Study on the costs and benefits of minimum harmonisation under the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive 1999/44/EC and of potential full harmonisation and alignment of EU rules for different sales channels

The study is part of the ongoing Fitness Check of EU consumer and marketing law, focusing on the Consumer Sales and Guarantees (CSG) Directive 1999/44/EC which is a minimum harmonisation Directive. The study assessed the costs and benefits of Member States going beyond the minimum rules laid down by the Directive, as well as the impacts of potential full harmonisation and alignment of EU rules for different sales channels (distance versus face-to-face sales channels). It specifically focused on four elements of the CSG Directive, namely, the two-year legal guarantee (longer in five Member States), notification obligation within a specific period (not applicable in seven Member States), the six-month period for the reversal of burden of proof (longer in three Member States) and a free choice of remedies (applicable in five Member States) as opposed to a hierarchy. The study finds strong benefits of alignment of the rules for face-to-face and distance sales. Impacts of harmonisation and alignment are likely to vary across Member States. Alignment of rules for face-to-face and distance channels and full harmonisation would have an overall positive impact on consumers and businesses in the Single Market.