Fair payment terms

Fair payment terms – Law 2024 of 2020

1. Object
Establish the obligation for merchants or non-merchants who carry out commercial acts , to pay their obligations within a maximum period of 60 days calendar, for the first year of entry into force of the law and a maximum of 45 days , for subsequent years, terms which will be calculated from the date of receipt of the goods or the termination of the provision of the respective services.

2. Scope
In the case of commercial operations that are carried out within the framework of the General System of Social Security in Health, the maximum term for the payment of obligations will be 60 calendar days, a term which will begin to govern from the beginning of the third year of entry. in force of the law.

In contracts governed by the general contracting statute of the public administration that state entities enter into with a micro, small or medium-sized company, payments must be made within a maximum period of 60 calendar days following the acceptance of the invoice.

3. THIS LAW DOES NOT APPLY TO:

• Commercial operations carried out between companies considered large companies. In any case, Law 2024 establishes that, without prejudice to payment agreements between large companies, the inclusion of clauses that do not know (a) the term of 45 and 60 calendar days; (b) payment of interest on arrears; or (c) that limit the liability of the debtor, will be fully ineffective, that is, they will not have any legal effect.
• Payments made in commercial operations in which consumers intervene and that are subject to consumer protection regulations.
• Interest from checks, promissory notes and bills of exchange and the payments of compensation for damages, including payments from insurance entities, mutual or loan contracts and any type of contract where the deferred terms are typical of its essence.
• Debts submitted to bankruptcy proceedings or business restructuring.

4. Procedures for Billing and Payment of obligations

• If there is any procedure for accepting the good or service , said procedure must be carried out within the term for payment established in Law 2024.
• In the event that the contractor requires the contractor to make any correction or correction, this requirement will interrupt the calculation of the term for fair payment and will resume its calculation from the day after the contractor makes the adjustments or rectification.
• In the event that the contractor requires from the contractor any correction or correction of the physical or electronic invoice and / or its supporting documents, said request will interrupt the calculation of the term for payment fair, which will resume from the day after the contractor makes the respective adjustments.
• It will be the responsibility of the contractor to issue in a timely manner, within the term of fair payment, the documents of any kind that are a prerequisite for the filing of invoices. In no case, the fair payment term may be extended due to delay of the contractor.
• The receipt of the invoice by electronic means will produce the effects of starting the calculation of the payment term.
• Delays attributable to the creditor / contractor will interrupt the fair payment term.

5. Indemnity for collection costs
When the contractor is in default due to the expiration of the fair payment period, the creditor will have the right to claim from the debtor, compensation for all collection costs duly accredited in the incurred by the contractor / creditor on the occasion of the default of the contractor.

• The contractor may only be exonerated by demonstrating force majeure or fortuitous event.
• The erroneous or improper application by the contracting party of the calculation of withholdings of any nature, which results in a higher withheld value, will be understood as a breach of the fair payment term and therefore, compensation will be generated in favor of the contractor,

6. Miscellaneous matters

1. The law will enter into force on January 1, 2021.
2. The provisions established in the Law may not be modified by mutual agreement of the parties and any contractual provision that modifies or contradicts it, will be fully ineffective.
3. The National Government will prepare and publish annually a list of companies and the times in which they comply with their payments and will grant recognition (creation of stamps) for those that are in the first places.
4. Three years after Law 2024 enters into force, the Government will evaluate its impact on competitiveness and productivity in the private sector.