Starting November 23, 2025, Law No. 190/2025 will come into force, amending Government Emergency Ordinance No. 140/2021 on certain aspects of contracts for the products sale with regard to the sanctioning of traders for failure to comply with the 30-day deadline for replacing non-compliant products.

Prior to this amendment, for the act provided for in Article 11(7) of GEO No. 140/2021, namely the replacement of non-compliant goods within 30 days, no penalty was provided for traders.

This regulation resolves this situation, and failure to comply with the obligation to replace non-compliant products shortly after delivery, exceeding the 30-calendar-day deadline, now constitutes an offense, punishable by a fine of between 5,000 and 25,000 lei.

This replacement obligation is one of the possible corrective measures in case of non-conformity of goods. According to Article 11 of GEO No. 140/2021, in addition to replacement, the consumer has the right to have the goods repaired, a proportional reduction in price, or cancellation of the contract, under certain conditions.

Consumers have the right to choose between repair or replacement of the products, but certain circumstances must be taken into account that may lead to the restriction of this option, such as the value of the goods if there had been no non-conformity, the seriousness of the non-conformity, or whether the alternative corrective measure could be carried out without significant inconvenience to the consumer, if the corrective measure chosen would be impossible or, compared to the other, would impose disproportionate costs on the seller.

The seller may also refuse to replace or repair the goods if this would be impossible or would impose disproportionate costs. In this case, the consumer is entitled to either a proportionate reduction in price or termination of the contract.

In this context, it is important to analyze when a product is compliant. Articles 5 and 6 of GEO No. 140/2021 regulate the subjective and objective requirements for compliance, mentioning a series of conditions that products must meet.

In order to comply with the subjective requirements for conformity, items are subject to the following conditions:

• they comply with the description, type, quantity, and quality, and have the functionality, compatibility, interoperability, and other characteristics specified in the sales contract;
• they are fit for the specific purpose for which the consumer requires them, which the consumer made known to the seller at the latest at the time of conclusion of the sales contract and which the seller has accepted;
• are delivered with all accessories and instructions, including installation instructions, specified in the sales contract;
• are provided with updates in accordance with the provisions of the sales contract.

In order to comply with the objective conformity requirements, products shall meet the following conditions:

• they are fit for the purposes for which products of the same type would normally be used, taking into account, where applicable, the legal provisions in force, technical standards or, in the absence of such technical standards, codes of conduct applicable in the field and specific to the sector;
• where applicable, they possess the quality and correspond to the description of a sample or model that the seller made available to the consumer before the conclusion of the contract;
• where applicable, they are delivered with accessories, including packaging, installation instructions, or other instructions that the consumer can reasonably expect to receive;
• they are of the quantity and possess the qualities and other characteristics, including in terms of durability, functionality, compatibility, and safety, that are normal for goods of the same type and that the consumer can reasonably expect, taking into account the nature of the goods and any public statement made by or on behalf of the seller or other persons in the chain of transactions, including by the manufacturer, particularly in advertising or on the label.

There are exceptions to the last condition on the list, based on which the seller is not required to comply with public statements, for situations such as: they did not know and could not have known about the public statement, the statement was corrected in the same or a similar way by the time the contract was concluded, or the decision to purchase could not have been influenced by the statement.

As explained by the National Consumer Protection Authority in a press release dated November 24, 2025, in short, "non-conformity may result, for example, from hidden defects, manufacturing defects, or failure to comply with the standards laid down by law, provided that the product has been used and maintained in accordance with the instructions and specifications provided."

Furthermore, there is no non-conformity if, at the time of conclusion of the contract, the consumer was explicitly informed that a certain characteristic of the product did not meet the objective requirements for conformity, and the consumer expressly and separately accepted this at the time of conclusion of the contract.

We would therefore like to draw the attention of traders to exercise increased caution with regard to compliance with product conformity requirements, and if a non-conformity is found shortly after delivery, within 30 days, to proceed immediately with the replacement of the goods in order to avoid the application of a fine, in accordance with the new legal provisions.

Authors:
Robert Apițoaiei
Horea Ardelean