LAW FOR PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS AND USERS, LAW NO. 842, approved on June 13, 2013, Published in the Official Gazette No. 129 of July 11, 2013.

LAW OF REFORMS AND ADDITION TO LAW NO. 842, LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS AND USERS, LAW NO. 1061, approved on February 4, 2021, Published in the Official Gazette No. February 9, 2021

REGULATION OF LAW NO. 842, LAW FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS AND USERS, EXECUTIVE DECREE NO. 36-2013, approved on October 10, 2013, Published in the Official Gazette No. 192 of October 10, 2013

According to Article 2 of Law 842 "Scope of application" All legal acts under the consumer relationship or in a preliminary stage to this, within the national territory, are subject to the provisions of this Law. It will apply to all suppliers, whether natural or legal persons, national or foreign. Microenterprises will also be considered consumers or users when they evidence a situation of information asymmetry with suppliers regarding those goods or services that are not part of the business's own line of business.

Additionally, Article 3 establishes the subjects and services excluded from the application of the law: For the purposes of this law, those who acquire, store, use or consume goods and services that are specifically related to their business activity to integrate them into the production, import, distribution, transformation, marketing, rental processes or for provision of services to third parties are not considered consumers.

Likewise, this Law will not be applicable to personal services provided by virtue of an employment relationship, nor to professional or technical services for which a title is required.

Yes. Consumers have the following rights:

1. Be protected against risks that may affect their health, physical integrity or safety;
2. Have free access and under equal circumstances according to market availability, to quality goods and services that respond to their basic human needs, ensuring the most vulnerable populations under food and nutritional security policies in the case of food;
3. Be protected in their economic and social interests, and in particular against arbitrary practices of abusive clauses in contracts, in accordance with the provisions of the law;
4. Receive the repair or replacement of the property, a new execution of the service or the return of the amount paid, as the case may be;
5. Be served by people who provide goods and services with respect, kindness, ethics, human quality and without any discrimination;
6. Make effective their right to withdraw from the contract in the manner established by the law or in the terms of the same contract if applicable, as long as it does not contradict the provisions of the law;
7. Receive education on responsible and sustainable consumption of goods and services;
8. Receive adequate information on their rights and protection mechanisms to act before existing public bodies and institutions, specialized in the matter;
9. Receive truthful, timely, clear and relevant information about the goods and services offered by the suppliers;
10. Participate and form organizations to defend the rights of consumers and users;
11. Respect their privacy;
12. Have real and effective protection in electronic transactions, in accordance with the practices and controls established in national legislation;
13. Receive preferential care from providers, in the case of pregnant women or women with children under three years of age, older adults, or people with disabilities;
14. Demand, under the procedure indicated in the law and its regulations, compliance with promotions or offers when the supplier does not comply with the conditions established therein;
15. Be protected against misleading or abusive advertising;
16. Enjoy a healthy environment that guarantees the conservation and development of natural resources;
17. Be protected in relation to their life, safety and property, when using land, water and air transportation services, all at the expense of the providers of these services, who must compensate them when they are affected;
18. Be attended to by the administrative authorities with diligence, ethics, human quality and without any discrimination;
19. Complain to the corresponding institutions about compliance with their rights established in the law;
20. Accept or not, through an addendum, the option of arbitration as a form of alternative resolution of conflicts with suppliers, in accordance with the law of the matter. This particular condition must not be established unilaterally by the supplier, and in no case be a condition for signing the contract; and
21. Sue through judicial means when appropriate.

Yes, Article 7 of Law 842 establishes the following obligations for consumers:

1. Pay for the goods or services in the time, manner and conditions established in the agreement or contract;
2. Adopt the necessary measures to avoid risks derived from the use or consumption of goods and services;
3. Make responsible use of the provisions contained in the law, without making complaints or unfounded requests against the suppliers to the competent authorities;
4. Ensure the rational and sustainable use of goods and services, preventing environmental pollution;
5. Comply with the resolutions of the competent authorities;
6. Comply with the terms or commitments signed with the supplier;
7. Follow the instructions on the proper use of the purchased good provided by the supplier; and
8. Address the provider in a respectful and courteous manner.

No, all legal acts under the consumer relationship or in a preliminary stage to this, within the national territory, are subject to the provisions of this Law; It will apply to all suppliers, whether natural or legal persons, national or foreign. Microenterprises will also be considered consumers or users when they evidence a situation of information asymmetry with suppliers regarding those goods or services that are not part of the business's own line of business.

The regulatory entities will act as specific authorities to apply this law in their respective sector, without prejudice to the particular regulations that the laws of the sector stipulate on the protection of consumers.

Yes, regarding the protection of the rights of users of financial services, it will be the responsibility of:

1. 1. The Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions and CONAMI to apply the provisions of the law;
2. 2. To the Nicaraguan Institute of Cooperative Development the attention of complaints from users of the financial services of cooperative institutions that are not registered with the National Microfinance Commission; and
3. 3. To the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce in cases of complaints from users of financial services not regulated by any of the previous Regulatory Entities.

Regarding basic services
Any consumer or user, resident within the area of operation of one of the companies that supply basic services of drinking water, sanitary sewage, electricity, public lighting, basic telephony and mail, has the right to demand from the providing company of the service and to the corresponding Regulatory Entity, that the respective service is guaranteed as long as technical conditions exist and prior compliance with the legal requirements and regulations of the service.

In accordance with what is established in its special regulation and in article 49 of Law No. 842, the Institute of Urban and Rural Housing (INVUR, regulatory body), will dictate the corresponding and necessary rules that regulate matters related to supervision, control, inspection and surveillance of housing construction projects, the quality of works, determination of hidden defects, procedure for exercising claims from clients or users and to determine in which cases the asset must be replaced or the deadlines for terminating the contract, review prior to the model contracts for the construction of housing or the execution of works with a housing nature, sanction, imposition of fines, among others, in compliance with the mandate established in article 134 of Law No. 842.

The INVUR will establish the relevant coordination with the Institutions and Regulatory Entities of the State, for the resolution of cases that have been reported by individuals or identified through the different inspection, control and supervision procedures, among others, established by the INVUR, need technical support from the competent authorities, in order to comply with and guarantee what is established in the Law and its Regulations.

To guarantee the rights of consumers and users, information related to goods or services that is disseminated by any means or form, suppliers must present their general characteristics in a clear, truthful, complete and timely manner; as well as precise instructions for its use and consumption, warnings and foreseeable and visible risks. The information must be free of texts, dialogues, sounds, images, brands, designations of origin and other descriptions that lead or may lead to error or confusion among consumers or users.

Suppliers of goods and services must inform in legible writing, at least the following aspects:

1. Origin or geographical provenance, composition, purpose and additives used;
2. Net content and ingredients of the product;
3. Expiration date of the product, net weight, instructions or indications for its correct use or consumption, with warnings and foreseeable risks and incompatibilities with other products;
4. Price of goods and services in national currency visible to the public, which will include the value and taxes imposed on them;
5. Terms of payment conditions, insurance, guarantees, services, spare parts, among others,
6. Labels that will adjust to their nature, characteristics and conditions, in addition to the stated purpose; all in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 219, "Law of Technical Standardization and Quality", of May 9, 1996, published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 123 of July 2, 1996 and its Regulations, Decree No. 71-97, published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 241 of December 18, 1997, Law No. 225, "Law on Metrology", published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 135 of July 18 of 1996 and its Regulations, Decree No. 65-97, published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 227 of November 27, 1997, the current Mandatory Technical Standards and the Regulations of this Law; and
7. The results, benefits, consequences or implications that can be expected from using the product or contracting the service. When goods that present some deficiency, that are used or reconstructed, are offered to the public, this circumstance must be expressed in a clear, precise and verifiable manner to consumers.

Yes, suppliers must be responsible for the guarantee offered in accordance with the conditions of suitability, quality, safety and proper functioning of the good. The warranty period will be conditioned by market practice, however the supplier will be obliged to provide the consumer with the minimum warranty terms received from the manufacturer.

In any contract or operation for the sale of new or used personal property, the obligation to guarantee to the buyer normal operation and in accordance with the specifications and the purpose for which they are manufactured will be implicitly understood. This obligation will be enforceable whenever due to a defect in the product or for reasons attributable to the manufacturer, importer or supplier, said goods do not function properly.

When the consumer or user demands compliance with the guarantee, the supplier will be obliged to repair, replace, or return the money, in the following order:

1. The repair of the property;
2. The replacement of the property with a new one, with the same characteristics;
3. Failing that, the refund of the money paid for the good.

The repair and replacement referred to in the previous paragraphs must be carried out by the supplier or someone designated free of charge. This free payment will include transportation, labor and material costs and must be carried out within a maximum period of thirty (30) calendar days.

In the specific case of those goods that are related to a telecommunications service contract, TELCOR (regulatory body) will ensure compliance with the guarantee.

Yes.

Motor Vehicles
Suppliers of new motor vehicles are required to extend a minimum warranty of three years or one hundred thousand kilometers, whichever occurs first. When the factory warranty is more favorable to the consumer than the minimum terms established in this article, it will be mandatory for the supplier to offer the factory warranty. When the factory warranty is less than three years or one hundred thousand kilometers established here, the factory warranty will prevail, which must be informed in advance to the potential consumer. The supplier is obliged to provide the consumer with the factory warranty in writing. In the case of used motor vehicles, the minimum warranty required will be six months or twenty thousand kilometers, whichever occurs first, with the supplier being obliged to guarantee the complete functioning of the vehicle during that time.

Property
The supplier must guarantee the repair of hidden defects that arise in the home or executed works of a residential nature, for a period of up to two years from their delivery to the consumer.

The time it takes to completely repair the hidden defects found suspends the warranty period, which will continue once the claimed repairs have been completed.

In the event that the real estate is subject to extensions, annexes, remodeling or uses for which it was not designed, the guarantee for hidden defects granted by the developer or builder will be cancelled. However, within the term of the current guarantee, the person who owns the home may agree with the developer or construction company on such modifications, thus maintaining the guarantee. These modifications may be carried out by the developer, construction company or by a third party construction professional, at the discretion of the person who owns the home with the prior approval of the developer or construction company.

1. Not showing or detailing the final price of the goods or services in the information offered to the consumer or user, nor including it in the payment voucher that is given to the consumer or user;
2. Apply penalties when receiving from the consumer or user partial payments or early cancellations of its obligations;
3. Include gratuity in the price charged to the consumer or in the calculation of the bill, or make any allusion to it-
4. Omitting relevant information prior to contracting goods or services;
5. Failure to deliver to the consumer or user the document proving the cancellation of the credit granted;
6. Inducing deception of the consumer or user by means of promotions or offers;
7. Failure to inform the consumer in a timely manner and in advance of the non-availability lack of spare parts;
8. Not having a verifiable complaint handling system;
9. Failure to inform the consumer or user in advance that it does not offer a repair shop;
10. Failure to express prices in national currency in accordance with the provisions of the present law;
11. Not including in the prices all the taxes that the consumer or user will have to pay;
12. Failure to respond to the consumer or user for damages caused as a consequence of transportation, installation and repair services; and
13. The inclusion of clauses that without being enumerated in the present law, come to be considered abusive through the pertinent process.
14. Offering by any means and without warning the consumer, used, damaged or reconstructed goods;
15. Selling goods or services at prices higher than those offered or, as the case may be, those regulated by the law on the matter;
16. Failure to comply with the guarantees of use or operation, under the agreed conditions and those established in this law;
17. Failure to comply with the obligation to fully return premiums, advances, reservations or amounts paid on account of the price, in the event that the contract is not executed; or if it has been agreed to return them once the contract has been fulfilled;
18. Failure on the part of the developers or builders to return the fifty percent granted by the consumer as a reserve, in accordance with the provisions of this law;
19. Failure to deliver the goods or provide the services in accordance with the terms and characteristics contracted;
20. Offering goods that do not comply with the mandatory technical standards in force;
21. Disseminating false or misleading advertising;
22. Failure to comply with the agreed conditions;
23. Apply an exchange rate lower than the official exchange rate of the day published by the Central Bank of Nicaragua, in those cases when the consumer or user or the supplier voluntarily agrees to pay for goods or services in foreign currency;
24. Charge prices in foreign currency or foreign currencies in accordance with the provisions of this law;
25. Failure to deliver a copy of the contract to the consumer or user free of charge;
26. Failure to respond for hidden defects;
27. Not having a bank guarantee or guarantee insurance necessary for the operation, in the case of persons providing funeral services in the future;
28. Failure to attend to and resolve the claims of consumers or users;
29. To apply abusive charging methods;
30. Using the personal information of the consumer or user for marketing purposes without his or her prior consent.
31. Condition the sale of one good or service on the purchase of another;
32. Offer promotions that involve goods or services in poor condition or deteriorated; 20;
33. Fixing fractional prices for the different elements of a good or service that constitute a unit; 21;
34. Marking a good or service with more than one price;
35. Using the term PROMOTION if it does not exist;
36. Failure to provide DIPRODEC with the product samples required for the elaboration of product analysis during the investigation process;
37. Not to provide the required information to the resolution instance;
38. Not allowing or hindering the inspection and surveillance powers of the DIPRODEC;
39. Failure to deliver to consumers the goods and their complete accessories, when they are an integral part of the good or are indispensable for its optimal operation;
40. Acting in violation of the principle of equality and non-discrimination contained in the present law;
41. To make undue or additional charges to the consumer or user as a consequence of the use of debit or credit cards;
42. Applying automatic debit charges without the prior consent of the consumer or user;
43. Failure to comply with the resolutions issued by DIPRODEC;
44. The dissemination of abusive advertising;
45. Conditioning the contracting on the consumer or user signing any document in blank;
46. Offering expired goods or products to the consumer or whose mass, volume and any other measure and information specified therein is altered;
47. Failure to comply with the obligation to provide information on potentially dangerous or hazardous products for the health, safety, physical integrity of the consumers and harmful to the environment;
48. The affectation of collective or diffuse interests;
49. Failure to comply with the regulations and legislation in force regarding the storage, commercialization, use and transportation of toxic substances;
50. The hoarding of goods of basic necessity for human subsistence or abusive speculation;
51. Supplying or selling adulterated or counterfeit products;
52. Include any of the abusive clauses listed in the present law;
53. Import and commercialize at national level goods whose consumption has been declared harmful to health and prohibited by the national authorities or the country of origin.

No, there is no a special judicial action, however the law establishes that in case of non-compliance with the administrative resolutions issued by the regulatory entity, the interested party can request execution through judicial means (article 63, Law No. 842, Law on Protection of Consumers and User's Rights)

In the event that a person considered himself to be aggrieved by a resolution issued by the regulatory entity, he can use the appeal for protection (Recurso de Amparo) procedure or administrative litigation.

Yes.

The frequency is unknown because the resolutions and sentences are not published in real time; However, the law recognizes the figure of Collective Action to cease the use of abusive clauses in adhesion contracts, which can be filed by consumer associations.

In accordance with the provisions of article 9 of Law No. 842 Law on the Protection of Consumers and Users´ Rights, the supplier is responsible.

Yes, the General Directorate for the Protection of the Rights of Consumers and Users (DIPRODEC), dependent on the Higher Directorate of the MIFIC, as the Body in charge of ensuring and complying with the provisions of the Law, its Regulations and other provisions.

In the case of public telecommunications services, electric energy, drinking water supply and sanitary sewage, with specific legislation, the application of this Law and its Regulations correspond to the Regulatory Entity.

Violations of the Law are classified as minor, serious and very serious.

The following actions or omissions are considered minor infractions:

1. Not showing or detailing the final price of the goods or services in the information offered to the consumer or user, nor including it in the payment receipt that is delivered to the consumer or user;
2. Apply penalties when receiving from the consumer or user partial payments or early cancellations of their obligations;
3. Include a tip in the price charged to the consumer or in the calculation of the bill, or make any reference to it; .
4. Omit relevant information prior to contracting goods or services;
5. Failure to deliver to the consumer or user the document that proves the cancellation of the credit granted;
6. Deceive the consumer or user through promotions or offers;
7. Failure to inform the consumer in a timely and advance manner of the lack of spare parts;
8. Not having a verifiable complaints handling system;
9. Failure to inform the consumer or user in advance that it does not offer a repair workshop;
10. Not expressing prices in national currency in accordance with the provisions of this law;
11. Not including in the prices all the taxes that the consumer or user must pay;
12. Not respond to the consumer or user for damages caused as
    consequence of transportation, installation and repair services; and
13. The inclusion of clauses that, without being listed in the law, become considered abusive through the relevant process.

The following actions or omissions are considered serious infractions:

1. Offering, by any means and without warning the consumer, used, damaged or reconstructed goods;
2. Sell goods or services at prices higher than those offered or, where applicable, those regulated by the relevant law;
3. Failure to comply with the guarantees of use or operation, under the agreed conditions and those established in this law;
4. Failure to comply with the obligation to fully return premiums, advances, reservations or amounts delivered on account of the price, in the event that the contract is not concluded; or that its return has been agreed once the contract has been fulfilled;
5. Non-compliance with the obligation on the part of the developers or construction companies to return the fifty percent granted by the consumer as a reserve, in accordance with the provisions of this law;
6. Failure to deliver the goods or provide the services in accordance with the contracted terms and characteristics;
7. Offer goods that do not comply with current mandatory technical standards;
8. The dissemination of false or misleading advertising;
9. Failure to comply with the agreed conditions;
10. Apply an exchange rate lower than the official exchange rate of the day published by the Central Bank of Nicaragua, in those cases when the consumer or user or the supplier voluntarily agrees to pay for goods or services in foreign currency;
11. Charge prices in foreign currency or currencies in accordance with the provisions of this law;
12. Not delivering a copy of the contract to the consumer or user free of charge;
13. Not responsible for hidden defects;
14. Not having a bank guarantee or guarantee insurance necessary for operation, in the case of suppliers who provide funeral services in the future;
15. ailure to attend to and resolve complaints from consumers or users;
16. Apply abusive collection methods;
17. Use the personal information of the consumer or user for marketing purposes without
    her prior consent;
18. Condition the sale of one good or service to the acquisition of another;
19. Offer promotions that involve goods or services in poor condition or deterioration;
20. Set fractional prices for the different elements of a good or service that constitute a unit;
21. Mark a good or service with more than one price;
22. Use the term PROMOTION if it does not exist;
23. Not providing DIPRODEC with the samples of products required to carry out their analysis, during the investigation process;
24. Failure to provide the required information to the resolution body;
25. Not allow or hinder the inspection and surveillance powers of DIPRODEC;
26. Not delivering to consumers the goods and their complete accessories, when they form an integral part of the good or are essential for its optimal functioning;
27. Act in a manner that violates the principle of equality and non-discrimination contained in this law;
28. Make improper or additional charges to the consumer or user as a result of the use of debit or credit cards;
29. Apply charges in the form of automatic debit without prior consent of the consumer or user;
30. Failure to comply with the resolutions issued by DIPRODEC;
31. The dissemination of abusive advertising
32. Make contracting conditional on the consumer or user signing any document blank; and
33. The commission of three minor offenses.

The following actions or omissions are considered very serious infractions:

1. Offering the consumer goods or products that are expired or whose mass, volume and any other measurement and information specified therein is altered;
2. Failure to comply with the obligation to provide information on products that are potentially dangerous or risky for the health, safety, physical integrity of consumers and harmful to the environment;
3. The impact of collective or diffuse interests;
4. Failure to comply with current regulations and legislation regarding the storage, marketing, use and transportation of toxic substances;
5. The hoarding of essential goods for human subsistence or abusive speculation;
6. Supply or sell adulterated or counterfeit products;
7. Include any of the abusive clauses listed in this law;
8. Import and market nationally goods whose consumption has been declared harmful to health and prohibited by the national authorities or the country of origin; and
9. The commission of three serious offenses.

Fines for infractions When minor infractions occur for the first time prior to the fine, the competent authority will resolve in writing with the corresponding reprimand to the offending supplier, and may order the cessation of actions or omissions that violate the rights of consumers or users. , or that in the future they could violate them. The fines of this law will be expressed in a unit of measurement, equivalent to the amount of the average national minimum wage for the period. In cases where there is conduct that, in a motivated opinion, violates the precepts of the law, and is not established in this chapter, it will be considered a minor infraction. When the violation of the law results in damage to health and safety that has an adverse effect on consumers or users, the maximum administrative penalty must be applied.

Fines for minor infractions Minor infractions will be punished with a fine of one to one hundred measurement units.

Fines for serious infractions Serious infractions will be punished with a fine of one hundred and one to two hundred and fifty measurement units.

Fines for very serious infractions Very serious infractions will be punished with a fine of two hundred and fifty-one to five hundred and fifty units of measurement, without prejudice to the fact that they may be sanctioned with temporary closure and if the infraction persists, definitive closure will proceed. When the supplier is sanctioned for affecting collective or diffuse interests, the amount of the fine will never be less than the damage caused or what was unduly charged as a result of the infraction that has been proven, without it being able to exceed one thousand units of measurement. , without prejudice to being ordered to return to consumers or users what they have unduly paid for the good or service, when this is the case.

Violations of the precepts of the law, its Regulations and other related provisions will be administratively sanctioned by DIPRODEC, or by the competent Regulatory Entity, without prejudice to other corresponding criminal and civil actions.

Yes, in the event that goods are offered on the market in which the existence of unforeseen dangers to the health and physical safety of consumers and users is subsequently detected, the supplier will be obliged to adopt all necessary measures to eliminate or reduce the danger or risk caused by them. In these cases, the supplier must immediately notify the competent authorities so that they can be removed, destroyed, repaired, replaced, or temporarily retained as appropriate. When the supplier does not comply with what is established above, the competent authority will proceed to apply the corresponding sanction and will inform consumers about the risks of using or acquiring these goods with the appropriate warnings.

The supplier must immediately communicate such fact, at least through national radio, written or television media, for the purposes of informing consumers of the danger. At the same time, the supplier must notify the DIPRODEC of the risks detected and proceed on their own to suspend the sale and withdraw the products immediately.

Suppliers must communicate to consumers, in the manner provided in the law, the places available to receive the goods that were sold and proceed with the repair, exchange or refund of the payment made for the goods, as appropriate.

When the supplier fails to comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the DIPRODEC will proceed to withdraw the products and will order the supplier to proceed within a period of fifteen (15) business days, as the case may be, with the repair, replacement , refund of money paid for the goods or their destruction.

Yes, the application of the law is limited to all legal acts under the consumer relationship or in a preliminary stage to this, within the national territory, it will apply to all suppliers, whether natural or legal persons, national or foreign.

It does not specify about products marketed abroad. However, it does regulate regarding prices of medicines for human consumption, which are marketed through importers and distributors.

No, in Nicaragua, there is no special regulation on electronic commerce. However, Law No. 842 ''Law on the Protection of Consumers and Users' Rights", on its articles numbers 77 to 80 make reference to electronic transactions, reliable information, security and the purchase of goods and services through electronic transactions.

In Nicaragua, electronic commerce platforms are not regulated by a special law, but they are governed by the provisions of :

• Law No. 842, Law on the Protection of Consumers and Users´ Rights;
• Law No. 1042, Special Cybercrime Law
• Special regulations issued by the regulatory entities of financial institutions, microfinance institutions, etc.

No, as there is no special regulation for electronic commerce, the general provisions of Law 842, Law on the Protection of consumers and users´ rights, are applicable in a supplementary manner.

No, there is a REGULATION OF FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS OF PAYMENT SERVICES AND VIRTUAL ASSET SERVICE PROVIDERS whose purpose is to establish general provisions to regulate the application, authorization, operation and regulation process of financial technology providers of payment services (PSP) and virtual asset service providers (PSAV).

This Regulation is applicable to all persons who operate or wish to operate in any of the authorized services such as PSP and PSAV under the protection of this regulation, within the national territory.

No, there is no special regulation, however, the provisions of Law No. 842, Law on the Protection of Consumers and Users´ Rights, regarding to advertising must be applied

In this sense, to guarantee the rights of consumers and users, information related to goods or services that is disseminated by any means or form, suppliers must present their general characteristics in a clear, truthful, complete and timely manner; as well as precise instructions for its use and consumption, warnings and foreseeable and visible risks. The information must be free of texts, dialogues, sounds, images, brands, designations of origin and other descriptions that lead or may lead to error or confusion among consumers or users.

No, there is no published information regarding this matter.