the buyer - as a consumer gives him the right to expect a price reduction if he belongs to the privileged categories of citizens, in addition, a commercial organization-seller cannot refuse him to conclude a contract. In the event that an unjustified refusal to conclude a contract follows, the consumer has the right to compensation for losses and moral damage.
