Countries › Paraguay › Guide › 13. Regulation › Consumer protection rules for businesses in Paraguay: information, prices, warranties, advertising, contract terms and SEDECO fines

Consumer protection rules for businesses in Paraguay: information, prices, warranties, advertising, contract terms and SEDECO fines

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Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Changing

Ley 1334/1998 requires suppliers to give truthful information in Spanish, show prices with taxes in guaraníes, honour offers, give written warranties, and bans misleading, abusive and certain comparative advertising, unsolicited products and discrimination. Consumers who buy away from business premises, by phone or at home can withdraw within 7 days, and abusive clauses in adhesion contracts are void. SEDECO, the consumer authority, fines suppliers 50 to 10,000 daily minimum wages (about US$998 to US$199,507) under a scale adopted in September 2025, with a reduction of up to 40 percent for paying and correcting the harm within 18 business days.

USD figures use PYG 5,868.31 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation for 28 October 2026. Amounts set in minimum wages use the monthly minimum wage of PYG 3,044,000 and the daily minimum wage (jornal) of PYG 117,077 in force since 1 July 2026 under Resolución MTESS 670/2026. Conversions are for orientation only and move with each wage adjustment.

Key facts

Consumer protection authority	SEDECO (Secretaría de Defensa del Consumidor y el Usuario) Ley 4974/2013, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Withdrawal period for off premises, phone or home sales	7 daysLey 1334/1998 art. 26, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Prices must be shown including taxes in	Guaraníes (legal tender) Ley 1334/1998 art. 10, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
SEDECO administrative fine range	50 to 10,000 daily minimum wages (PYG 5,853,850 to PYG 1,170,770,000) PYGRes. SDCU 1382/2025 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Fine reduction for paying and remedying within 18 business days	Up to 40 (20 without corrective measures) %Res. SDCU 1383/2025 item 4.2, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Recidivism window for fine grading	2 yearsRes. SDCU 1382/2025 Annex I, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Information, offers and prices. Producers, importers, distributors and sellers must give consumers true, objective, effective and sufficient information on the essential characteristics of goods and services. Offers and presentation must give correct, clear, precise and visible information in the official language on characteristics, quantity, composition, price, warranty, expiry, origin, the address for complaints and safety risks. An offer binds the supplier for its whole term (permanent if no term is stated) and can be withdrawn early only by publicising the withdrawal in similar media. Prices of goods and services, including taxes, must be stated precisely in the offer in the legal tender currency. Defective, used or rebuilt products must be identified as such, and manufacturers and importers must ensure spare parts and technical service for a reasonable period unless the offer says otherwise.
Cost to do it: No fee; labelling and translation are an internal cost.
Example: A shop advertising a TV only as 'US$499' breaches art. 10; the price with taxes must be shown in guaraníes. / An importer of US appliances must provide Spanish language information on characteristics, warranty and safety risks (art. 8).Ley Nº 1334/1998, De Defensa del Consumidor y del Usuario, Art. 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13, 1998-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Prohibited practices and warranties. Suppliers may not tie the purchase of one product to another (except where customary or inherent), exploit the consumer's haste or ignorance, circulate information discrediting consumers who exercise their rights, omit performance deadlines, send or supply products or services not requested, or discriminate on grounds of sex, age, religion, race or economic position. When a supplier offers a warranty it must do so in writing, for all identical products, in the official language and clear print, identifying the guarantor, manufacturer or importer, the product, validity, term and coverage, the guarantor's address, where it is honoured, any costs to the consumer and the place and date of supply.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: A phone company that activates a paid streaming add on the customer never requested breaches art. 14 e). / A written warranty must name the Paraguayan address where claims are handled (art. 11 e).Ley Nº 1334/1998, Art. 11 and 14, 1998-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Adhesion contracts, withdrawal and abusive clauses. Adhesion contracts (terms set unilaterally by the supplier or approved by an authority) must be legible and in clear, understandable terms, and are interpreted in the consumer's favour. A consumer who contracts away from business premises, in particular by phone or at home, may withdraw within 7 days of signing or of receiving the product or service and recover the amounts paid, updated, if the product was not used or damaged. Clauses listed as abusive in art. 28, as rewritten in 2015, are void by operation of law; credit sales must state, on pain of nullity, the cash price, interest and default rates, surcharges, number of payments, the total (no more than cash price plus interest) and the consequences of default (art. 29); and consumers may prepay credit in whole or in part at any time, paying only interest accrued to the payment date, without any penalty, and are entitled to an immediate detailed payoff statement (art. 30 as amended in 2020).
Cost to do it: No fee; contract review is a professional cost.
Example: A customer who signs a gym contract at home with a door to door seller on 1 March can withdraw until 8 March and recover the updated amount paid. / Cross border online sellers that use standard terms in Paraguay should review them against the art. 28 list; void clauses are simply not applied.Ley Nº 1334/1998, art. 24 to 30; Ley Nº 5427/2015 (art. 28); Ley Nº 6624/2020 (art. 30), Art. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 30, 2020-10-15 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Advertising. Misleading advertising is prohibited: any wholly or partly false advertising, or advertising that by any means, including omission, can mislead consumers on nature, characteristics, quality, quantity, properties, origin, price, terms of sale, production methods or other data needed to define the consumer relationship. Comparative advertising is not allowed when, through wilful acts or general and indiscriminate claims, it leads consumers to believe a product is superior. Abusive advertising is banned: discriminatory advertising, or advertising that incites violence, exploits fear or children's immaturity, breaches environmental values or induces harmful or dangerous behaviour. Promotion of tobacco, alcohol, medicines and stimulant drinks is subject to special laws.
Cost to do it: No fee; exposure is a SEDECO fine and court orders to publish corrections.
Example: A 'Black Friday 50 percent off' banner where prices were raised the week before can be misleading advertising under art. 35. / An energy drink campaign aimed at children may breach both art. 37 and the special rules referred to in art. 38.Ley Nº 1334/1998, Art. 35, 36, 37 and 38, 1998-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Enforcement authority and administrative fines. SEDECO, the Secretaría de Defensa del Consumidor y el Usuario created by Ley 4974/2013, is the national enforcement authority and may open administrative proceedings, impose preventive, interim and corrective measures and sanction suppliers; its proceedings follow Decreto 21004/2003. By Resolución SDCU Nº 1382/2025, signed on 22 September 2025 and effective on publication in the Gaceta Oficial, SEDECO set fines for breaches of Ley 1334 and of Ley 5830/2017 on unauthorised mobile advertising at 50 to 10,000 daily minimum wages, graded by how many of the nine criteria of Decreto 21004 art. 32 are met (harm to the consumer, market position, benefit, intent, social risk, generalisation, recidivism within 2 years, conduct in the proceeding, other circumstances): 1 to 2 criteria, minor, 50 to 500; 3, medium, 501 to 1,500; 4, serious, 1,501 to 3,000; 5, very serious, 3,001 to 5,000; 6 or more, gravest, 5,001 to 10,000. Fines may be imposed directly without proceedings for breach of a final SEDECO resolution or approved settlement, or unjustified failure to send requested information.
Cost to do it: Fines of PYG 5,853,850 to PYG 1,170,770,000 (about US$998 to US$199,507).
Example: SEDECO's own worked example: a supplier that gave unclear information and then delivered a deficient service met 4 criteria, a serious infringement in the 1,501 to 3,000 jornal band, PYG 175,732,577 to PYG 351,231,000. / A serious infringement costs about US$29,946 to US$59,852; the gravest band reaches about US$199,507.Resolución SDCU Nº 1382/2025 (SEDECO); Ley Nº 4974/2013, art. 5, 6 i) and 14 f); Decreto Nº 21004/2003, art. 32, Res. 1382/2025 art. 1 to 3 and Annex I, 2025-09-22 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Resolución SDCU Nº 1382/2025 of 22 September 2025 replaced the previous fine guidelines (Resolución SDCU Nº 66/2023, revoked by Resolución 1381/2025) with a fixed 50 to 10,000 jornal scale.

6. Fine reduction for paying and remedying. Under Resolución SDCU Nº 1383/2025, a sanctioned supplier may ask for a reduction of up to 40 percent of the fine if, within 18 business days of notification of the sanction, it states its intention to pay the full reduced amount and complies with the corrective measures imposed (such as refunds, repairs, returning undue charges or stopping unsolicited promotions); where no corrective measures are imposed, the reduction is up to 20 percent. Once approved, the reduced fine must be paid within the term set (3 business days if none is set); otherwise SEDECO may sue to collect, and obtaining the discount without paying counts against the supplier next time.
Cost to do it: Up to 40 percent off the fine; payment within 3 business days if no other term is set.
Example: A fine of PYG 234,154,000 can fall to PYG 140,492,400 if the supplier refunds the consumer and applies within 18 business days. / On a fine of about US$39,901, the 40 percent reduction saves about US$15,961.Resolución SDCU Nº 1383/2025 (SEDECO), Annex, items 4.2 to 4.8, 2025-09-22 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. Court remedies and collective claims. Beyond administrative fines, judges, on request, may ban the sale of infringing products, seize dangerous ones, order activities to stop, close establishments temporarily after a hearing, impose compulsory daily fines proportional to the defendant's wealth, order publication of judgments at the defendant's cost, and void abusive clauses. Consumers, registered consumer associations, authorities and the Public Prosecutor can bring individual or collective claims.
Cost to do it: Litigation costs; compulsory fines are set by the judge.
Example: A court can order a retailer to publish, at its own cost, a judgment declaring its 'no refunds' clause void. / Foreign brands selling through local distributors may face collective actions by consumer associations in Paraguay.Ley Nº 1334/1998, Art. 43 and 51, 1998-10-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Criteria met (Decreto 21004 art. 32)	Category	Jornales	PYG	USD
1 to 2	Minor	50 to 500	5,853,850 to 58,538,500	998 to 9,975
3	Medium	501 to 1,500	58,655,577 to 175,615,500	9,995 to 29,926
4	Serious	1,501 to 3,000	175,732,577 to 351,231,000	29,946 to 59,852
5	Very serious	3,001 to 5,000	351,348,077 to 585,385,000	59,872 to 99,754
6 or more	Gravest	5,001 to 10,000	585,502,077 to 1,170,770,000	99,774 to 199,507

SEDECO fine bands (Res. SDCU 1382/2025 Annex I; jornal PYG 117,077, USD at PYG 5,868.31)

Worked example

A telecom operator bills hundreds of customers for an add on they never requested (Ley 1334 art. 14 e). SEDECO finds harm to consumers, a strong market position, a benefit obtained, intent and generalisation: 5 criteria, a very serious infringement in the 3,001 to 5,000 jornal band (PYG 351,348,077 to PYG 585,385,000, about US$59,872 to US$99,754). Suppose SEDECO fines 4,000 jornales, PYG 468,308,000, and orders refunds. If the operator refunds and applies within 18 business days, it can obtain up to 40 percent off and pay PYG 280,984,800 (about US$47,882).

Step by step

Show all consumer prices with taxes in guaraníes, even if you also show US dollars.
Translate labels, manuals and warranties into Spanish with the Paraguayan complaints address.
Review standard terms against Ley 1334 art. 28 and remove automatic renewals, unilateral changes and mandatory arbitration clauses that the law treats as abusive.
Build a 7 day withdrawal process for phone, home and other off premises sales.
Vet promotions and comparative claims for accuracy before launch, keeping evidence of reference prices.
If sanctioned, decide within 18 business days whether to remedy and request the up to 40 percent reduction.

Common traps

The withdrawal right in Ley 1334 art. 26 is written for sales outside business premises, especially by phone or at home; online sellers should assume it can be invoked.
Offers bind for their whole term, and an offer without a term is treated as permanent until publicly withdrawn (art. 9).
Fines are in daily minimum wages, so their guaraní value rises every July; recidivism within 2 years pushes a case into a higher band.
SEDECO can fine directly, without a full proceeding, for ignoring its information requests or breaching a settlement it approved (Res. 1382/2025 art. 3).
Mobile marketing without the user's authorisation is sanctioned under the same fine scale (Ley 5830/2017 via Res. 1382/2025).

Sources

← Environmental crimes and liability in Paraguay: Ley 716, Penal Code offences, fines in minimum wages and company managersCourts, arbitration and enforcement in Paraguay: the 2025 arbitration law, foreign awards and judgments, the New York Convention and ICSID →

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