Invitation to submit an offer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The request to submit an offer ( Latin also: invitatio ad offerendum ; often simplified invitatio ) is a legally non- binding act in German civil law to conclude a contract .

General

According to general civil law, contracts are concluded through an offer in accordance with § 145 BGB and acceptance in accordance with § 147 BGB. Only the application and its acceptance on the other side are legally binding declarations of intent . In the case of purchase contracts for everyday life , the expression of will is usually shortened in such a way that the declaration of acceptance is not expressly expressed to the applicant, but rather implicitly . The efficacy follows that such statements by the prevailing practice suffice.

But not every offer that applies for a product or service is a binding contract offer. Rather, some declarations have the purpose of requesting the other part to submit an offer (moving the offer declaration to the other party). A mere request or invitation to submit an offer is not yet legally binding. On the basis of the request or invitation, the prospective buyer then submits an offer (binding for him), which can in turn be accepted or rejected by the requesting party. In the first case, the contract is then concluded.

Legal issues

Classic requests to submit tenders are, for example, list prices that appear on price lists , menus or catalogs . Incorrect information can therefore still be corrected due to the non-binding nature of the order or contract negotiation. If, on the other hand, the errors are not noticed, the purchase contract is also concluded under the incorrect conditions (incorrect purchase price ). However, the seller has a right to contest the content due to an error in the content ( Section 119 (1), 1st alternative BGB), which then becomes ineffective ( Section 142 (1) BGB).

Other examples are newspaper advertisements , posters , shop window displays , commercials , teleshopping or bidding at auctions . In the case of auctions, contracts are then concluded through knockdowns ( Section 156 sentence 1 BGB). This also includes offers on the Internet , because only the order creates a liability under the conditions of the sales price shown on the Internet.

After h. M. represents goods displayed in the supermarket as an invitatio because the seller is initially lacking in the awareness of explanations and the will to be legally bound. At the checkout, the buyer submits his offer, which is implicitly accepted by the supermarket operator by entering or scanning the purchase price. For the same reasons, the customer has no right to be handed over a specific exhibit (e.g. from the shop window). The same applies to vending machines . Here the machine operator submits a binding offer. Proper money insertion and receipt of goods lead to the conclusion of the purchase.

International

In Switzerland , as in Germany, a distinction is made between the binding offer (Art. 3 OR ) and the non-binding invitation to submit an offer. If a shop window display is provided with price tags, however, the customer can assume that he will receive the goods at the stated price - an essential error remains reserved . Advertising letters, brochures or catalogs, however, are non-binding.

In Austria , the request to submit an offer, as a decision of the client, is a declaration of intent that is to be interpreted in accordance with §§ 863, 914 and 915 ABGB . On the basis of this declaration of intent, at least the rule of ambiguity in Section 915 of the Austrian Civil Code (ABGB) in this initiation of a legal transaction for the purpose of a paid exchange of services shows that it is to be assessed as a multi-sided declaration of intent. The case concerned the invitation to submit a bid and award the contract in accordance with Section 162 of the Federal Procurement Act 2006.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dieter Leipold, BGB I: Introduction and general part , 2008, p. 182
  2. ↑ Dr. Th. Gabler Verlag, Gablers Wirtschaftslexikon , Volume 4, 1984, Sp. 806
  3. ^ BGH, judgment of February 4, 2009, Az .: VII ZR 32/08
  4. ^ Gerti Donhauser, Contract Law / Law of Obligations / Property Law , 2004, p. 29
  5. ^ Benno Mugdan : The entire material for the Civil Code for the German Empire , Volume I, 1899, p. 450.
  6. ↑ BGH, judgment of January 26, 2005, Az .: VIII ZR 79/04
  7. ^ Gerti Donhauser, Contract Law / Law of Obligations / Property Law , 2004, p. 29
  8. ^ Gerti Donhauser, Contract Law / Law of Obligations / Property Law , 2004, p. 29
  9. ↑ Bundesvergabeamt , decision of March 17, 2009, N / 0078-BVA / 08 / 2008-347