Gabriela de Ávila Machado
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
Provisional Measure 948 was converted into Law 14.046/2020 on August 24. The law, which comes into force on the date of its publication, provides for the “postponement and cancellation of services, reservations and events in the tourism and culture sectors due to the state of public calamity”.
According to the new law, services, reservations or events that are postponed or canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic do not automatically generate a refund obligation, provided that the services have been rescheduled, or that a credit is made available for “use or reduction in the purchase of other services, reservations and events available in the respective companies” (article 2 of the Law) – without any cost, fee or fine to the consumer.
The Law also tries to protect those professionals involved in the event, such as artists, speakers or other professionals hired to carry out these events. According to article 4, they will have no obligation to immediately reimburse the value of their services or fees, provided that the event is rescheduled, under the terms of the law.
Last but not least, article 5 of the law removes the possibility of compensation for moral damages to consumers affected by cancellations or postponements governed by the law, since such cancellations or postponements are hypotheses of unforeseeable circumstances or force majeure.
