Major Warranty Revolution: Small Businesses Now Qualify as Consumers!

Major Warranty Revolution: Small Businesses Now Qualify as Consumers!

As of March 1, 2026, Government Decree No. 151/2003 (IX. 22.) on the mandatory warranty for certain durable consumer goods has been substantially amended. The amendment introduces fundamental structural changes to Hungarian commercial law, the most significant of which is the extension of the scope of persons entitled to mandatory warranty to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Below, we present the key pillars of the new regulation from a professional perspective and with practical examples.

1. Extension of Mandatory Warranty Entitlement to the SME Sector

Under the previous regulation, mandatory warranty protection was exclusively available to consumers qualifying as natural persons under the Civil Code. Under the new provisions, the scope of the legislation extends to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises acting outside the scope of their profession, independent occupation or business activity.

In order to prevent future legal disputes, the legislator has also precisely defined when SMEs qualify as consumers for the purposes of the legislation. The decree provides that an enterprise acts outside its business activity when it purchases the product in the course of retail activity as defined by the Act on Trade. This entitlement is independent of whether the enterprise accounts for the given product within its own economic activity, but wholesale procurement is excluded from the scope of entitlement. SMEs are therefore entitled to mandatory warranty protection if their purchase is not made for resale purposes but is intended for their own use.

Example of application: if an engineering firm operating as an SME or a sole practitioner attorney purchases a refrigerator for the office kitchenette or a monitor for administrative tasks through retail channels (e.g. at an electronics store or online shop), they become entitled to mandatory warranty even as a corporate purchaser. The deductibility of the purchase does not restrict the enforcement of warranty rights.

Incidentally, as of August 22, 2025, the Civil Code provisions on defective performance were also amended with respect to and in favour of SMEs; accordingly, the Civil Code rules on defective performance must also be applied to SMEs when the SME acts outside the scope of its profession, independent occupation or business activity.

Under the amendment, in the case of end-user procurement of products subject to mandatory warranty, SMEs, sole proprietors and sole practitioner attorneys are also entitled to a warranty period of 2 years where the sale price does not exceed HUF 250,000 and 3 years where the price exceeds this threshold.

We believe that this regulation will cause significant headaches for merchants when those qualifying as SMEs seek to enforce warranty rights in respect of defects arising from intensive, commercial-grade use of equipment originally designed for weekend household use.

2. Administrative Simplifications: Raising the Value Threshold

The legislator has rationalised the documentation required for the enforcement of warranty claims and has significantly raised the consumer price threshold below which the merchant is not obliged to issue a separate warranty card. Under the previous regulation, enterprises were exempt from the obligation to issue a warranty card below a sale price of HUF 50,000; the new amended regulation has raised this threshold to HUF 100,000. Where the sale price of the durable consumer good does not exceed HUF 100,000 warranty rights may be enforced directly by presenting proof of payment of the consideration (an invoice or receipt issued pursuant to the Act on Value Added Tax).

3. Stricter Sanctions for Replacement Claims Within 3 Working Days

The regulation applicable to defects occurring within 3 working days of purchase or installation has been supplemented with a clear deadline for a refund obligation. If the defect prevents the product from being used for its intended purpose, the merchant may not invoke disproportionate additional costs and is obliged to replace the product within 8 days. However, the new mandatory provision of the legislation provides that if replacement of the consumer good is not possible, the enterprise is obliged to immediately refund the purchase price indicated on the warranty card or, in the absence thereof, on the proof of payment of the consideration presented by the consumer.

Example of application: If an office laser printer purchased by an enterprise becomes inoperable due to a manufacturing defect on the second day after procurement, the merchant is obliged to replace it. If no replacement unit of the given model is available (e.g. due to stock shortage), the seller may not engage in delay tactics but is obliged to immediately refund the purchase price to the buyer.

4. Expansion of Mandatory Warranty Card Content and the New Role of Couriers

Where the value of the product exceeds HUF 100,000 the merchant remains obliged to provide a warranty card – whether electronically, integrated into the invoice or via a download link. The scope of mandatory content elements has, however, been supplemented with the following:

- In addition to the name and type suitable for identifying the product, it is mandatory to indicate the serial number or, in the absence thereof, any other product identifier recorded in the enterprise's records.

- Where available, the warranty card must include the exact name, address, telephone number and electronic contact details of the repair service (service centre).
It is also a new rule that if, at the time of issuing the warranty card, the merchant does not yet know the date of delivery or installation of the consumer good, the date of delivery may be recorded on the warranty card by the person effecting delivery – i.e. the courier service employee performing the delivery – and, in the case of installation, the date of installation may be recorded by the person performing the installation.

Summary

Overall, the new provisions that entered into force on March 1, 2026 significantly enhance the security of SME-sector procurement and create a more balanced market position in the legal relationships between merchants and SMEs.