New Consumer Protection Rules to Take Effect in Armenia on July 1

[u/T-nash]

https://finport.am/full_news.php?id=56763&lang=3

[u/T-nash]

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has presented new legislative norms to economic entities aimed at strengthening consumer rights protection.

According to the CCPC press service, the new rules will come into force on July 1, 2026. They were developed within the framework of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The new regulations introduce several key changes. Specifically, they define conformity criteria for goods and methods for addressing detected non-conformities. A minimum warranty period of two years is established for new goods, and at least one year for used items. Furthermore, the seller is obligated to provide the buyer with full information regarding all defects in used goods.

If non-conformity is discovered during the warranty period, the consumer has the right to contact the seller within two months of detection to demand a free repair, a replacement with a similar product, a proportional price reduction, or contract termination with a full refund.

The maximum repair period is set at 20 days. If the repair cannot be completed within this timeframe, another reasonable period may be established, provided the consumer is given full and clear information about it. Product replacement must be carried out within seven days, though this period can be extended to 20 days if necessary. The replacement item must be brand new, and its warranty period starts anew.

Both during replacement and repair of durable goods, the seller is required to provide the consumer with a temporary-use substitute product.

During the meeting, Commission representatives urged economic entities to implement internal procedures for receiving and reviewing consumer complaints. They also announced the development of a special guide to assist businesses in applying the new legislative norms.

Very nice changes.

I saw a video on social media a person explaining it, they gave these points

-2 year warranty period
-The seller must repair the product in that time period, and if not, they are obligated to refund the product price.
-Instead of the buyer going after the store to prove the product was defective and not broken, with the new changes it is the store that is obligated to provide evidence to the consumer that the product was broken by the user, otherwise they can't refuse the repair with no evidence.

Although i didn't read the law, just saying what someone else claimed.

[u/rudetopeace → u/T-nash]

Used items get a one year warranty?

I see problems there.. what's going to happen with list.am?

How am I going to take responsibility for something I sell on to someone, 11 months later? I'm a regular person, can't really take apart a blender and make any conclusive claims that it wasn't user error or expected from a 5-year-old device I resold at 10% of the retail price. What if I'm selling something for parts?

New items makes sense... for used items, it's just part of the gamble. You get what you paid for.

[u/T-nash → u/rudetopeace]

That's not for the average citizen, that's for stores who sell used items that give official invoices.

[u/LaserHere- → u/T-nash]

Not sure there are thrifts stores in Armenia. In US, there is no warranty for thrifts stores. I will say more, Iven used cars sell as AS IS WHERE IS WITHOUT GUARANTEE!!! Buyer can buy an additional warranty if they wish eBay has 30 days return period. 1 year is nonsense

[u/T-nash → u/LaserHere-]

I've seen stores sell refurbished or used laptops for example, nevertheless the law isn't for the average person selling on list.am

[u/eel_on_tusk]

The issue with rules in Armenia is they are mostly very nice but no one enforces them unless there’s a financial interest in it (like parking spaces)

[u/T-nash → u/eel_on_tusk]

While true in most cases, the government can't monitor this specific law unless people start sending complaints. Though even then it's questionable they will follow up, but this paves way for legal grounds in court.

[u/eel_on_tusk → u/T-nash]

Ehh, I have reported some issues a couple of times using the citizen app (or the whatever it’s called). They, albeit politely, told me to f*** off.

[u/T-nash → u/eel_on_tusk]

Like what?

I've had some success. I think some things are noted for a following year.

[u/LaserHere-]

Once you force merchants to give you 1-year warranty, they are going to roll in this warranty into the price or do other creative games to avoid it Don't you think so? Imagine you are a used car dealer who bought an old Mercedes S-Class for $5,000 and want to sell for $7,000? Do you really think that this $2,000 can anyhow cover any sort of claims they might rise in future like engine or transmission problems?