What to look for when signing a contract with a contractor?
Each contract should contain a deadline for its performance, which the parties can mark in various ways. Very often, contractual penalties are provided for failure to meet the contract performance deadline. In doing so, it is worth remembering the difference between the following terms:
– delay
– delay.
What is the difference between delay and delay?

What is the difference between delay and delay? Delay.
Let’s look at the following example:
“The Contractor shall pay the Ordering Party a contractual penalty of 0.5% of the contract value for each day of delay in the execution of the subject matter of the contract.”
In this case, it is irrelevant whether the debtor (in this example, the contractor) is responsible for the failure to meet the deadline or whether there was a circumstance beyond his control (e.g. lack of availability of goods on the market). If the deadline is not met, the creditor (in this case, the contractor) will be able to claim payment of liquidated damages.
What is the difference between delay and procrastination? Delay.
So let’s look at a record that is twinned with the previous one:
“The Contractor shall pay the Ordering Party a contractual penalty of 0.5% of the contract value for each day of delay in the execution of the subject matter of the contract.”
Since the above provision mentions a delay, it is important to determine whether the debtor (in this case, the contractor) is liable for the failure to perform the subject of the contract within the agreed period. If the debtor ordered the goods sufficiently early, and as a result of, for example, the economic crisis, it was not possible to deliver them, then fault cannot be attributed.
Delay or default? What to use in a contract?
So what should you pay attention to in the contract in the event of a delay or delay? If we are a debtor, it is in our interest that a contractual penalty is provided for the delay. We can then prove that the failure to meet the deadline was not our fault. However, in the case of the creditor, it is important that the contractual penalty is foreseen for the delay, and that the creditor could demand its payment regardless of the reason for the delay.
Therefore, we should always remember to read in detail the contractual provisions in this regard.

Author:
Rafał Drzewiecki
Lawyer, Mediator
He specializes in providing legal assistance to natural persons. He attaches great importance to trying to resolve disputes amicably, including in criminal cases. He realizes his professional career in criminal law, because he served his legal training under the supervision of an attorney specializing in this field. He is particularly interested in post-penitentiary issues: the system of electronic supervision, breaks in serving the prison sentence, conditional early release.
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