Both buyers and sellers can enter into a sales contract without meeting face to face. In this case, the contract is still valid.

This article was consulted by Lawyer Nguyen Quang Trung

Legal grounds:

• Civil Code 2015.

Currently, signing sales contracts is often done online, especially through e-commerce platforms. If the parties buy and sell via an e-commerce platform, the e-commerce platform service provider is the connecting intermediary and is responsible for ensuring that the sale is legal and completed, as well as will be the party that acts as a witness to confirm the transaction for both the buyer and seller if there is a dispute over the sale contract.

In case the sale is not through an e-commerce platform, but the buying and selling parties connect to each other via the internet to enter into and execute the sales contract, each party should pay attention to the work order and the information exchanged throughout the contract implementation process.

Specifically, signing a contract via email and implementing the contract should go through 5 main steps as follows:

1. Determine buying and selling needs by sending an email (can attach a scanned document) about the offer. Specifically, the buyer proactively sends an email asking the seller to send a product price quote or the seller proactively sends an email offering to potential customers;
2. The seller prepares an offer letter clearly stating the following information: goods, quality, price, payment method and schedule, delivery method and schedule, request for the buyer to respond and agree to purchase within the time limit. In the offer letter, the seller can refer to the regulations and conditions for buying and selling goods (if any) but must attach them for the buyer’s review;
3. The buyer can respond to the seller and add additional purchase conditions, if any. This step is applied similarly to the seller if the seller receives new conditions from the buyer;
4. The party receiving the final proposal (can be the buyer or the seller) responds agreeing to purchase or agree to sell via email. The contract is officially established and takes effect when the party making the final proposal receives a response agreeing to purchase or sell;
5. The two parties will base on what has been agreed to proceed with payment and actual delivery.

Note:

• Whether the contract is concluded over the internet or directly in paper documents, the parties need to fully store all documents showing what has been agreed;
• The actual performance of the contract also needs to be recorded by documents from shipping provider and other intermediary service providers.