Hungary passes legislation to expand scope of consumer protection provisions

The following article summarises the main obligations contained in these legislative updates.

Amendment of statutory warranty periods in case of certain non-perishable consumer goods

Government Decree No. 151/2003. (IX. 22.) on the Statutory Warranty for Certain Non-Perishable Consumer Goods currently prescribes one-, two- and three-year warranty periods, depending on the sales price of the specific goods. By passing Government Decree No. 93/2024. (IV. 23.) on the Amendment of Government Decrees Related to Consumer Protection, the government made the following changes to statutory warranty periods:

• Two-year warranty period for a sales price exceeding HUF 10,000 (approximately EUR 25), but not exceeding HUF 250,000 (EUR 640);
• Three-year warranty period for a sales price exceeding HUF 250,000 (EUR 640).

The periods cited above qualify as limitation periods, which means once elapsed, the warranty rights can no longer be exercised. If defective goods are handed over for repair during the warranty period, however, the respective warranty period will be prolonged as of the date of the handover for the time the consumer was not able to use the defective goods.

The amended statutory warranty periods enter into force on 8 May 2024. Companies are advised to revise their warranty cards and general terms and conditions accordingly.

Providers of online invoicing programmes and online marketplaces to provide data erasure codes to consumers

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 726/2020. (XII. 31.) on the Determination of Procedural Rules Related to the Provision of an Application Enabling Data to be Made Permanently Inaccessible, distributors of durable mediums (e.g. mobile phones and laptops) must claim data erasure codes from the National Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA) and provide the data erasure codes to consumers purchasing such durable mediums free of charge.

Government Decree No. 93/2024. (IV. 23.), which was just now introduced, mandates the following changes. Most notably, the Decree broadens the scope of companies obligated to claim data erasure codes from the NTCA and provide them to consumers. This table summarises the main rules:

As a general rule, distributors and providers of online invoicing programmes will be jointly and severally liable for providing data erasure codes to consumers. More specifically, distributors will be obliged to mark durable mediums in a manner that providers of online invoicing programmes can detect automatically. Providers of online invoicing programmes must ensure that their service identifies the durable medium without human intervention and automatically provides the data erasure code to consumers.

Distributors must also inform providers of online marketplaces that the object of the sale is a durable medium. If they fail to inform providers of online marketplaces, distributors will be liable for providing data erasure codes to consumers.

By way of derogation from the above, a distributor can provide consumers with data erasure codes directly upon the distributor’s express declaration to the NTAC.

The obligations of providers of online invoicing programmes and online marketplaces to provide data erasure codes to consumers enter into force on 21 August 2024. Companies are advised to revise their general terms and conditions and commercial practices accordingly.

Hearing protection notice

With the amendment of the Consumer Protection Act, all distributors will be obliged to provide a hearing protection notice when selling headphones or earphones. The exact content of the hearing protection notice will be set out in a decree by the Minister of Justice. This decree is not yet publicly available. The envisaged date of entry into force of the mandatory provision of the hearing protection notice is 1 September 2024.

Next steps

Companies are required to comply with the amended statutory warranty periods for certain non-perishable consumer goods by 8 May 2024, and providers of online invoicing programmes and online marketplaces are required to provide data erasure codes to consumers by 21 August 2024. The full text of the applicable obligations is available in issue 46 of 2024 of the Hungarian Official Journal, available here only in Hungarian.

The draft legislation aimed at better informing consumers of the risks of hearing loss is currently being debated in parliament. Once passed, the legislation will enter into force on 1 September 2024. The full text of the draft legislation is available here only in Hungarian.

The article was co-authored by János Bálint.

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