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Fair Trading Act 1986

Unfair conduct - Unfair contract terms

26E: Regulations relating to definition of small trade contract

You could also call this:

“Rules for deciding what counts as a small business deal”

You can change what counts as a small trade contract. The Governor-General can make new rules about this. These rules can do two things:

  1. They can say that some contracts between businesses should be treated as small trade contracts.

  2. They can say that some contracts should not be treated as small trade contracts. They can also set conditions for this.

Before making these rules, the Minister must talk to people who will be affected by them. The Minister must listen to what these people say.

For adding new types of small trade contracts, the Minister must think the change will help the law work better.

For removing some contracts from being small trade contracts, the Minister must think that the current rules are too hard for those contracts.

If the Minister forgets to talk to people or listen to them, the new rules can still be valid.

When new rules are made, they need to be published as official rules.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS737084.

Topics:
Business > Fair trading
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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26D: Small trade contracts: trading relationship, annual value threshold, and other definitions, or

“Rules for small business deals: who's involved, how much money, and what words mean”

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27: Consumer information standards, or

“Rules about important information you should get when buying things or using services”

Part 1 Unfair conduct
Unfair contract terms

26ERegulations relating to definition of small trade contract

  1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for the following purposes:

  2. providing for any class of contract that is not a consumer contract and that is between parties engaged in trade to be treated as a small trade contract under section 26C; or
    1. excluding any class of contract from being a small trade contract under section 26C, and prescribing the terms and conditions (if any) applying to the exclusion.

      1. The Minister must not make a recommendation unless—

      2. the Minister has consulted the persons, or representatives of the persons, that the Minister considers will be substantially affected by any Order in Council made in accordance with the recommendation, and those persons have had the opportunity to comment to the Minister; and
        1. the Minister has considered those comments; and
          1. in the case of regulations under subsection (1)(a), the Minister is satisfied that the regulations are necessary or desirable in order to promote the purpose of this Act; and
            1. in the case of regulations under subsection (1)(b), the Minister has had regard to the purpose of the Act and is satisfied that the requirements of section 26B would be unduly onerous in relation to the excluded class of contract.

              1. A failure to comply with subsection (2)(a) or (b) does not affect the validity of any regulations made under this section.

              2. Regulations made under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

              Notes
              • Section 26E: inserted, on , by section 7 of the Fair Trading Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 32).