§ 8-21A-5 — Supplier’s Duties to Dealers - Provision of Repair Parts; Return of Surplus Parts

(a) Every supplier shall provide for the availability of repair parts throughout the reasonable useful life of any equipment sold by the supplier or dealer.
(b) Every supplier shall give written notice to and provide to its dealers, on at least an annual basis, an opportunity to return a portion of dealer’s surplus parts inventory for credit. This surplus procedure shall be administered as follows:
(1) The supplier must notify its equipment dealers of a time period, in no event less than 90 days’ duration, during which time equipment dealers may submit their surplus parts lists and return their surplus parts to the supplier.
(2) Pursuant to this subdivision, a supplier must allow surplus parts return authority on a dollar value of parts equal to 10 percent of the total dollar value of parts purchased on stock order by the dealer from the supplier during the twelve month period immediately preceding the notification to the dealer by the supplier or the surplus parts return program, or the month the dealer’s return request is made, whichever is applicable. However, the dealer may wish to return less than 10 percent of the total value of stock order parts purchased by the dealer from supplier during the preceding twelve month period as provided above. This has no effect on the validity of this section or the dealer’s rights hereunder.
(c) This chapter shall not require the repurchase from a dealer of any of the following:
(1) Any single repair part which is priced as a set of two or more items.
(2) Any repair part which, because of the condition, is not resalable as a new part without repackaging or reconditioning.
(3) Any inventory for which the dealer is unable to furnish evidence, reasonably satisfactory to the manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, of good title, free and clear of all claims, liens, and encumbrances.
(4) Any inventory which the dealer desires to keep, provided the dealer has a contractual right to do so. No obsolete or superseded part may be returned, but any part listed in the supplier’s current parts price list or any superseded part that has not been the subject of the supplier’s parts return program at the date of notification to the dealer by the supplier of the surplus parts return program, or the date of the dealer’s parts return request, whichever is applicable shall be eligible for return for the credit specified.
(d) The minimum lawful credit to be allowed for returned parts shall be 85 percent of the dealer’s cost thereof as listed in the supplier’s current parts list at the date of the notification to the dealer by the supplier of the surplus parts return program, or the date of the dealer’s parts return request, whichever is applicable.
(e) Applicable credit hereunder shall be issued to the dealer within 60 days after receipt of the dealer’s returned parts by the supplier.
(f) All packing and return freight expenses incurred in the return of surplus parts under the terms of this section shall be the obligation of and borne by the dealer.
(g) This section shall be supplemental to any agreement between the dealer and the supplier covering the return of farm equipment, attachments, and repair parts which provides the equipment dealer with greater protection. The dealer can elect to pursue either his or her dealer agreement remedy or the remedy provided by state law, and an election by the dealer to pursue the agreement remedy shall not bar the right to the remedy provided herein as to those repair parts not affected by the contract remedy. Notwithstanding anything contained herein, the rights of a supplier to charge back to the dealer’s account previously paid or credited as a discount incident to the dealer’s purchase of goods shall not be affected. Further, any repurchase hereunder shall not be subject to the bulk sales law.

Legislative History

(Acts 1991, No. 91-721, p. 1401, §5; Act 2003-356, p. 976, §1.)