Now, an obligee may demand a penalty for late payment from
an obligor at the rate specified in § 94 of the Law of Obligations Act plus 8% per year in case of
a delay in payment. The rate of penalty for late payment increased by 1%; it
was 7% per year earlier. The change aims at motivating an obligor to fulfil the
obligation faster due to a higher interest.
Previously, if the parties had not agreed on a particular rate of penalty for
late payment in the contract, an obligee was allowed to demand from an obligor the
latest interest rate applicable to the main refinancing operations of the European
Central Bank, plus 7% per year on the outstanding amount.
The most important change is in subsections 9 and 10, according
to which an obligor who is engaged in economic or professional activities may
not relay on an agreement that restricts or precludes the right to claim the
above mentioned penalty for late payment, if this agreement is grossly unfair
with regard to the obligee.
The new version of § 113 does not allow an agreement in which the persons
specified in subsection 10 of the Public Procurement Act are obliged to pay a penalty
for late payment at a rate lower than the new rate provided for in the act.
A completely new provision in the Law of Obligations Act is an obligee`s right
to require an obligor to pay compensation for collection costs in the amount of
40 euros (§ 1131 of the Law of
Obligations Act). What is important in this change is that the collector does
not have a direct burden of proof in incurring this cost.