To make sure you don’t lose all the benefits of your vacations in the early days of September, we’ve prepared a little “to-do list” to help you anticipate the upcoming deadlines for the formalization of trade negotiations for the year 2024.
A quick reminder : there is no longer any doubt that all the provisions of “Egalim 3” legislative arsenal are mandatory. In other words, there’s no way to escape from their application.
As a result, suppliers and distributors must pay outmost attention about the conformity of General Terms and Conditions of Sale, the breakdown of prices in price lists, and the choice of indicators.
As you can see, compliance work may be necessary.
To enable you to negotiate and contract in time for 2024, we’d like to remind you of the main dates and deadlines below.
First phase: Until December 1, 2023: During this period, you will need to ensure that your contractual documentation (GTCS, price list, yearly convention, logistics agreement, etc.) is compliant, and make any necessary changes.
By December 1, 2023 at the latest: suppliers of “mass consumption” products will have to send their GTCS to their distributors.
For “other products”, the law stipulates that GCTS must be sent within a reasonable timeframe. In practice, 3 months remains the recommended deadline.
Please note: if the products marketed in the “mass consumption” category are subject to a particular cycle (for example, if they are seasonal products), then the distributor must be provided with the GTCS at least two months before the beginning of the concerned sales period. If the products marketed belong to the “other products” category and are subject to a particular cycle, then the GTCs must be communicated to the distributor before their marketing date, as the law does not specify a minimum period for them.
Second phase: it is recommended to start discussing the yearly convention and logistics agreement as of December 1, 2023 (and earlier for the most organized).
In addition, no later than one month after dispatch of the GTCS (i.e., no later than January 1, 2024): food suppliers whom have chosen to refer in their GTCS to the intervention of an independent third party attesting to the portion of the price evolution resulting from that of the price of agricultural raw materials or processed products mentioned in the same first a (more commonly referred to as “option 3” in reference to its numbering within article L.441-1-1 of the French Commercial Code) must provide distributors with the certificate drawn up by this third party.
By March 1, 2024 at the latest: signature of the single agreement governing the reciprocal obligations of supplier and distributor.
Luckily, February will include 29 days, giving you an extra 24 hours to negotiate and sign the agreements!
No later than one month after conclusion of the contract (i.e., no later than April 1, 2024): food suppliers who have chosen to refer to “option 3” (see above) in their GTCS must have obtained a certificate from the independent third party stating that the negotiation, if any, did not concern the portion of the supplier’s price evolution resulting from that of the price of agricultural raw materials or processed products.
No later than two months after the conclusion of the contract (i.e. by May 1, 2024 at the latest): in the event that the supplier of food products having chosen option n°3 has not drawn up the above-mentioned certificate, the parties wishing to continue their contractual relationship will have to amend the contract.
Needless to say, the schedule is tight. As a small consolation prize, since April 1, 2023, logistics agreements must be concluded separately from the annual agreement, and are no longer subject to the March 1 date. It would be somewhat logical, however, to contract these at the same time as the single agreement.
