§ 14. The goods must be marked as yours
The risk cannot pass to you until it is clear that those particular goods are intended for you — not for another buyer. If the item stands among ten identical ones without marking, the risk has not moved. Only once it has been identified — by name, label, consignment note or in some other way — do you carry the legal risk.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
The risk does not pass to the buyer (kjøper) until it has been made clear, by marking, transport document (transportdokument) or in some other way, that the goods are intended for the buyer.
What does this mean?
It is not enough for the seller (selger) simply to have a stack of goods in the warehouse and say "yours is in there somewhere". The law requires that it must be clear which item is yours.
Identification can happen in several ways:
- Marking: your name or a code on the package
- Transport document: a consignment note that points to you
- Separate placement: the item is on a shelf marked with your name
- In some other way: anything that makes it clear that this particular object is yours
Practical consequence: If the seller has 100 bicycles in stock and you have bought one, the seller must point out which one is yours before the risk passes. Otherwise a fire in the warehouse will be the seller's problem, not yours — because it has not been decided which of the bicycles was "yours".
Examples
Anne runs a café and buys 50 kg of a speciality bean from a coffee wholesaler. The wholesaler has 500 kg in stock and has not yet set aside Anne's share. In the meantime, moisture ruins half the stock. The question is: are Anne's 50 kg identified? If not, the wholesaler carries the risk — he must provide 50 kg without damage from what is left, or from a new delivery. If he had placed Anne's 50 kg on a separate pallet and marked it, Anne would carry the risk.
Marius buys a specific fridge from a second-hand dealer. The seller marks it "RESERVED MARIUS" and puts it in a corner. It is then identified. If Marius does not collect it in time, the risk can pass to him under § 13 (2).
Common mistakes
- As a buyer: claiming that the risk has passed when the goods are "somewhere in the warehouse"
- As a seller: thinking that saying "yours is here" is enough — it is better to mark physically
- Forgetting that this also applies to a shipment purchase (sendekjøp) — the consignment note must point to the buyer
What should you do?
As a seller:
- Mark the goods clearly as soon as the purchase is made — especially with batches of goods
- Use a name, order number or other codes
- Document it with a photo
As a buyer:
- For large purchases, ask for a photo of the goods marked with your name
- Check the consignment note and packing slip on delivery (levering)
- § 7Local delivery purchase (plasskjøp) and shipment purchase
- § 8Additional duties in a shipment purchase
- § 13When does the risk pass