In cases where liability for defects in goods is asserted (complaint), the buyer may incur costs related to such complaint. The issue of the right to reimbursement of necessary costs related to a justified complaint is regulated in the provision of Section 509 of Act No. 40/1964 Coll., the Civil Code, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Civil Code”). This provision states that: “The entitled party has the right to reimbursement of necessary costs incurred in connection with the assertion of rights arising from liability for defects. This right must be asserted against the obliged party no later than one month after the expiry of the period within which defects must be notified; otherwise the right shall lapse.” The Civil Code regulates the right to reimbursement of necessary costs not only in this general provision, but also specifically within the legal regulation of the purchase contract, namely in Section 598. However, the wording of this provision is practically identical to the aforementioned general provision of Section 509 of the Civil Code. Section 598 of the Civil Code states: “The buyer has the right to reimbursement of necessary costs incurred in connection with the assertion of rights arising from liability for defects.”

The right to reimbursement of necessary costs is understood as an independent claim which may arise in all types of liability for defects. This right must not be confused with the right to compensation for damage, as, unlike the right to compensation for damage, it does not require the existence of unlawful conduct by the seller nor fault on the part of the seller, but relates exclusively to the occurrence of a defect.

The right to reimbursement of costs reasonably incurred in connection with the assertion of rights arising from liability for defects includes, according to current case law, for example reimbursement of costs for travel (transport of the goods for repair, collection of the goods), postage, costs of an expert opinion necessary to establish the defect, etc. However, these costs cannot include any costs for the actual removal of the defect or costs of court proceedings, the reimbursement of which is governed by procedural regulations.

In judgment file No. 33 Odo 473/2001, the Supreme Court specifically stated that necessary costs incurred in connection with the assertion of rights arising from liability for defects: “must be regarded as costs of professional inspection necessary to establish the defect, costs of transport of the goods, its disassembly, postage, etc.”

At present, the content of these claims very often consists of costs for an expert opinion which consumers have prepared in the event of rejection of the complaint by the seller. The possibility of having an expert opinion prepared is a way in which the consumer can relevantly prove to the seller the existence of a defect in complaint proceedings where its existence is disputed between the consumer and the seller.

This text was translated from Czech to English using an AI translator.