Purchase Order Acceptance Letter Chile (Carta de Aceptación de Pedido)

A Purchase Order Acceptance Letter Chile (Carta de Aceptación de Pedido) is a formal written commercial document governed by the Código de Comercio Art. 97 — the foundational provision on contract formation by offer and acceptance in Chilean commercial law — under which a seller (vendedor, proveedor) formally confirms to a buyer (comprador, cliente) that the seller accepts the buyer's purchase order (orden de compra), thereby creating a binding commercial contract for the sale of goods or provision of services at the agreed price, quantity, delivery terms, and payment conditions.

The legal framework for commercial contract formation in Chile is established by the Código de Comercio, enacted in 1867 and currently coordinated by the Decreto con Fuerza de Ley No. 1 of the Ministerio de Justicia. Art. 97 of the Código de Comercio provides that an offer (oferta or propuesta) to enter a commercial contract may be accepted by the offeree at any time before the offeror withdraws it, and that acceptance must be pure and simple — conditional acceptance or acceptance with modifications constitutes a counter-offer (contraoferta). Art. 98 establishes that an offer with a specified acceptance period binds the offeror for the duration of that period. Arts. 99–106 govern the mechanics of contract formation: the moment of perfection (Art. 101 — the contract is perfected when the acceptance is dispatched, not when received, in commercial transactions between absent parties), the place of perfection (Art. 104 — the place from which the offer was made), and the consequences of late acceptance (Art. 98 — treated as a new offer).

The Código Civil Arts. 1437–1469 govern the general requirements for contract validity: (1) legal capacity (capacidad) of the parties under Arts. 1446–1447; (2) free and genuine consent (consentimiento) without error, fraud, or undue influence under Arts. 1451–1459; (3) a lawful object (objeto lícito) under Arts. 1460–1466; and (4) a lawful cause (causa lícita) under Arts. 1467–1469. Both the Código de Comercio and the Código Civil apply to commercial sale contracts — the Código de Comercio as the lex specialis for commercial acts (actos de comercio) under its Art. 3, and the Código Civil as the lex generalis for matters not specifically governed by the commercial code.

The Código de Comercio Arts. 131–160 govern the contrato de compraventa mercantil (commercial sale contract) — establishing rules for price determination, delivery (entrega), transfer of risk, warranty (saneamiento por evicción y vicios redhibitorios), and the effects of non-payment or non-delivery. Art. 147 specifies that in commercial sales, if the buyer fails to take delivery on the agreed date, the seller may deposit the goods at the buyer's expense with a third-party custodian (depósito necesario).

The Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) regulates invoice and purchase order documentation requirements under the Decreto Ley 825 of 1974 (IVA — Impuesto al Valor Agregado, currently at 19%) and Circular SII No. 12 of 2017. Commercial transactions between registered taxpayers (contribuyentes) must be documented with a factura electrónica (electronic invoice) or guía de despacho electrónica (electronic delivery note) issued through the SII portal. The Carta de Aceptación de Pedido precedes the invoice and establishes the contractual basis for the underlying transaction.

For cross-border transactions, Chile is a party to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), ratified by Chile in 1990 and in force since 1991. The CISG governs international sales contracts between parties whose places of business are in different CISG contracting states, unless the parties expressly exclude it. The CISG rules on offer and acceptance (Arts. 14–24) complement the Código de Comercio framework for international purchase orders.

The Ley 19.983 of 2004 — known as the Ley de Factura — regulates the transferability and enforceability of facturas (invoices) as commercial titles (títulos de crédito), and established the factura como título ejecutivo. The Carta de Aceptación de Pedido is the documentary antecedent that supports the subsequent factura, providing the contractual context for the sale.

Public procurement in Chile is governed by the Ley 19.886 de 2003 (Ley de Bases sobre Contratos Administrativos de Suministro y Prestación de Servicios) and administered through the ChileCompra electronic platform (mercadopublico.cl). In public procurement, formal acceptance mechanisms — including órdenes de compra on the ChileCompra system — constitute binding commercial commitments for both the public entity buyer and the private supplier.

A Purchase Order Acceptance Letter Chile is needed whenever a seller receives a purchase order from a buyer and wishes to formally confirm acceptance of all or specific terms — creating an enforceable commercial contract and establishing a clear written record of the agreed transaction details.

The letter is essential for suppliers (proveedores) who deal in high-volume B2B commercial transactions — manufacturing companies, wholesale distributors, technology hardware/software providers, and professional services firms — that regularly receive purchase orders from commercial clients and need to establish a clear contractual record of each accepted order, including the agreed price, delivery date, delivery address, and payment terms.

A Carta de Aceptación de Pedido is needed when the seller needs to accept a purchase order subject to specific conditions or modifications — for example, accepting the quantity and price as stated but specifying a different delivery date or Incoterms condition. Under Código de Comercio Art. 97, a conditional acceptance is technically a counter-offer (contraoferta) — but a letter that accepts the core terms and specifies agreed supplementary conditions constitutes a valid acceptance and confirmation of the contract, providing both parties with a clear written record.

The letter is required in regulated commercial sectors — food safety and pharmaceutical suppliers under the Instituto de Salud Pública (ISP) and the Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG) regulatory frameworks, electronics and electrical equipment under the Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustibles (SEC) certification requirements — where documentary evidence of accepted purchase orders is required for traceability, regulatory compliance, and product liability purposes.

Cross-border export transactions from Chile — copper, cellulose, wine, fruit, fishmeal, manufactured products — require formal documentation of accepted purchase orders for customs (Servicio Nacional de Aduanas, ADUANA) clearance, export credit insurance (CORFO COBEX program or private insurers), and letter of credit (crédito documentario) purposes under Ley 18.840 (Ley Orgánica del Banco Central de Chile) foreign exchange regulations.

Small and medium enterprises (PYMES) registered under the Ley 20.416 (Estatuto de las PYMES) that sell to large corporate buyers (grandes empresas) or public entities through ChileCompra must accept purchase orders in writing to trigger the 30-day payment obligation under Ley 20.416 Art. 2 bis (prompt payment for PYMES) and the ChileCompra Reglamento, which requires public entities to pay PYME suppliers within 30 days of delivery acceptance.

The letter is also needed for accounting (contabilidad) and tax documentation purposes under the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) regulations: the Carta de Aceptación de Pedido establishes the contractual basis for the subsequent factura electrónica and provides audit trail documentation for IVA credit/debit purposes under DL 825 of 1974.

A valid Purchase Order Acceptance Letter Chile under the Código de Comercio Art. 97 and the Código Civil's contract formation requirements must contain the following elements to constitute clear evidence of a binding commercial agreement and comply with SII documentation requirements.

Letterhead and Date: The seller's official letterhead (membrete) showing the empresa's legal name (razón social), RUT (Rol Único Tributario assigned by the Servicio de Impuestos Internos), registered address (domicilio comercial), and contact details. The date of the letter is legally significant — under Código de Comercio Art. 101, the contract is perfected when the acceptance is dispatched, and the letter date establishes the moment of contract formation. For electronic acceptance letters, the date and time of digital signature or electronic dispatch are determinative.

Reference to the Original Purchase Order: Clear identification of the buyer's purchase order being accepted — including the purchase order number (número de orden de compra), the date of the purchase order, and a brief description of the goods or services ordered. This cross-reference establishes the documentary chain linking the acceptance letter to the original purchase order, which together constitute the commercial contract under Código de Comercio Art. 97.

Buyer Identification: Full legal name, RUT, registered address, and contact details of the buyer (comprador) — whether a Sociedad Anónima (SA) under Ley 18.046, Sociedad por Acciones (SpA) under Arts. 424–446 of the Código de Comercio, Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (SRL) under Ley 3.918, or natural person (persona natural). For public procurement purchases through ChileCompra (mercadopublico.cl), the buyer is identified by the public entity's RUT and the order number on the ChileCompra platform.

Confirmation of Accepted Terms — Goods/Services Description: A precise description of the goods or services being sold/provided — including product name or code (código de producto), specifications, technical standards (normas técnicas) applicable under the Instituto Nacional de Normalización (INN) or international standards referenced in the order, quantity (cantidad), unit of measure (unidad de medida), and quality grade or condition. For regulated products — food under the Reglamento Sanitario de los Alimentos (RSA, DS No. 977 of 1997 of the Ministerio de Salud), pharmaceuticals under the ISP registry, electronics under SEC certification — the relevant regulatory approval numbers should be referenced.

Price and IVA: The agreed price per unit and total price, expressed in Chilean Pesos (CLP) or Unidades de Fomento (UF) or, for international transactions, in the agreed foreign currency with the applicable Banco Central de Chile exchange rate reference. The letter must state whether the price is IVA-inclusive (precio con IVA incluido) or IVA-exclusive (precio neto sin IVA), since the Impuesto al Valor Agregado (IVA) at 19% under DL 825 of 1974 Art. 14 is a mandatory additional charge for most goods and services transactions in Chile and must be clearly stated on all commercial documents to comply with SII regulations.

Delivery Terms: The delivery date or period (fecha o plazo de entrega), the delivery address (dirección de entrega), and the Incoterms condition for the transaction — EXW (Ex Works), FCA (Free Carrier), DAP (Delivered At Place), DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), or other applicable Incoterms 2020 rule — if relevant to the transaction. For domestic deliveries within Chile, the letter should specify: (a) whether delivery includes installation, assembly, or configuration; (b) the carrier or delivery service responsible; (c) whether a guía de despacho electrónica (electronic delivery note) will be issued by the seller under SII regulations; and (d) what constitutes acceptance of delivery (recepción conforme).

Payment Terms: The agreed payment method (forma de pago) and schedule — including: whether payment is by bank transfer (transferencia electrónica), cheque nominativo, documentary credit (crédito documentario/carta de crédito) under UCP 600 rules, or promissory note (pagaré) under Ley 18.092; the payment date or payment period (e.g., 30 days from invoice date — 30 días contados desde la fecha de la factura); the seller's bank account details (banco, cuenta corriente, RUT) for electronic transfers; and the consequences of late payment (interés de mora under Ley 18.010 de 1981, capped at the interés máximo convencional published by the CMF). Under Ley 19.983 of 2004 (Ley de Factura) and the PYME prompt-payment provisions of Ley 20.416, payment terms in commercial transactions with PYME suppliers are regulated — late payment by large enterprises (grandes empresas) to PYME suppliers triggers interest obligations.

Conditions or Reservations: Any conditions or reservations the seller attaches to the acceptance — such as: subject to credit approval (sujeto a aprobación de crédito); subject to availability of goods at time of production scheduling; subject to receipt of advance payment (pago por adelantado); or subject to the buyer's execution of a supplementary framework agreement. Any condition that modifies the original purchase order terms must be clearly stated to avoid the modified acceptance being treated as a counter-offer under Código de Comercio Art. 97.

Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution: A governing law clause confirming Chilean law applies, and a dispute resolution clause specifying the applicable mechanism — direct negotiation, mediation under the CAM Santiago Reglamento de Mediación, arbitration under the COT Arts. 222–243, or proceedings before the Juzgados de Letras en lo Civil (for commercial disputes) or the Juzgados de Policía Local (for consumer disputes under Ley 19.496). For public procurement purchase orders, disputes are subject to the administrative procedure under the Ley 19.886 and the ChileCompra Reglamento.

Authorized Signature: The letter must be signed by a person with authority (poder) to bind the seller empresa — the gerente general, gerente comercial, or other officer with express authorization under the empresa's estatutos or a poder notarial. The signer's name, RUT, and position (cargo) must be stated below the signature. For electronic signatures, the Ley 19.799 of 2002 (Ley de Firma Electrónica) governs the legal equivalence of advanced electronic signatures (firma electrónica avanzada, FEA) with handwritten signatures.

Forms-legal.com provides this Purchase Order Acceptance Letter Chile template as a practical tool for suppliers formalizing purchase order acceptances in Chilean commercial practice. Each letter should be reviewed to ensure compliance with SII documentation requirements, Incoterms specifications, and the applicable sector-specific regulations before dispatch.