Reference dataset
Payment term conventions by country
Typical B2B payment terms, statutory defaults and maximums, late-payment interest formulas, and prompt-payment legislation by jurisdiction. Each row cites the controlling statute on the national legislation portal.
The B2B payment-terms picture for each country, in three layers. The typical term is the market convention you should expect to see in commercial contracts. The statutory default is what the law applies in the absence of agreement, which in the EU is 30 days under Directive 2011/7/EU. The statutory maximum is the legal ceiling the parties cannot exceed by agreement without the term becoming grossly unfair to the creditor, which is 60 days in most of Europe. These three are commonly conflated; this dataset keeps them strictly separate.
43 rows
·
Last verified: 2026-05-27
| Country | Typical B2B | Statutory default (days) | Statutory max (B2B) | Late interest | Prompt payment law | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB base rate + 9.2 percentage points for B2B (Zahlungsverzugsgesetz) | Zahlungsverzugsgesetz (ZVG) 2013, amending UGB and ABGB | Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS) |
| Belgium | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB marginal lending rate + 8 percentage points (semi-annually set by Finance Ministry) | Law of 2 August 2002 on combating late payment, as amended by Law of 14 August 2021 (in force 1 Feb 2022) | Moniteur belge / Belgisch Staatsblad |
| Bulgaria | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | BNB base rate + 10 percentage points | Commercial Act (Targovski zakon), Art. 303a and 309a, transposing Directive 2011/7/EU | lex.bg |
| Croatia | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | HNB reference rate + 8 percentage points (B2B); set semi-annually | Zakon o financijskom poslovanju i predstečajnoj nagodbi (Financial Operations Act) | Narodne novine (Official Gazette) |
| Cyprus | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | ECB reference rate + 8 percentage points | Law 123(I)/2012 on combating late payment in commercial transactions | CyLaw |
| Czech Republic | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | CNB repo rate (as at first day of half-year) + 8 percentage points | Civil Code (Act 89/2012) §1963-1972 and Government Regulation 351/2013 | Zákony pro lidi |
| Denmark | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | Nationalbank lending rate + 8 percentage points | Renteloven (Interest Act), Consolidated Act 459 of 2014 | Retsinformation |
| Estonia | Net 14 to Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB main refinancing rate + 8 percentage points | Law of Obligations Act (VÕS) §113, §113-1 | Riigi Teataja (State Gazette) |
| Finland | Net 14 to Net 21 | 30 | 30 | ECB reference rate + 8 percentage points (set semi-annually by Bank of Finland) | Laki kaupallisten sopimusten maksuehdoista (30/2013) | Finlex |
| France | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | ECB refinancing rate + 10 percentage points, with floor of 3x the legal interest rate | Code de commerce L441-10 to L441-16 (formerly LME 2008), as amended | Légifrance |
| Germany | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | Basiszinssatz (Bundesbank base rate) + 9 percentage points for B2B | BGB §286, §288, §271a; Gesetz zur Bekämpfung von Zahlungsverzug (2014) | Gesetze im Internet |
| Greece | Net 60 to Net 90 | 30 | 60 | ECB refinancing rate + 8 percentage points | Presidential Decree 166/2003 as amended by Law 4152/2013 (Subpara. Z.5) | Government Gazette (FEK) |
| Hungary | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | MNB base rate + 8 percentage points | Civil Code (Act V of 2013) §6:155 | Nemzeti Jogszabálytár |
| Ireland | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB main refinancing rate + 8 percentage points | European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 580/2012) | Irish Statute Book |
| Italy | Net 60 to Net 90 | 30 | 60 | ECB main refinancing rate + 8 percentage points (set semi-annually by MEF) | Decreto Legislativo 231/2002 as amended by D.Lgs. 192/2012 | Normattiva |
| Latvia | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB refinancing rate + 8 percentage points | Commercial Law (Komerclikums) section 406 | Likumi.lv |
| Lithuania | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | Last published 6-month VILIBOR equivalent or ECB refinancing rate + 8 percentage points | Law on Prevention of Late Payment in Commercial Transactions (No XII-1583, 2014) | TAR |
| Luxembourg | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB main refinancing rate + 8 percentage points | Law of 18 April 2004 on payment terms and default interest, as amended in 2013 | Legilux |
| Malta | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | ECB reference rate + 8 percentage points | Late Payment in Commercial Transactions Regulations (S.L. 459.04) | Laws of Malta |
| Netherlands | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB refinancing rate + 8 percentage points (B2B) | Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 6 art. 119a, 119b; amendments 2017 and 2022 | Wetten.overheid.nl |
| Poland | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | NBP reference rate + 10 percentage points for B2B (one of the highest in the EU) | Act on Counteracting Excessive Delays in Commercial Transactions (8 March 2013, major reform 1 Jan 2020) | ISAP |
| Portugal | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | ECB refinancing rate + 8 percentage points (set semi-annually by ministerial notice) | Decreto-Lei 62/2013 transposing Directive 2011/7/EU | Diário da República Eletrónico |
| Romania | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | BNR reference rate + 8 percentage points for B2B | Law 72/2013 on measures to combat late payment in commercial transactions | Portalul Legislativ |
| Slovakia | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | ECB main refinancing rate + 8 percentage points (or fixed 9pp depending on election) | Commercial Code (Act 513/1991) §340a-340b; Government Regulation 21/2013 | Slov-Lex |
| Slovenia | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | ECB refinancing rate + 8 percentage points | Zakon o preprečevanju zamud pri plačilih (ZPreZP-1), Official Gazette 57/2012 | PIS |
| Spain | Net 30 to Net 60 | 30 | 60 | ECB main refinancing rate + 8 percentage points (set semi-annually by Ministerio de Economía) | Ley 3/2004, as amended by Ley 15/2010 and Ley 18/2022 (Crea y Crece) | BOE |
| Sweden | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | Riksbank reference rate + 8 percentage points | Räntelagen (1975:635) §2a, §6; amendments 2013 | Sveriges Riksdag |
| United Kingdom | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | Bank of England base rate + 8 percentage points | Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, as amended by the 2002 and 2013 Regulations | UK Government legislation portal |
| Switzerland | Net 30 | 30 | (none) | 5 percent per annum by default under CO art. 104 unless contract specifies otherwise | Code of Obligations (Obligationenrecht) art. 102-104 | Fedlex |
| Norway | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | Norges Bank key policy rate + 8 percentage points (set semi-annually by Finance Ministry) | Forsinkelsesrenteloven (Lov om renter ved forsinket betaling) 1976, as amended 2013 | Lovdata |
| Iceland | Net 30 | 30 | 60 | Central Bank of Iceland policy rate + 8 percentage points | Lög um vexti og verðtryggingu nr. 38/2001 | Althingi |
| United States | Net 30 | (none) | (none) | Federal contracts only: Treasury rate set semi-annually. Private B2B: no federal default; state usury limits cap contractual rates. | Prompt Payment Act, 31 U.S.C. §3901-3907 (federal contracts only). UCC Article 2 governs default private B2B payment timing. | Cornell Law |
| Canada | Net 30 | (none) | (none) | No statutory B2B late-payment rate; federal construction has prescribed rate per regulation | Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act (S.C. 2019, c. 29, s. 387); provincial Construction Acts | Justice Laws Website (Government of Canada) |
| Australia | Net 30 | (none) | (none) | No federal B2B default. Courts apply pre/post-judgment rates per court rules (typically RBA cash rate + 6%). | Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 (reporting only). Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Acts (state-by-state). | Federal Register of Legislation |
| New Zealand | Net 20 (end-of-month-following common) to Net 30 | (none) | (none) | Interest on Money Claims Act 2016 sets court-awarded interest at RBNZ official cash rate + premium | Construction Contracts Act 2002 (construction only); general B2B governed by contract and common law | New Zealand Legislation |
| Japan | Net 30 to Net 60 (often 'end of month closing + 60 days') | 60 | 60 | Subcontract Act prescribes 14.6% per annum for late payment to qualifying subcontractors; otherwise Civil Code default 3% (adjusted every three years). | Act against Delay in Payment of Subcontract Proceeds, Etc. to Subcontractors (Act No. 120 of 1956) | Japanese Law Translation (Ministry of Justice) |
| Singapore | Net 30 | (none) | (none) | Civil Law Act default 5.33% per annum on judgment debts; commercial interest is contractual | Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2004 (construction only) | Singapore Statutes Online |
| India | Net 30 to Net 60 (often longer in practice) | 45 | 45 | Compound interest with monthly rests at three times the RBI bank rate | Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006, §15-24 | Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| United Arab Emirates | Net 30 to Net 90 (60 commonly observed) | (none) | (none) | Article 76 of the Commercial Transactions Law: rate prescribed by central bank if not contractually agreed; courts commonly apply 9% | Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022 promulgating the Commercial Transactions Law | UAE Legislation (Ministry of Justice) |
| South Africa | Net 30 | (none) | (none) | Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55/1975: repo rate + 3.5 percentage points (set by Ministerial notice) | Prescribed Rate of Interest Act 55/1975 (interest only); no general prompt-payment statute for private B2B | Government of South Africa |
| Mexico | Net 30 to Net 60 | (none) | 60 | Commercial Code art. 362: 6% per annum default unless contract specifies otherwise | Ley para el Desarrollo de la Competitividad de la MIPYME, art. 7-bis (2023 amendment); Código de Comercio for general B2B | Cámara de Diputados |
| Brazil | Net 30 (boleto-based; '30/60/90' staged terms common) | (none) | (none) | Civil Code art. 406: SELIC rate as default (post-STJ rulings); contractual rates capped by Lei da Usura outside financial institutions at 12% per annum | Civil Code (Law 10.406/2002) governs default; no specific prompt-payment statute | Planalto |
| Israel | Net 30 (Shotef+30 common) | 45 | 45 | Bank of Israel base rate + 4 percentage points, applied as compound interest | Law for Punctual Payment of Invoices 5777-2017, as amended in 2022 | Nevo (Israeli legal database) |
Every row cites a primary source. See the methodology section below for sourcing details and known limitations.
Methodology
For EU members, the citation points to the national transposition of Directive 2011/7/EU (Légifrance for France, Gesetze im Internet for Germany, BOE for Spain, and so on). For the UK, the citation is the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended. For non-EU jurisdictions with explicit prompt-payment law, the relevant statute is cited (Australia's Payment Times Reporting Act, Japan's Subcontract Act, India's MSMED Act, UAE Federal Decree-Law 50/2022).
Statutory interest is expressed as a formula tied to the central bank reference rate, not as a frozen number, because the underlying rate moves. The actual numeric rate at any given moment is the formula evaluated against the current ECB main refinancing rate (EU), Bank of England base rate (UK), or local equivalent.
Areas where this dataset specifically corrects common AI errors:
- The United States has NO federal cap on B2B payment terms. The federal Prompt Payment Act applies only to federal agencies paying their contractors. Many AI tools wrongly cite Net 30 as US law; Net 30 is convention, not statute. Sub-federal exceptions exist (California, New York, construction-sector laws in several states).
- The EU 60-day cap is for private B2B; the 30-day cap is for the public sector (with narrow extensions). The 30-day default is what applies in absence of agreement.
- UK retained the Directive substance post-Brexit via the 2013 Regulations amending the 1998 Act.
- Several EU members go beyond the Directive: the Netherlands hard-caps large-buyer-to-SME terms at 30 days with no opt-out (since July 2022); Finland caps B2B at 30 days where the creditor is an SME; Spain has a hard 60-day cap with no opt-out; Belgium counts verification periods inside the 60 days, not on top.
- India's MSMED Act + Income Tax Act §43B(h) made the 45-day payment cap to micro and small enterprises economically binding from FY 2023-24 by linking buyer tax deductibility to timely payment.
- The EU Late Payment Regulation (COM(2023) 533) was adopted by the European Parliament in first reading in April 2024 but was not adopted by the Council as of the last verification date. If it becomes law, it would replace the Directive with a directly-applicable 30-day cap and no opt-out.
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