Art. 1.
(Art. 1 and 2 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1) The purpose of this Presidential Decree is the adaptation of Greek law to the provisions of Directive 86/653/EEC of the Council of the European Communities (EC) “on the coordination of the laws of the Member States relating to self-employed commercial agents” published in Greek in the Official Gazette of the EC No EU No OJ No L 382, 31.12.1986 page 17.
(2) The purpose of this Presidential Decree is the adaptation of Greek law to the provisions of Directive 86/653/EEC of the Council of the European Communities (EC) “on the coordination of the laws of the Member States relating to self-employed commercial agents” published in Greek in the Official Gazette of the EC No EU No OJ No L 382, 31.12.1986 page 17.
(3) The Commercial Agent: a) is obliged to register as a commercial representative at the competent Tax Offices and the pure Chambers of Commerce or the Commercial Department of other Chambers, and at the O.A.E.E., b) may maintain sub-representatives, c) a commercial agent recognized by a Member State of the EU or a Member State of the ECC and established in that State, who, in the context of cross-border provision of services, occasionally performs acts of commercial representation in Greece, as defined herein, shall be exempted from the obligation to register with the Chamber, provided that he meets the requirements of the State in which he is established for the performance of acts of commercial representation. Such commercial agent shall bear the title of the country of his principal place of business and, if he establishes an office or branch or other establishment in Greece, he shall be obliged to register with the G.E.M.I.
(4) A commercial agent shall be understood within the meaning of this Presidential Decree as not including in particular:
a) A person who, in capacity as an officer, is empowered to enter into commitments binding on a company or association,
b) A partner who is lawfully authorized to enter into commitments binding on his partners,
c) A receiver, a receiver and manager, a liquidator or a trustee in bankruptcy.
Art. 2.
(Art. 2 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
The provisions of this PD shall not apply to:
a) Commercial agents whose activities are unpaid,
b) Commercial agents when they operate on commodity exchanges or in the commodity market.
Art. 3.
(Art. 22 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
Art. 3 was abolished by Art. 4 of P.D .249/1993 (Government Gazette A 108)
Art. 4.
(Art. 3, 4 and 5 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1) In performing his activities a commercial agent must look after his principal's interests and act dutifully and in good faith.
A principal must in particular:
a) make proper efforts to negotiation and, where appropriate, conclude the transactions he is instructed to take care of;
b) Communicate to his principal all the necessary information available to him;
c) Comply with reasonable instructions given by his principal.
(2) In his relations with his commercial agent a principal must act dutifully and in good faith. A principal must in particular:
a) Provide his Commercial Agent with the necessary documentation relating to the goods concerned;
b) Obtain for his commercial agent the information necessary for the performance of the agency contract, and in particular notify the commercial agent within a reasonable period once he anticipates that the volume of commercial transactions will be significantly lower than that which the commercial agent could normally have expected.
(3) A principal must, in addition, inform the commercial agent within a reasonable period of his acceptance, refusal, and of any non-execution of a commercial transaction which the commercial agent has procured for the principal.
(4) The Parties may not derogate from the provisions of this Article.
Art. 5.
(Art. 6 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1) The Commercial Agent is entitled to the specially agreed remuneration.
(2) In the absence of an agreement between the parties and special provisions, a commercial agent shall be entitled to the remuneration that commercial agents appointed for the goods forming the subject of his agency contract are customarily allowed in the place where he carries on his activities. If there is no such customary practice a commercial agent shall be entitled to reasonable remuneration taking into account all the aspects of the transaction.
(3) Any part of the remuneration which varies with the number or value of business transactions shall be deemed to be commission within the meaning of this Directive.
(4) The provisions of the following Articles 6 and 7 shall apply if the commercial agent is remunerated wholly or in part by commission.
Art. 6.
(Art. 7, 8 and, 9 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1) A commercial agent shall be entitled to commission on commercial transactions concluded during the period covered by the agency contract:
a) where the transactions have been concluded as a result of his action;
b) where the transactions are concluded with a third party whom he has previously acquired as a customer for transactions of the same kind; or
c) if he is entrusted with a specific geographical area or group of customers and where the transaction has been entered into with a customer belonging to that area or group.
(2) A commercial agent shall be entitled to commission on commercial transactions concluded after the agency contract has terminated:
a) If, the transaction is mainly attributable to the commercial agent's efforts during the period covered by the agency contract and if the transaction was entered into within a reasonable period after that contract terminated.
b) If, in accordance with the conditions mentioned in paragraph 1, the order of the third party reached the principal or the commercial agent before the agency contract terminated.
(3) A commercial agent shall not be entitled to the commission referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, if that commission is payable, pursuant to paragraph 2 of this article, to the previous commercial agent, unless it is equitable because of their activity for the commission to be shared between the commercial agents.
Art. 7.
(Art. 10, 11 and 12 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1) The commission shall become due as soon as and to the extent that one of the following circumstances obtains:
a) The principal has executed the transaction; or
b) The principal should, according to his agreement with the third party, have executed the transaction; or
c) The third party has executed the transaction.
(2) The commission shall become due when the third party has executed the obligations arising from the contract or should have done so if the principal had entered into the necessary partnership for the completion of the contract.
(3) The commission shall be paid not later than on the last day of the month following the quarter in which it became due.
(4) The right to commission can be extinguished only if and to the extent that it is established that the contract between the third party and the principal will not be executed, and that face is due to a reason for which the principal is not to blame.
(4a) Any commission which the commercial agent has already received shall be refunded if the right to it is extinguished.
(5) The principal shall supply his commercial agent with a statement of the commission due, not later than the last day of the month following the quarter in which the commission has become due. This statement shall set out the main components used in calculating the amount of commission.
(6) A commercial agent shall be entitled to demand that he be provided with all the information, and in particular an extract from the books, which he needs in order to check the amount of the commission due to him.
(7) Agreements to waive the commercial agent from the rights arising from paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this Article shall not be permitted.
Art. 8.
(Art. 13, 14, 15 and 16 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1a) The implementation of this Presidential Decree shall not require the use of a written form.
b) Each party shall be entitled to receive from the other on request a signed written document setting out the terms of the agency contract including any terms subsequently agreed.
(2) An agency contract for a fixed period which continues to be performed by both parties after that period has expired shall be deemed to be converted into an agency contract for an indefinite period.
(3) Where an agency contract is concluded for an indefinite period either party may terminate it by notice.
(4) The period of notice shall be one month for the first year of the contract, two months for the second year commenced, three months for the third year commenced, four months for the fourth year commenced, five months for the fifth year commenced and six months for the sixth year commenced and subsequent years. The parties may not agree on shorter periods of notice.
(5) If the parties agree on longer periods than those provided for in paragraph 4, the period of notice to be observed by the principal must not be shorter than that to be observed by the commercial agent.
(6) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the end of the period of notice must coincide with the end of a calendar month.
(7) The provisions of paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 6 of this article shall apply to an agency contract for a fixed period where it is converted under paragraph 2 of this Article into an agency contract for an indefinite period, subject to the provision that the earlier fixed period must be taken into account in the calculation of the period of notice.
(8) The commercial agency contract may be immediately terminated and without observing the time limits of paragraph 4 because of the failure of one party to carry out all or part of his obligations, as wells as where exceptional circumstances arise.
Art. 9.
(Art. 17, 18 and 19 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1a) The Commercial Agent is entitled to an indemnity after the termination of the commercial agency contract if and to the extent that during that period he has brought the principal new customers or has significantly increased the volume of business with existing customers and the principal continues to derive substantial benefits from the business with such customers and the payment of this indemnity is equitable having regard to all the circumstances and, in particular, the commission lost by the commercial agent on the business transacted with such customers.
These circumstances also include the application of a restraint of trade clause, within the meaning of Article 10 hereof.
b) The amount of the indemnity may not exceed a figure equivalent to the average annual remuneration received by the commercial agent over the preceding five years and if the contract goes back less than five years the indemnity shall be calculated on the average for the period in question.
c) The grant of such an indemnity shall not prevent the commercial agent from seeking damages for further loss suffered as defined by the provisions of the Civil Code.
d) Entitlement to the indemnity or to compensation for damage shall also arise where the agency contract is terminated as a result of the commercial agent's death.
(2) The commercial agent shall lose his entitlement to the indemnity or to compensation for damage in the instances provided for in the previous paragraph, if within one year following termination of the contract he has not notified the principal that he intends pursuing his entitlement.
(3) The indemnity or compensation for damage referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 hereof shall not be payable:
a) Where the principal has terminated the agency contract because of default attributable to the commercial agent which would justify termination of the contract at any time.
b) Where the commercial agent has terminated the agency contract, unless such termination is justified by circumstances attributable to the principal or on grounds of age, infirmity or illness of the commercial agent in consequence of which he cannot reasonably be required to continue his activities.
c) Where, after agreement with the principal, the commercial agent assigns his rights and duties under the agency contract to another person.
(4) The Commercial Agent may not waive his rights under the above paragraphs before the agency contract expires.
Art. 10.
(Art. 20 of Directive 86/653/EEC)
(1) An agreement restricting the business activities of a commercial agent following termination of the agency contract is hereinafter referred to as a restraint of trade clause.
(2) A restraint of trade clause shall be valid only if and to the extent that:
a) it is concluded in writing; and
b) it relates to the geographical area entrusted to the commercial agent and to the kind of goods covered by his agency under the contract.
(3) A restraint of trade clause shall be valid for not more than one year after termination of the agency contract.
(4) This article shall not affect provisions of applicable legislation which impose other restrictions on the validity or enforceability of restraint of trade clauses or which enable the courts to reduce the obligations of the parties resulting from such an agreement.
Art. 11.
(Art. 22 of Directive 86/653/EEC).
(1) The provisions of this Presidential Decree shall apply to contracts concluded after its entry into force.
(2) For the rights and obligations of the parties under contracts which concluded before the entry into force of this Presidential Decree the provisions of this Decree shall apply on 1 January 1994.
Art. 12.
From the entry into force of this Presidential Decree, any provision that is contrary to the P.D and especially the provisions of articles 1, 2, 4 par. 1, 3, 4 and 5, 6, 7, 11, 12 of Law 307/1976 and article 11 of Law 504/76 shall be abolished.