This article deals with the law of the Slovak Republic and its application by Slovak courts and authorities.
The due date of an invoice is the deadline by which the agreed amount must be paid. Most often, the parties set it in the contract or directly on the invoice. If you have not expressly agreed on a due date, the rules arising from the law apply, setting a reasonable period for payment. The clearer your terms are in writing, the easier any dispute is to resolve.
Default occurs when the debtor fails to pay even after the due date has passed. From that moment, in relationships between businesses, you are usually entitled to late payment interest, even without a special agreement. Late payment interest is statutory compensation for the fact that you have access to your money later than you should have.
In addition to the interest itself, a creditor in commercial relationships may also be entitled to a flat-rate reimbursement of costs associated with recovering the debt. This is an amount intended to at least partially cover your costs and administration connected with reminders and recovery. The amount of both the interest and the reimbursement depends on applicable legal regulations, so we recommend verifying the current values before sending a demand.
In practice, it pays to proceed step by step. First send a polite reminder with a new deadline, then a formal pre-litigation demand in which you quantify the principal, the interest, and any cost reimbursement. A large portion of claims is resolved at this stage, without the need to go to court. It is important to keep your documents in order: the contract, invoice, delivery note, and communication.
If the debtor does not respond even to the demand, judicial or arbitration recovery follows, or a motion to issue a payment order. A properly set up procedure increases the chance that you will obtain not only the principal but also the interest and reimbursement of the costs of the proceedings. However, the limitation period for claims runs on, so do not delay recovery unnecessarily.
Not sure exactly what you can claim and how to correctly quantify it? At Kohút & Partners, we will prepare a specific tailored procedure for a pre-agreed fixed price and answer your question within 24 hours. Get in touch with us and resolve your claim without unnecessary delays.