Libro IV · Título II Capítulo I. De la compraventa mercantil

In sales against documents, the seller shall fulfill his delivery obligation by sending to the buyer the instruments representing the merchandise and the other documents indicated in the contract or required by it.

Unless otherwise agreed, the payment of the price must be made at the moment in which the documents are delivered, and the buyer may not refuse to make it, alleging defects relating to the quality or the state of the things, unless he has proof thereof.

If the things are in transit and among the documents delivered there appears the transport insurance policy, the risks shall be understood to be borne by the buyer from the moment of the delivery of the merchandise to the carrier, unless the seller knew, at the time of entering into the contract, the loss or damage of the things and concealed it from the buyer.

In the sale: free on board, FOB, the thing that is the object of the contract must be delivered on board the vessel or vehicle that is to transport it, at the place and time agreed, moment from which the risks are transferred to the buyer.

The sale price shall comprise the value of the thing, plus all the expenses, taxes and duties incurred up to the moment of the delivery on board to the carrier.

In the sales: alongside the vessel or vehicle, FAS, the previous article shall apply, with the exception that the seller shall fulfill his delivery obligation when the merchandise is placed alongside the vessel or vehicle, and from that moment the risks shall be transferred.

In the sale: cost, insurance and freight, CIF, the price shall comprise the value of the thing, plus the insurance premiums and the freights, up to the place agreed for it to be received by the buyer.

The seller, in the CIF sale, shall be understood to be obliged:

1º.To contract and pay the transport in the agreed terms and to obtain from the carrier, by payment of freight, the respective bill of lading or consignment note.

2º.To take out and pay an insurance for the total value of the thing that is the object of the contract, in favor of the buyer or of the person indicated by him, covering the agreed risks or, in the absence of agreement, the usual ones, and to obtain from the insurer the corresponding policy or certificate.

3º.To deliver to the buyer or to the person designated by him the documents to which this article refers.

The CIF buyer shall be obliged to pay the price against the delivery of the documents to which the previous article refers.

The risks, in the CIF sale, shall be transferred to the buyer from the moment in which the thing that is the object of the contract has been delivered to the carrier. The effectiveness of the insurance must begin from that moment.

If the CIF seller does not contract the insurance in the agreed terms or in those that are usual, he shall be liable to the buyer in case of risk, as the insurer would have been liable. The buyer, in this case, may contract the insurance and, in any case, shall deduct the amount of the premium from the price owed to the seller.

In the sales: cost and freight, CIF, the provisions of the CIF sale shall apply, with the exception of those relating to insurance.

In every commercial sale, the buyer who receives the packed goods may claim the defects of quantity or of quality of the merchandise, or its vices, within the fifteen days following the receipt.

In the promise or the option of sale of commercial things, the parties are free to agree the time limit without any limitation.