In El Salvador, the special legal regime for Consumer Protection is made up of the Consumer Protection Law- CPL- and its regulations. Notwithstanding, we have other rules that fully complement the special regime.

These complementary regulations are:

1. Jurisprudential Criteria for Consumer Protection;
2. Code of Good Practices for Providers of Financial Products and Services;
3. Law on the Credit Card System;
4. Law regulating information services on people's credit history;
5. Law Against Usury
6. Special Law of Subdivisions and Plots for Residential Use;
7. Law to Facilitate Financial Inclusion;
8. Law for the Creation of the Salvadoran Quality System; and
9. Technical regulations for the production and marketing of different products, for example: water, food, beverages, etc.

According to Art. 3 letter a) of the CPL, a consumer is any natural or legal person who acquires, uses, or enjoys goods or services, or who receives an offer thereof, regardless their public or private nature, individual or collective of those who produce, market, facilitate, supply, or issue them.

The Ar. 2 of the CPL determines its scope of application. All consumer relationships are covered by this special legislation. Consumer relations are made up of an objective element related to the distribution, deposit, sale, commercial lease, or any other form of commercialization of goods or contracting of services; and by a subjective element that implies that in the contractual relationship, one of the parties must have the quality of supplier and the other as a consumer. If the contractual relationship lacks one of these elements, it will not be considered a consumer relationship and will be excluded from the scope of application of the Law and its Regulations.

Yes, the Article 4 of the CPL lists the fundamental rights of consumers, which are inalienable and do not admit stipulations to the contrary (Art.5 of the CPL):

1. Receive timely, clear, and truthful information.
2. Protection against collections for goods not delivered or services not received.
3. Acquire goods or services under the conditions offered by the supplier.
4. Not suffer discrimination to be able to choose freely.
5. Protection against illegal, misleading, or false advertising.
6. Protection against the risk of receiving products or services that endanger their health or integrity.
7. Not to extend or renew a contract without the express written consent.
8. Receive consumer education; as well as organizing in associations to defend their interests.
9. Be protected against abusive clauses and/or abusive policies.
10. Withdraw or rescind from a contract.; and,
11. Be protected in electronic commerce transactions.

No, CPL and its Regulations in several of its provisions mention the rights and duties of consumers, although there is no provision that lists the latter; however, contrary to the rights that said regulation grants them, it is concluded that consumers have the following duties:

1. Duty to find out about the relevant characteristics of the goods and services offered in the market, their price and contracting conditions. Check the expiration date of food and medicines. Read the labels of the products that are purchased to know their content, instructions for use, warnings, etc.
2. Duty to train for the exercise of intelligent consumption.
3. Duty to exercise their right to choose and not be pressured to contract.
4. Duty to comply with security measures to avoid risks derived from the use of goods and services.
5. Duty to avoid discrimination and demand a dignified and respectful treatment.
6. Duty to acquire goods and services in the formal market, to have the guarantee or proof of an establishment that acts in accordance with the law.

No, the authority does not have extraterritorial jurisdiction. The scope of action of the Consumer Protection Office is within the territory of El Salvador. (Art. 60 CPL).

Yes, the CPL establishes the following special systems:

1. For Financial Services (Art 19 and 20 CPL);
2. For specialized entities in providing information services (Art 21 CPL);
3. For e-commerce (Articles 21-A and 21-B); and
4. For telecommunications services (Art 21-C).

Article 27 of the CPL establishes that information must be provided to the consumer in Spanish, in a clear, truthful, complete, and timely manner, as appropriate, especially in the following aspects:

1. Its origin, composition, and purpose.
2. The quality, quantity, weight, or measure.
3. The price, rate, or fee; the amount of the increases or discounts, the corresponding taxes and the additional costs.
4. Expiration date of perishable goods.
5. The instructions or indications for its correct use or consumption, warnings, and foreseeable risks.

Yes, CPL in Article 33 regulates the topic of warranties and denominates them legal warranties of goods and services.

It specifically establishes that in any purchase and sale of new, non-perishable personal property, the supplier is obliged to guarantee the consumer the quality, quantity, operation, and safety thereof, according to the purpose for which they are manufactured.

Warranties offered by suppliers on goods and services must be clearly expressed in the contractual document or in an attached document, which will contain: the conditions, forms and terms of the use or operation warranty, with which the good is acquired, the responsibilities of the consumer, the way it can be made effective and individualization of natural or legal persons who they extend them and that will comply with them.

Yes, warranties are mandatory for suppliers and consumers and may not imply a limit or waiver.

Warranties offered by the manufacturer or producer of the goods and services are mandatory for their distributors.

Regarding its scope, the warranty shall include the necessary repairs for the proper functioning of the good or the correct provision of the service, and having attempted to repair the defect that substantially reduces the use, value, or safety of the good or service up to two times without being able to correct it, the consumer will have the right to choose between the following options: compliance with the offer, if possible; the substitution of the good for another of a different nature; and the price reduction or refund of money paid.( Art.34 CPL)

The consumer can make a claim when he/she considers that his/her rights or legitimate interests are affected by actions of suppliers of goods or services that contravene the CPL.

No, in El Salvador there are no judicial actions in matters of Consumer Law; but if there are administrative procedures.

The consumer makes his claim through a complaint that can be made by phone, online, in writing at the dispute resolution centers and at special windows that the Consumer Defense institution has in different parts of the country.

When filing a complaint, the consumer can request that alternative means of conflict resolution be applied, the purpose of which is to finish the conflict by reaching an agreement between the provider and the consumer; or, that the sanctioning procedure be initiated where the objective is to determine if there was a breach of the law by the provider and to impose the respective sanction.

In El Salvador, there are no legal actions in consumer matters.

The Sanctioning Court, the entity in charge of fulfilling the sanctioning power of the Consumer Protection Office, is incompetent to deal with the issue of damages, its powers are limited to determine if a specific infringement of the CPL was committed in the matter of Consumer Law. (Art 79 y 83 CPL).

Yes.

The CPL protects collective and diffuse interests. Art. 53 indicates that interest must be understood as:

Collective: are those that are common to a specific or determinable group of consumers, linked to a provider by a contractual relationship. Diffuse interests are those in which the defense of an indeterminate group of consumers affected by their interests is sought.

The liability for actions or omissions of producers, importers, distributors, and marketers or facilitators of products or services is joint and several (Art.35 CPL).

The following criteria will be applied (Art.36 CPL):

1. The manufacturer, importer, seller or supplier of products or services to consumers is responsible for the origin, identity, and suitability of the same, according to their nature or purpose, pursuant the regulations governing them;
2. In the case of bulk products, the holder thereof is responsible, without prejudice to the fact that the responsibility of the previous holder or supplier can be identified and proven; and,
3. In the case of packaged, labeled, and closed products with full closure, the responsible is the manufacturer, importer, seller or supplier appearing on their label, presentation or advertising; but it may be exonerated from that responsibility by proving its falsification or incorrect manipulation by third parties, who will then be the responsible ones.

If several people coincided to cause the damages, the one who pays to the injured party will have the right to recover from the other responsible, according to their participation in the damages caused.

Yes, the Consumer Protection Office is the entity in charge of enforcing the CPL and coordinating the joint action of public administration institutions for its compliance.

CPL considers the fines as the main sanction.

The amount of the fines will depend on the seriousness of the infraction that they penalize:

• Fine for minor infractions. Art 45 CPL. Minor infractions will be sanctioned with a fine of up to fifty urban monthly minimum wages in the industry. In other words, the fine can reach an amount of up to US$ 18,250.00.
• Fine for serious infractions. Art 46 CPL. Serious infractions will be sanctioned with a fine of up to two hundred monthly urban minimum wages in the industry. In other words, the fine can reach an amount of up to US$ 73,000.00.
• Fine for very serious infractions. Art.47 CPL. Very serious infractions will be sanctioned with a fine of up to five hundred urban monthly minimum wages in the industry. In other words, the fine can reach an amount of up to US$ 182,500.00.

Moreover, CPL contemplates the following accessory sanctions:

1. Confiscation and destruction of expired, adulterated, or deteriorated merchandise, unidentified or that may pose a risk to the consumer.
2. Recall or definitive cessation of the publicity.
3. In case of very serious infractions and according to criteria of health risks, size of the company, amount of the benefit obtained and degree of culpability, it may be sanctioned with the temporary closure of the company and with the disqualification of the merchant for a period maximum up to 6 months.

No, in El Salvador there is no specific regulation for safety campaigns or product recalls; however, by virtue of Arts 4 letter h) and 58 letter j) of the CPL, it is a fundamental right of consumers to be protected against the risks of receiving products or services that, under normal or foreseeable conditions of use, endanger their life, health, or integrity; and in accordance with the competence of the Consumer Protection Office regarding ensuring compliance with mandatory safety standards, this institution can issue "consumption alerts" that are informed to the general public by means of its website, through which it recommends the recall of products deemed dangerous.

Not applicable. There is no specific regulation that indicates it. However, according to the consumption alerts made by the Consumer Protection Office, it applies to national and foreign products.

Yes, in El Salvador, it is a fundamental right of consumers to be protected in the transactions they carry out through electronic commerce.

In addition, there is a special regulation regarding the obligations for suppliers of goods and services through electronic commerce, prior to contracting (Art 21-A CPL) and during the contracting phase and subsequently (Art 21-B CPL).

The article 13-C of the CPL establishes that all processes of contracting or exchanging goods, services, and commercial information through data communication networks will be e-commerce.

Yes, the law grants the consumer who has contracted goods or services through electronic commerce, the rights to reverse payments and the right of withdrawal (Articles 13-D and 13-A CPL).

The reversal of payments consists of the return of what was paid by the consumer within a maximum period of 15 days when the purchased product has not been received, or the service contracted has not been provided; when the object of the contract does not correspond to what was requested or is defective; and when there are errors in the collection of transactions due to failures in third-party payment systems.
The right of withdrawal is the consumer's power to rescind the contract unilaterally, without the need to justify their decision and without any penalty, provided that contract had not been perfected because the eight-day period had not elapsed, or it had not started to make use of the good, or service would not have begun to be rendered.

Not applicable. The purchase and sale of crypto assets has a special regulation in the Law on the Issuance of Digital Assets in force since January of this year.

Not applicable. In the CPL there are no provisions specifically aimed at influencers who carry out advertising. However, suppliers must refrain from carrying out illegal, misleading, or false advertising or contravene the good practices indicated in the Advertising Code of Ethics, since, in case of non-compliance, they will incur in an infraction classified as "serious".

Yes, in March of this year, the Consumer Protection Office launched the campaign "An informed consumer acts for their rights." This campaign will be valid until March 2024 and seeks to emphasize and highlight the following consumer rights:

1. Right to demand complete information on the goods or services acquired.
2. Right to verify at the time of receipt, that the goods and services purchased comply with the contracted conditions and their respective warranties.
3. Right to pay only for the goods or services effectively received.
4. Be protected from misleading or false information.
5. Be fully protected when the full quality of the goods or services purchased is not received.
6. Right to Retract or Withdrawal.
7. Be protected against risk of life, health, and integrity.
8. Be compensated when he/she receives goods or services other than those contracted.
9. Right to reversal of payments when the good or service purchased is defective or does not correspond to the contracted.

This campaign implies stricter surveillance by the authorities, so all providers of goods and services must comply with the regulations to avoid the imposition of fine.