ETHICAL CODE
OF
THE MEMBERS OF BULGARIAN ASSOCIATION FOR LEASING
The “BULGARIAN ASSOCIATION FOR LEASING” –
Sofia, GUIDED BY THE DESIRE for:
Ø Improvement of the Bulgarian commercial and
tax legislation through implementation of the European standards and criteria
focusing on the leasing activity;
Ø Protection of the interests of the Members of
the Association and popularization of the leasing as a method for financing;
Ø Improvement of the competition ability and stimulation of the loyal competition on
the leasing market through creation of tax advantages for the leasing;
Ø Collection and publishing of information for the
volumes of the leasing market;
As giving a GREAT IMPORTANCE TO the ethical
principles,
The Association RECOMMENDS the consideration of these
principles in the relations as well as between the Association and its Members,
and as between its Members - the leasing companies and their Customers – the
lessees and the Suppliers.
The Ethical code consists of the following parts:
I.
Aims of the Code of Ethics of Bulgarian Association
for Leasing (BAL);
II.
Relations between the leasing companies – members of
BAL;
III.
Relations between the leasing companies and BAL;
IV.
Relations between the leasing companies and the
Customers;
V.
Relations between the leasing companies and the
Suppliers;
VI.
Ethical rules for the members of the Management Board;
VII.
Closing rules.
I.
AIMS OF THE ETHICAL
CODE OF BULGARIAN ASSOCIATION
FOR LEASING
The present document is an
act of a free will, referred to hereinafter as “The Code” and created by the Bulgarian Association for Leasing, referred
to hereinafter as “the Association” with
the following aims:
Article 1 To establish in written
form ethical principles for the Bulgarian leasing companies - Members of the
Bulgarian Association for Leasing, referred to hereinafter as “the Members”
Article 2 To promote the mutual
understanding, the fair and free competition between the Members, to create the
best possible conditions for protection of the legal rights and interests of the
clients, for the development of the leasing business and the maintaining of the
good reputation of the Association and its Members.
II. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE
LEASING COMPANIES, MEMBERS OF BAL
Article 3 The Members of BAL should follow
the principle of fair and loyal competition in the business relations among
them, by using only lawful and ethical means.
Article 4 The relations among the Members are based on accessibility, mutuality and
trust, as they exchange current and precise information.
Article 5 The Members do not use in
their advertising unfair or misleading information related to their activity or
the one of their competitors and do not apply advertising approaches, which are
in contradiction with the good commercial practice and harm or could harm the relations
among them or the ones with their Customers.
Article 6 The attraction of new
Customers has to be done by the Members through emphasizing of the advantages
of their offers, and not through negative comparisons with the offers of the
other Members;
Article 7 The employees of
the Members of the Association have to restrain from negative comments about the
other Members.
III. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE LEASING COMPANIES AND THE ASSOCIATION
Article 8 The Association represents
and protects the interests of the Members in front of the Official authorities,
the other institutions and organizations, and in conduction of internal and international
seminars with the relevant means. The Association helps for discussions and
proposals in front of the competent official authorities, based on the opinion
of its Members concerning the legislation in the area of the leasing activity.
Article 9 The Association conducts under
its management periodical meetings and informs the Members about the legislation
in force, adopted by the Parliament, the Ministries and the official authorities,
concerning the leasing activity and gives information to the Members and the
publicity for international agreements, conventions or other international
regulations in the area.
Article 10 The Association helps for
the settling of different disputes between the Members including through the
engagement of proper experts for their clarification, interpretation and
solving.
Article 11 The Association assists its
members in preventing defaults and fraud in the area of the leasing activity
through creation and maintenance of an information Leasing Registry. The Members can present voluntarily and
receive periodical information from the leasing Register. In order to do that, they
sign an Agreement with the Association and the other Members, which defines the
conditions and the manner of usage of the data base of the Register and the
distribution of the expenses on its support. The rendering of information to
the Members is done fully, precisely and without any modification of the data. The Members, who do not comply with this requirement,
are banned from receiving of periodical information from the Registry.
Article 12 The Members
periodically present to the Association the statistical information concerning their
activities and the Association on its behalf informs them about the development
of the leasing market in the country, based on the processed data from the
statistical surveys. The summarized information for the leasing market is public,
and the data for the market shares of the individual Members is granted only for
the participants in the survey.
Article 13 The Members follow the principle of mutual
fairness and trust to the Association and they do not permit any harm on its
good name. In cases of violations of ethical values and misconduct, the Members
who adopted the present ethical principles inform the Association.
IV. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE LEASING COMPANIES AND THE CUSTOMERS
Article 14 In the process of conclusion of deals with the
Customers, the Members respect the interests and the rights of their Customer
by obeying the law, the internal rules of the leasing company as well as the
present Code.
Article 15 The Members identify the Customer
- lessee prior the signing of a leasing contract for leasing product or
service. They do not enter in contractual
relations and do not perform any business activity with anonymous or unfair persons
and also in the cases, required by the law.
Article 16 The Members (including
their employees) have to refuse and to not provoke the receiving of any undisclosed
material or non-material benefits in order to perform or restrain from
performing of certain business, even if the acceptance of such benefits would
not be considered as a crime.
Article 17 The Members do not obstruct
in any way the realization of the right of their client to choose a leasing
company, a type of leasing product or service, except if the Customer has not taken
any such engagement to the leasing company in written form, or as prescribed by
Law.
Article 18 The relations between the Members
and the Customer are committed in written form, clearly and in understandable
way, as the clauses include the rights and the obligations of the both parties.
Article 19 The Members
present full, fair and accessible information on their main products or services
offered, on the way of accounting of the due payments and the price of the
leasing services.
Article 20 The written conditions and terms of the leasing
contracts and services are presented in understandable language, without
misleading terminology and expressions and by avoiding foreign words, following
the principles of fair and balanced description of relations between the Member
and the Customer
Article 21 The Members consult their
Customers depending on the specific case by giving precise and professional
information regarding the deals and the particularities in the usage of the
separate asset.
Article 22 In the process of offering their products
and services towards the Customers, the Members have to avoid the application
of business and tax practices which could harm the reputation and the
possibilities for development of the leasing business.
V. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE LEASING COMPANIES
AND SUPPLIERS.
Article 23 In the process
of offering of their leasing products in front of the Suppliers, the Members are
proceeding towards increasing of the volumes of their business through emphasizing
of the advantages of their offer and not by commenting of the disadvantages of the
other Member’s offers.
Article 244 The Members have to restrain from paying commissions to the Suppliers
for attraction of a Customer, which exceed the current market rate. The Members
have to restrain from paying direct commissions to the employees of the
Suppliers and also of advance commissions to the Suppliers, related to deals,
which have not been realized as per the moment of payment of the commission.
VI. ETHICAL RULES FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE MANAGING BOARD OF BAL
Article 25 Members of the Managing
Board of the Association have to restrain form using their positions with the
aim to popularize any Member, to attract Customers or to receive any other
personal benefits or for them or for the Members, which they represent.
Article 26 In cases of public events,
the members of the Managing Bodies of BAL clearly
divide their functions in this capacity in the Association, from their functions
in the Member – company, which they
represent. In their statements in such events, the members of the Managing
Bodies have to indicate exactly if the expressed opinion or a statement is on
behalf of the Association, on behalf of the Member- company or a personal one.
VII.
CLOSING RULES
Article 27 The Present Ethical Code is adopted by the
Management Board of the Association on 17th October, 2006.
Article 28 The Members could accept the
present Code voluntarily, through a written declaration with which they take
the obligation to obey its principles and provisions. The present Ethical Code
as well as the list of the Member companies which adopted the Code is published
on the web - site of the Association. Each Member who has adopted the Code and is
included in the list could be defined as a Member of BAL who accepts and
follows the Ethical Code of the Association.
Article 29 Under the articles of the present Ethical Code, the members of the Management
of the Association are members of the Management Board or members of special
committees, constituted with a decision of the Management Board. The following of
the ethical rules of the Code in relation of the obligations of the members of
the Management Board is obligatory.
Article 30 The employees of the Association have to
keep neutral position in disputes between the Members in relation to the
Ethical Code.
Article 31 The Management Board observes the application
of the Ethical Code as for this aim it can approve the creation of a special
commission which can review specific cases and can present information to the
Management Board.
Article 32 The Management Board can decide if there is any violation of the Ethical Code and how
serious the violation is. Based on such decision, the Management Board can
decide to recommend to specific Members certain measures, the application of
which can correct their behavior and conform the Code. In cases of heavy and
systematic violations of the Code, the Management Board can decide to expel the
violating Members from the list of the member companies who follow the Code.
The expelled from this list Members could not present themselves as Members of
BAL who accept and follow the Ethical Code of the Association.
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