The difference between an agency agreement and a service agreement.

Legal relations in the field of business may involve the conclusion of agency agreements between partners, as well as agreements for the provision of services. What is the specificity of both types of contracts?

What is an agency agreement?

Under an agency agreement it is customary to mean a contract concluded between an organization - a supplier or seller of goods or services - and a third-party entity (usually in the status of an individual), according to which the second party provides the first intermediary services. Most often - associated with the conclusion of contracts for the supply of goods or services to customers. In accordance with the agency agreement, the supplier of goods or services pays a fee to the third party, usually as a percentage of the transaction amount.

The powers of an agent under the type of contract under consideration may vary. Sometimes they boil down to the minimum amount of action - for example, the exchange of documents. In some cases, these powers involve the agent conducting large-scale PR-actions and advertising campaigns in order to promote a certain product or service, or, for example, organizing negotiations with representatives of the management of potential customers.

The agent under the contract is able to interact with the target client both on his own behalf and on behalf of the company with which he signed the relevant contract - this is written in the document.

An agency agreement usually has a duration. Until it expires, the partner can actively work to promote the goods and services of the company that supplies them.

The agency agreement often prescribes restrictions on the rights of the parties to conclude similar agreements with other persons. For example, a supplier company undertakes not to hire any other agents in order to promote a specific group of goods and services. In turn, for the agent, the contract may contain conditions on the inadmissibility of concluding such agreements with competing supplier firms.

The most important nuance: the supplier does not have the right to limit the agent's choice of methods of attracting buyers and customers, as well as to determine the territory in which he will interact with customers. This condition of the contract is illegal.

The contract under consideration may specify the conditions for the agent to delegate his powers to other persons. In general, they are allowed by civil law, but the parties signing the contract have the right to include in the agreement a clause prohibiting the corresponding delegation. At the same time, third parties involved by the agent are not entitled to conclude contracts on behalf of the supplier company - unless they have a special power of attorney to carry out such actions.

Note that sometimes a contract for the provision of services can establish legal relations related precisely to the representation of the company supplying goods or services, with negotiations in the interests of the partner. But in this case, compensation for services is mainly calculated in a fixed form - according to the rules agreed by the parties to the agreement.

Having determined what is the difference between an agency agreement and a service agreement, we will reflect the conclusions in the table.

Table