What is Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll.?

Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll., amending Act No. 159 / 1999 Coll., on certain conditions of business and on the pursuit of certain tourism activities, as amended, and other related laws — Act amending Act No. 159 / 1999 Coll., on certain conditions of business and on the pursuit of certain tourism activities, as amended, and other related laws.

When it became Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll. effectiveness?

Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll. became effective 01.07.2018.

Is Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll. still valid?

Yes, Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll. is still valid and effective.

Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll. - Act amending Act No. 159 / 1999 Coll., o...

111

THE LAW

of 29 May 2018

amending Act No 159 / 1999 Coll., on certain conditions of business and on the pursuit of certain tourism activities, as amended, and other related laws

Parliament has decided on this law of the Czech Republic:

ČÁST PRVNÍ

Amendment of the Act on certain business conditions and on the pursuit of certain tourism activities

Čl. I

Act No. 159 / 1999 Coll., on certain conditions of business and on certain activities in the field of tourism, as amended by Act No. 37 / 2004 Coll., Act No. 39 / 2004 Coll., Act No. 57 / 2006 Coll., Act No. 214 / 2006 Coll., Act No. 130 / 2008 Coll., Act No. 301 / 2009 Coll., Act No. 89 / 2012 Coll., Act No. 341 / 2015 Coll. is amended as follows:

1. Paragraph 1, including the title and footnote 1, reads as follows:

„§ 1

Subject matter

(1) This law implements the relevant provisions of the European Union1) in the field of travel and related travel services and provides for:

(a) the conditions for their offering, sale and brokering;

(b) the scope of customer protection in the event of the bankruptcy of a travel agency; and

(c) the performance of the State administration in the field of tourism.

(2) This law does not apply to tours or associated travel services

(a) for a period of less than 24 hours, if they do not include overnight accommodation;

(b) whose offering, sale or brokering is not an activity carried out in an entrepreneurial manner; or

(c) purchased by a person under a framework contract for the organisation of travel related to his business, business or profession.

(3) This law further regulates the conditions for the pursuit of certain other tourism activities.

1) Directive (EU) 2015 / 2302 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on package travel services and associated travel services, amending Regulation (EC) No 2006 / 2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive 2011 / 83 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 90 / 314 / EEC. ';

footnote 2 is deleted.

2. The following Sections 1a to 1d are inserted after Section 1, including the headings:

„§ 1a

Types of tourism services

Tourism is a service

(a) customer transport;

(b) accommodation which is not part of the transport and is not intended for housing purposes;

(c) rental of a car, motorcycle or other motor vehicle; or

(d) another tourist service which by its nature is not part of any of the tourism services referred to in (a), (b) or (c), in particular the sale of tickets for cultural or sporting events, the organisation of trips, guided tours, the sale of ski passes or the hire of sports equipment.

§ 1b

Tour

(1) The tour is a set of at least two different types of tourism services pursuant to § 1a for the purposes of the same journey or stay, provided that:

(a) the package of such services is offered by a single entrepreneur, or if necessary it is drawn up at the request or at the choice of the customer before the conclusion of a single travel contract; or

(b) irrespective of whether separate contracts are concluded with individual tourist service providers, these tourism services are:

1. purchased at a single point of sale and selected by the customer before he undertook to pay their price;

2. offered, sold or charged at the total price;

3. advertised or sold with the designation "trip" or similar,

4. drawn up after the conclusion of a contract authorising the customer to choose from different types of tourism services; or

5. Purchased from individual tourist service providers via an online reservation system, in which the entrepreneur with whom the first contract is concluded transfers the name, payment data and e-mail address of his customer to the next entrepreneur and the latter is contracted for another tourist service within 24 hours of confirmation of the booking of the first tourist service.

(2) A journey is not a set of one type of tourism service referred to in § 1a (a), (b) or (c) with one or more of the tourism services referred to in § 1a (d), where such services:

(a) do not constitute a significant part of the trip, which is considered to constitute a significant part of the trip where it accounts for at least 25% of the total price of the trip and is not advertised as a substantial part of the trip and does not constitute it otherwise; or

(b) are selected and purchased only after the start of the provision of one of the types of tourism services referred to in Article 1a (a), (b) or (c).

(3) Entrepreneurs with whom the first contract is concluded and who transmit the name, payment details and e-mail address of their customers to other entrepreneurs referred to in paragraph 1 (a) of this Article. (b) point 5 may only be a travel agency.

(4) The sale of the trip means the moment when the contract of the trip is concluded.

§ 1c

United Travel Services

(1) The United Travel Services are at least two different types of tourism services purchased for the purposes of the same travel or stay, which are not a trip and for which separate contracts are concluded with individual travel service providers, provided that the travel agent to the customer:

(a) where a single visit or contact with its point of sale provides for a separate selection and payment of each individual tourist service; or

(b) mediates in a targeted manner the acquisition of at least one additional tourism service from another tourist service provider and where the contract with that provider is concluded within 24 hours of confirmation of the reservation of the first tourism service.

(2) The tourism service referred to in Article 1a (a), (b) or (c) associated with one or more of the tourism services referred to in Article 1a (d) is not a common tourism service provided that the services referred to in Article 1a (a), (b) or (c) are services referred to in Article 1a (d). (d) do not represent a significant part of the price of a given combination of services, are not advertised as a substantial part of the journey or stay, nor do they constitute a significant part of the journey or stay in any other way. A significant part of the price is a service or services whose price is at least 25% of the price of the linked travel services.

§ 1d

Sales place

For the purposes of this Act, a point of sale shall mean any premises, website or online sales facility, even if the website or online devices are presented to customers as one device, including telephone service. '

3. The heading "Agency 'is inserted under the heading of Section 2.

4. Paragraph 2 (1), including footnote 4, reads as follows:

"(1) A travel agent shall be a businessman who, by virtue of a state licence to conduct a business (hereinafter referred to as" concession ') 4, is entitled to compile tourist services for the purposes of a trip, to offer and sell tours in accordance with § 1b (1) or to provide associated travel services in accordance with § 1c (1).

4) Annex 3 to Act No. 455 / 1991 Coll., on Business Business (Trade Act), as amended. '

5. In Article 2, the following paragraph 2 is inserted after paragraph 1:

"(2) The travel agency is also the one who has its registered office or place of business in another Member State of the European Union or in another Contracting State of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (hereinafter referred to as" the State of establishment ') at the time of the conclusion of the travel or brokering contract and whose activities are in any way directed towards the Czech Republic, including online sales. This travel agency, if it does not establish a branch in the Czech Republic, may operate on the territory of the Czech Republic on the basis of the authorisation of the State of establishment to operate the travel agency if it fulfils the conditions of protection of the State of establishment in the event of bankruptcy. "

Paragraph 2 shall become paragraph 3.

6. In Section 2 (3) of the introductory part of the provision, the words "trades referred to in paragraph 1 'are replaced by" concessions'.

7. The heading "Travel Agency 'is inserted under the heading of Section 3.

8. In Article 3 (1), "§ 2 (2) 'is replaced by" § 2 (3)'.

9. in Article 3 (2), the text "§ 2 (2) (d)" is replaced by "§ 2 (3) (d)" and the words "Article 2 (1)" are deleted;

10. in Article 3 (4) (b), the words "in the event of failure to provide services to a customer due to the bankruptcy of a travel agency within the scope of § 6 to 7c (hereinafter referred to as" insurance of the guarantee in the event of bankruptcy ")" shall be inserted after the word "guarantee."

11. in Article 3 (4) (c) and (d), the words "established in the territory of another State" shall be replaced by the words "pursuant to Article 2 (2)," the words "in case of bankruptcy" shall be inserted after the words "in case of bankruptcy" and the words "in case of bankruptcy" shall be inserted after the words "in case of bankruptcy."

12. in Article 3 (4) (e), the words "the particulars referred to in Article 10" shall be replaced by the words "the information referred to in Article 9a."

13. in Article 3, the following point (f) is added at the end of paragraph 4:

"(f) when brokering the sale of a trip, accept the customer's messages, requests or complaints relating to the trip the sale of which it has facilitated to the customer and transmit them without undue delay to the travel agency which is the organiser of the trip.";

14. The heading "Customer, repatriation and trip price 'is inserted above the designation of Section 4.

15.

„§ 4

(1) The customer shall be the person who intends to conclude or conclude with the travel agency a travel contract or associated travel services, or the person for whose benefit one of these contracts has been concluded, or the person to whom the contract has been referred.

(2) Repatriation is for the purposes of this Act transport from the place of residence to the place of departure or to another place at which the travel agency and the customer have agreed, provided that such transport is part of the trip. '

16. The heading of Title II shall read as follows: "OPERATING OF TRAVEL CANCELLAR AND TRAVEL AGENCY."

17.

„§ 5

Additional conditions for the award of a concession for the operation of a travel agency

(1) The application for a concession for the operation of a travel agency or for its amendment, other than those provided for in the Trade Act (9) contains:

(a) an indication of whether the award of a concession is requested within the scope of the organisation of tours or the brokering of linked travel services;

(b) a copy of the insurance contract of the guarantee in the event of the bankruptcy of the travel agent and of the valid insurance conditions, proof of payment of the insurance premiums and proof of payment of the participation if the insurance contract has been negotiated, or a copy of the bank guarantee in the event of bankruptcy pursuant to § 8b;

(c) a copy of the certificate of payment of the annual contribution to the guarantee fund of travel agencies (hereinafter referred to as the guarantee fund) for the relevant calendar year;

(d) a business plan which contains more detailed information on the activity of the applicant, in particular in which areas of tourism it intends to undertake, whether part of the tours or the brokering of the linked travel services will also be transport, for which services that are part of the brokered linked travel services, the applicant will collect payments directly from customers, the expected number of customers, and, where the travel agency has already operated at the date of the application, the number of customers checked out in the previous calendar year; and

(e) a statement of the envisaged starting date.

(2) Where the travel agency referred to in § 2 (2) establishes a branch in the Czech Republic (14), the documents referred to in paragraph 1 (b) and (c) may be replaced by the document referred to in § 9 (4).

(3) The Ministry shall issue a binding opinion pursuant to the Trade Code (8) on the application for a concession for the operation of a travel agency referred to in Article 2 (1) or amending it on the basis of an assessment of the supporting documents referred to in paragraph 1 or 2. It shall state in the opinion whether it agrees to grant a concession within the scope of the business for the organisation of tours or brokering of linked travel services.

(4) The Ministry shall give a favourable opinion if:

(a) an annual contribution to the guarantee fund is paid in accordance with Paragraph 10g; and

1. the contract concluded for insurance of the guarantee in the event of bankruptcy fulfils the conditions laid down in Sections 6 to 7c; or

2. the banking guarantee in the event of bankruptcy fulfils the conditions of § 8b; or

(b) the proof of insolvency protection referred to in Article 9 (4) fulfils the conditions for the protection of the State of establishment in the event of bankruptcy.

(5) Where a travel agency requests a modification of a concession consisting of a limitation of the scope of the concession for the organisation of tours or for the mediation of linked travel services, paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

8) Paragraph 52 (1) of Act No. 455 / 1991 Coll., as amended.

9) § 50 of Act No. 455 / 1991 Coll., as amended.

14) § 503 of the Civil Code. '.

18. The following Section 5a is inserted after Section 5:

„§ 5a

List of travel agencies

The Ministry shall keep a list of travel agencies in accordance with Article 2 (1), which shall be publicly available on the Ministry's website and shall include:

(a) the name of the travel agency;

(b) the seat of the travel agency;

(c) the identification number of the travel agent;

(d) the valid insurance policy of the travel agency, the bank guarantee document or the document referred to in Article 9 (4), or the indication that the travel agency has not submitted any of these documents to the Ministry;

(e) an indication of the payment of the annual contribution to the guarantee fund in accordance with § 10g;

(f) details of the scope of the travel agency's business as referred to in Article 2 (1);

(g) an indication of the prohibition on the travel agency to conclude travel contracts and to extend the subject matter of contracts already concluded or an indication of the prohibition on the conclusion of travel services which are part of the linked travel services, and to extend the subject matter of contracts already concluded in accordance with Paragraph 10a (2); if the event occurs in accordance with Paragraph 10a (3), the Ministry shall delete that information from the list. ';

19. The heading above the title of Section 6 reads: "Protection in the event of bankruptcy."

20. Paragraph 6 (1) reads:

"(1) The travel agency is obliged to arrange insurance of a guarantee in the event of bankruptcy or a bank guarantee in the event of bankruptcy, on the basis of which the right of performance is acquired by the travel agent's client in cases where the travel agency, due to its bankruptcy,

(a) does not provide the customer with repatriation;

(b) return to the customer the advance payment or the price of the trip, including the price paid for the trip voucher in the event of failure to make the trip; or

(c) not return to the customer the difference between the price paid for the trip and the price of the partially provided trip in the event that the trip took place only partially. "

21. in Article 6, the following paragraph 2 is inserted after paragraph 1:

"(2) A travel agency providing related travel services is required to negotiate insurance of a guarantee in case of bankruptcy or bank guarantee, as well as of any payments received from the customer. The repatriation of the customer is required by the travel agency only if it is responsible for transport."

Paragraphs 2 to 6 shall become paragraphs 3 to 7.

22. in Article 6 (5) (a):

"(a) the insurance covered all tours and tour vouchers sold for the duration of the insurance guarantee in the event of bankruptcy, unless the travel agency provides for a new insurance guarantee in the event of bankruptcy covering such tours and vouchers in the event of bankruptcy, and."

23. in Article 6 (7), "this document" is replaced by "these documents."

24. In Article 6, the following paragraph 8 is added:

"(8) No account shall be taken of the arrangement of the insurance guarantee in the event of bankruptcy, which derogates from the provisions of this law to the detriment of the customer. '

25. In the first sentence of Paragraph 7 (1), "transport from the place of residence abroad to the Czech Republic" is replaced by "repatriation" and "transport from the place of stay to the Czech Republic" is replaced by "this repatriation."

26. In Section 7, at the end of paragraph 1, the sentence "The insurance undertaking may provide the customer with insurance in the form of payment of the services on the basis of which the customer continues his trip."

27.

„§ 7a

(1) The insurance company provides the customer with the performance referred to in Article 6 for tourism services which were not provided to him because of the bankruptcy of the travel agency. The performance to the extent set out in Section 6 is always provided by the insurance company to customers.

(2) Where an insurance undertaking has agreed with a travel agency a period of time under Section 2869 of the Civil Code, it must not be less than 3 months and shall not exceed 6 months.

(3) The performance above the limit on insurance premiums is paid by the insurance undertaking on the basis of the funds received from the guarantee fund.

(4) The insurance claims referred to in Article 6 shall be payable within 15 days of the end of the insurance claim investigation. The performance using the guarantee fund under Paragraph 10i (2) shall be due within 60 days of the end of the insurance claim investigation. '

28. The following Sections 7b to 7d are inserted after Section 7a:

„§ 7b

(1) The insurance of the bankruptcy guarantee provided for in Section 6 can only be negotiated with an insurance company which is entitled to operate the guarantee within the Czech Republic under the law governing insurance companies. The Ministry is cooperating with the Czech National Bank in carrying out the inspection of compliance with the obligations laid down by this Act (hereinafter referred to as the "control") in connection with the check of insurance conditions.

(2) The Agency and the insurance undertaking must, in the event of a bankruptcy insurance contract, negotiate such insurance within the scope of Section 6 so that the agreed insurance performance limit is at least 30% of the annual scheduled sales of the trips or, where such sales are to be lower than those of the previous year, at least 30% of those sales in the previous year. The insurance company is obliged to satisfy the customer's claims arising from § 6 up to the agreed limit of insurance benefits. In the event that customers' claims exceed the agreed limit of insurance benefits, they will be satisfied in full in accordance with the procedure laid down in Section 10i.

(3) The insurance of the bankruptcy guarantee must cover reasonably foreseeable costs. These costs include payments paid by or for the benefit of the customer for a trip or related travel services, taking into account the period between receipt of advances and surcharges and completion of a trip or associated travel services, as well as the estimated cost of repatriation. The agreed insurance performance limit shall also take into account the type of tour or associated travel services, including the route or destination of the journey or stay.

(4) The Agency is required to keep for each calendar month evidence of:

(a) the sales of the trips, including the amount of the sales for these individual tours and sales for the tour vouchers, in the case of concessions within the scope of the subject-matter of the organisation of the tours;

(b) the provision of tourism services which are part of the linked travel services and the level of revenue for those services, in the case of concessions in the scope of the business of brokering the linked travel services.

(5) The claims of the customer incurred against the travel agent as a result of failure to fulfil the travel contract or the contract for the mediation of the linked travel services in the cases referred to in Section 6 shall be transferred to the insurance undertaking up to the amount of the service provided to it by the insurance undertaking.

(6) If the insurance contract provides that the travel agent is involved in the insurance performance, this participation may not be agreed upon to the customer's liability.

§ 7c

The travel agency negotiating insurance guarantee in the event of bankruptcy of tourism services which are part of the linked travel services and which the customer has paid to the travel agency, shall proceed in the negotiation of insurance guarantee in the event of bankruptcy of the travel agency in the same way as in the case of travel insurance under Section 7b.

§ 7d

The insurance of the bankruptcy guarantee shall apply to customers, irrespective of their place of residence, place of departure or place of sale, and irrespective of the State of establishment of the insurance undertaking providing insurance of bankruptcy guarantee. '.

Article 29 (8) is deleted.

30. in Paragraph 8a (1):

"(1) The Agency shall:

(a) submit to the insurance undertaking, prior to the conclusion of the bankruptcy guarantee contract, data relating to the management of the travel agency, the type and number of tours, the number of cases of brokering of the linked travel services and other data relating to the insurance of tours or of the linked travel services requested by the insurance undertaking, and provide an explanation to the insurance undertaking upon request;

(b) during the period of insurance without undue delay, notify the insurance undertaking of the change in the insurance risk, in particular the increase in the sales of tours or the increase in the sales of linked travel services above the amount communicated by the travel agency to the insurance undertaking before the conclusion of the insurance contract in the event of bankruptcy. ";

31. In Paragraph 8a, at the end of paragraph 3, the dot is replaced by a comma and the following point (e) is added:

"(e) inform the Ministry within 5 working days of the date of receipt of the termination of the guarantee insurance contract in the event of the bankruptcy of the travel agency or of the date of dispatch by the travel agency insurance company of the termination of the contract, including an indication of the date on which the termination of the insurance is to occur.";

32. in Paragraph 8a (5):

"(5) The Agency shall, in accordance with the scope of the business of the concession awarded, transmit to the insurance undertaking monthly, no later than the 25th day of the immediately following calendar month, data on the number of passengers sold, the number of tours and brokered linked travel services, the aggregate price for tours sold and the aggregate amount of payments from customers for linked travel services, the amount of advance payments for tours, the amount of sales for related travel services and the amount of sales for ticket sales. On request, the travel agency shall communicate this information without undue delay to the Ministry. ';

33. § 8b, including the title reads:

„§ 8b

Bank guarantee in case of bankruptcy

(1) A bank or a foreign bank which has issued a bank guarantee in the event of the bankruptcy of a travel agent and a bank guarantee in the event of the bankruptcy of a travel agent and its use shall be subject to the requirements laid down by Articles 6 (4) to (8), 7, 7a (1) to (3), 7b (2) to (5), 7d and 8a respectively. Paragraph 7a (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(2) A bank guarantee in the event of bankruptcy can only be negotiated with a bank or with a foreign bank authorised to operate in the Czech Republic.

(3) If a bank or a foreign bank agrees with a travel agency a period of time under Paragraph 2038 of the Civil Code may not be less than 3 months and shall not exceed 6 months. "

34. in Article 9 (1) (a) and (b):

"(a) is obliged, if not a travel agency fulfilling the conditions of insolvency protection referred to in paragraph 4, to have the operation of the travel agency throughout the business

1. the annual contribution to the guarantee fund paid; and

2. the insurance of the guarantee in the event of bankruptcy or the bank guarantee in the event of bankruptcy is agreed;

(b) it is obliged to maintain, during the life of the insurance, a limit on the premium payment to the extent that, in the event of an insurance event, all the claims of the customers referred to in Article 6 are met, ';

35. in Article 9 (1) (c), the text "Paragraph 2 (2) (d)" is replaced by "Paragraph 2 (3) (d)" and the words "Article 2 (1)" are deleted;

36. in Article 9 (1), the following point (d) is inserted after point (c):

"(d) it is required to adjust, in the commercial conditions, the collection of advance payments for tours and the payment dates prior to the start of the trip for each destination or stay,";

Point (d) shall be renumbered as point (e).

37. in Article 9 (1), the words "or the travel agency referred to in Article 2 (2)" shall be added at the end of the text of point (e).

38. in Paragraph 9 (2) (a):

"(a) provide proof of insurance of the guarantee in the event of bankruptcy or of the bank guarantee in the event of bankruptcy of the travel agency or of the document referred to in paragraph 4 before the conclusion of a travel contract or contracts leading to the conclusion of the linked travel services;"

39. In Paragraph 9 (3), the words "A travel agency established in the territory of another State is required before the start of the sale of tours" shall be replaced by the words "A travel agency referred to in § 2 (2), which does not establish a branch in the Czech Republic, is required before the start of the sale of tours or through the brokering of linked travel services in the Czech Republic."

40. in Article 9, the following paragraph 4 is inserted after paragraph 3:

"(4) The proof of bankruptcy protection issued by a person entitled to do so in the State of establishment of the travel agency referred to in Article 2 (2) shall be recognised as equivalent to the proof of insolvency protection under this law. ';

Paragraph 4 shall become paragraph 5.

Citation	Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll., amending Act No. 159 / 1999 Coll., on certain conditions of business and on the pursuit of certain tourism activities, as amended, and other related laws
Regulation Type	-
Author	-
Collection	Code of Laws

Date of Promulgation	15.06.2018
Effective from	01.07.2018
Effective until	-
Status	Valid

Act No. 111 / 2018 Coll.

Act amending Act No. 159 / 1999 Coll., on certain conditions of business and on the pursuit of certain tourism activities, as amended, and other related laws

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