Dudas recurrentes #5 - Garantías y plazos de garantía

Understanding Guarantees and Warranty Periods in Contracts

Types of Economic Guarantees

• The video discusses five types of guarantees related to contracts, starting with the provisional guarantee, which is optional for the contracting authority and capped at 3% of the base bidding budget excluding VAT.

• The definitive guarantee is mandatory, set at 5% of the contract amount excluding VAT, except in simplified open contracts as per article 1596.

• A complementary guarantee can be up to an additional 5%, potentially reaching a total of 10% when combined with the definitive guarantee; this is also optional for the contracting authority.

Purpose and Duration of Guarantees

• These guarantees serve to protect until the contract's completion: provisional during execution and definitive or complementary if applicable.

• Once a contract concludes, a warranty period begins. Article 210(3) specifies that this period starts from acceptance or conformity without objections from administration.

Warranty Period Specifications

• The law does not define a specific warranty duration post-contract completion; it is determined by the contracting authority in administrative clauses unless it's construction work, which mandates a minimum one-year warranty.

• After this warranty period ends, there’s a two-month timeframe for returning economic guarantees to companies. If delayed beyond this period, interest on late payment applies.

Hidden Defects Liability

• For construction contracts specifically, there exists a liability for hidden defects lasting up to 15 years post-receipt or conformity of work.