§1.3 Contracts covered

The Directive regulates certain aspects of contracts between a trader and a consumer. First, it distinguishes between different contracts according to the circumstances of their conclusion: (1) contracts concluded outside the trader’s business premises (off-premises contracts); (2) contracts concluded using distance means of communication – over the internet, including on online marketplaces, by telephone etc. (distance contracts); and (3) contracts other than distance or off-premises contracts (typically these are contracts concluded in regular brick-and-mortar shops, hereinafter referred to as ‘on-premises’ contracts). The Directive further distinguishes between the following types of contracts based on the subject matter: (1) sales contracts; (2) service contracts, including contracts for digital services; (3) contracts for the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (‘contracts for online digital content’); and (4) contracts for the supply of water, gas or electricity, where they are not put up for sale in a limited volume of set quantity, or of district heating (‘contracts for the supply of public utilities’). Sales contracts and service contracts are defined in Article 2(5) and (6) of the Directive. Contracts for online digital content and for the supply of public utilities are not expressly defined but Recital 19 explains that, for the purposes of the Directive, they are not classified as sales or as service contracts. Although many provisions of the Directive apply generally to all four types of contracts, there are rules that apply only to a specific type of contract. In particular, different contracts (see Article 9) have different rules on calculating the period during which the right of withdrawal can be exercised (see also section 5 on the right of withdrawal). Recital 19 also clarifies that the Directive considers as ‘goods’ digital content supplied on a tangible medium. It refers to digital content supplied on CD or a DVD as examples but the same approach applies also to digital content supplied on other carriers or on a smart device, such as a gaming console with pre-installed games. Regardless of the type of the tangible medium (16), the contract for such digital content falls under the rules of the CRD on the right of withdrawal applicable to sales contracts (17). Since the definition of the sales contract (see below) refers to the transfer of ownership of goods by the trader to the consumer (i.e. business-to-consumer contracts), the Directive does not apply to contracts under which it is the consumer who transfers goods to the trader, for example, a second-hand car or jewellery.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07