Abstract

The paper focuses on the regulation of payment terms introduced by legislative decree n. 198/2021 that implement in the Italian legal system the directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in the agricutural and food supply chain. The paper try to link the new regulation to the principles of the law of obligations to resolve the issue relating to the payment term applicable in the absence of provisions by the parties; then the paper try to determine the default interest rate given the lack of clarity of the regulation on this point. The paper claims that the guarantee of certain payment terms does not solve the economic and financial problems of suppliers of agricultural and food products, because this would also require not only a duration of the contract that allows the amortisation of the investments made, but also the prohibition of those commercial practices that pass to the supplier the costs of the distribution activity