Assembleia da República (Assembly of the Republic)
Law
(This is not an official translation of the law)
First amendment to Law 23/96, of 26 July, which establishes mechanisms in the legal order to protect users of essential public services.
Pursuant to point c) of article 161 of the Constitution, the Assembly of the Republic hereby decrees as follows:
Article 1
Amendment to Law 23/96, of 26 July
Articles 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14 of Law 23/96, of 26 July are hereby amended to read as follows:
«Article 1
Purpose and scope
1 - …
2 - …
a) …
b) …
c) Piped natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas supply services;
d) Electronic communication services;
e) Postal services;
f) Sewage collection and treatment services;
g) Solid urban-waste management services.
3 - For the purposes hereof, user shall mean a natural or legal person to whom the service provider is required to provide the service.
4 - Providers of services covered by this statutory instrument shall be deemed to be all public or private bodies who supply the user with any of the services referred to in paragraph 2, regardless of their legal nature, grounds for doing so or the existence of a concession contract.
Article 4
[…]
1 - The service provider must inform the other party, in a clear and proper manner, the conditions under which the service is to be supplied and provide all clarifications to the extent they are justified, according to circumstances.
2 - Service providers shall directly inform users, in a timely and effective manner, of prices that apply to services provided, supplying clear and comprehensive price information.
3 - Electronic communication services operators shall inform users, in a regular, timely and effective manner, of prices that apply to services provided, namely those related to fixed and mobile networks, Internet access and cable television.
Article 5
[…]
1 -...
2 - In the event of late payment by the user that justifies the service suspension, such suspension shall only take place after a written notice has been sent thereto, at least 10 days before the date on which the suspension is to occur.
3 -...
4 - ...
5 - (Repealed.)
Article 8
Minimum consumption and meters
1 - (Former body of article.)
2 - The introduction of the following charges on users shall be forbidden:
a) Any sum by way of price, renting, depreciation or regular inspection of meters or any other type of measuring instruments for services;
b) Any fee having equivalent effect to measures referred to in the preceding point, regardless of the terms used;
c) Any fee not having a direct connection with a burden effectively incurred by the service provider, except for audiovisual contributions;
d) Any other fee not classified under the preceding paragraphs, charged for the alteration of service provision conditions or equipment used for this purpose, except where the user explicitly so requests.
3 - For the purposes hereof, fees and prices due for the construction, preservation and maintenance of water, sewage and solid urban-waste public services, under general law, shall not be deemed to be minimum consumption charges.
Article 9
[…]
1 - …
2 - The bill mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be sent on a monthly basis, and shall break down services provided and corresponding prices.
3 - In the case of the electronic communication service, and at the request of the interested party, the bill shall indicate services provided in the greatest detail, without prejudice to legal provisions on the safeguard of the rights to privacy and secrecy of communications.
Article 10
[…]
1 - The right to receive payment for the provided service shall be extinguished within six months from being provided.
2 - Where, for any reason, including a mistake by the service provider, the sum paid is below the amount that corresponds to the effective consumption, the provider's right to demand the difference expires six months after the date on which the payment was made.
3 - Requirement to pay provided services shall be notified to the user in writing, at least 10 working days ahead of the deadline set to make the payment.
4 - The service provider may initiate legal proceedings within six months from the service provision or from the initial payment, as appropriate.
5 - (Former article 3.)
Article 13
Dispute settlement
In the event of a dispute resulting from the provision of an essential public service, where parties opt for extrajudicial consumer dispute settlement mechanisms, the time-limit to bring court proceedings shall be suspended.
Article 14
Final provisions
1 - The list of user representative bodies holding the right to participate under article 2 shall be certified and updated by the competent government office, in compliance with regulatory provisions hereof.»
Article 2
Addition to Law 23/96, of 26 July
Articles 10-A and 10-B are hereby added to Law 23/96, of 26 July, and shall read as follows:
«Article 10-A
Burden of proof
1 - The burden of proof of all facts related to compliance with obligations that fall on the service provider and to demarches made to provide services referred to herein shall lie therewith.
2 - The burden of proof that notifications referred to in article 10 were made, related to the requirement to pay and time of notifications shall lie with the service provider.
Article 10-B
Accounting of charged sums
Where due to the chosen billing method, the user is charged a sum that exceeds the amount that effectively corresponds to consumption made, the excess amount shall be deducted in the bill where the accounting is presented, unless the service user explicitly indicates otherwise.»
Article 3
Application in time
This law shall apply to relationships in force on the date it takes effect.
Article 4
Entry into force
This law shall enter into force on the 90th day following that of its publication.
Article 5
Republication
Law no. 23/96 of 26 July is hereby republished and renumbered in annex.
Approved on 21 December 2007.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic, Jaime Gama.
Promulgated on 31 January 2008.
Let it be published.
The President of the Republic, ANÍBAL CAVACO SILVA.
Counter-signed on 31 January 2008.
The Prime Minister, José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa.
ANNEX
Republication of Law no. 23/96, of 26 July, that establishes mechanisms in the legal order to protect users of essential public services
Article 1
Purpose and scope
1 - This Law establishes rules governing the provision of essential public services in order to protect the user.
2 - The following public services are deemed to be covered hereby:
a) Water supply service;
b) Electric power supply service;
c) Piped natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas supply services;
d) Electronic communication services;
e) Postal services;
f) Sewage collection and treatment services;
g) Solid urban-waste management services.
3 - For the purposes hereof, user shall mean a natural or legal person to whom the service provider is required to provide the service.
4 - Providers of services covered by this statutory instrument shall be deemed to be all public or private bodies who supply the user with any of the services referred to in paragraph 2, regardless of their legal nature, grounds for doing so or the existence of a concession contract.
Article 2
Right to participate
1 - User representative bodies are entitled to be consulted as regards acts defining the legal framework of public services and other general nature acts concluded between the State, Autonomous Regions or local power bodies and concessionaries.
2 - For this purpose, public bodies that represent the State, Autonomous Regions or local power bodies in acts referred to in the preceding paragraph shall communicate to user representative bodies the respective design studies and draft acts in a timely manner, so that such representative bodies are able to assess the subject within the established time limit, which shall not be less than 15 days.
3 - Bodies referred to in paragraph 1 are also entitled to be heard as regards the definition of major strategic options of public service concessionaries, as referred to in the preceding paragraph, in so far as this service is provided by a monopolistic supplier.
Article 3
General principle
Service providers shall act in good faith and in compliance with rules following from the public nature of the service, taking also into account the relevance of user interests to be protected.
Article 4
Information requirement
1 - The service provider must inform the other party, in a clear and proper manner, the conditions under which the service is to be supplied and provide all clarifications to the extent they are justified, according to circumstances.
2 - Service providers shall directly inform users, in a timely and effective manner, of prices that apply to services provided, supplying clear and comprehensive price information.
3 - Electronic communication services operators shall inform users, in a regular, timely and effective manner, of prices that apply to services provided, namely those related to fixed and mobile networks, Internet access and cable television.
Article 5
Suspension of the public service supply
1 - The service provision shall not be suspended without an appropriate pre-notice, except in cases of unforeseeable circumstances or of force majeure.
2 - In the event of late payment by the user that justifies the service suspension, such suspension shall only take place after a written notice has been sent thereto, at least 10 days before the date on which the suspension is to occur.
3 - The notice referred to in the preceding paragraph shall justify the reason for suspension and inform the user of means available to avoid it and to resume service, without prejudice to the user being entitled to rely on rights resulting from general law.
4 - The provision of public service shall not be suspended on account of non-payment of any other service, even if included in the same bill, except where services are inseparable at a functional level.
Article 6
Right to partial discharge
Payment of a public service shall not be rejected, even if billed together with other services, and the user shall be entitled to be discharged thereof, except for the final part of paragraph 4 of the preceding article.
Article 7
Quality standards
The provision of any services shall comply with high quality standards, including user satisfaction, especially where the price setting varies depending on these standards.
Article 8
Minimum consumption and meters
1 - The imposition and charging of minimum consumption levels shall not be allowed.
2 - The introduction of the following charges on users shall be forbidden:
a) Any sum by way of price, renting, depreciation or regular inspection of meters or any other type of measuring instruments for services;
b) Any fee having equivalent effect to measures referred to in the preceding point, regardless of the terms used;
c) Any fee not having a direct connection with a burden effectively incurred by the service provider, except for audiovisual contributions;
d) Any other fee not classified under the preceding paragraphs, charged for the alteration of service provision conditions or equipment used for this purpose, except where the user explicitly so requests.
3 - For the purposes hereof, fees and prices due for the construction, preservation and maintenance of water, sewage and solid urban-waste public services, under general law, shall not be deemed to be minimum consumption charges.
Article 9
Billing
1 - Users are entitled to a bill specifying figures presented.
2 - The bill mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be sent on a monthly basis, and shall break down services provided and corresponding prices.
3 - In the case of the electronic communication service, and at the request of the interested party, the bill shall indicate services provided in the greatest detail, without prejudice to legal provisions on the safeguard of the rights to privacy and secrecy of communications.
Article 10
Prescription and expiry
1 - The right to receive payment for the provided service shall be extinguished within six months from being provided.
2 - Where, for any reason, including a mistake by the service provider, the sum paid is below the amount that corresponds to the effective consumption, the provider's right to demand the difference expires six months after the date on which the payment was made.
3 - Requirement to pay provided services shall be notified to the user in writing, at least 10 working days ahead of the deadline set to make the payment.
4 - The service provider may initiate legal proceedings within six months from the service provision or from the initial payment, as appropriate.
5 - The provision of this article shall not apply to high-voltage electric power supply.
Article 11
Burden of proof
1 - The burden of proof of all facts related to compliance with obligations that fall on the service provider and to demarches made to provide services referred to herein shall lie therewith.
2 - The burden of proof that notifications referred to in article 10 were made, related to the requirement to pay and time of notifications shall lie with the service provider.
Article 12
Accounting of charged sums
Where due to the chosen billing method, the user is charged a sum that exceeds the amount that effectively corresponds to consumption made, the excess amount shall be deducted in the bill where the accounting is presented, unless the service user explicitly indicates otherwise.
Article 13
Mandatory nature of rights
1 - All conventions or provisions that exclude or limit rights granted to users by this law shall be null and void.
2 - The invalidity referred to in the preceding paragraph shall only be invoked by users.
3 - Users may choose to maintain a contract where any of the clauses is null and void.
Article 14
Preserved right
All legal provisions that grant advantages to the user in a specific situation shall be preserved.
Article 15
Dispute settlement
In the event of a dispute resulting from the provision of an essential public service, where parties opt for extrajudicial consumer dispute settlement mechanisms, the time-limit to bring court proceedings shall be suspended.
Article 16
Final provisions
The list of user representative bodies holding the right to participate under article 2 shall be certified and updated by the competent government office, in compliance with regulatory provisions hereof.
