Chapter III Open Accounts

When merchants, or a merchant and a person that is not a merchant, have regular dealings, an open account becomes effective by virtue of their agreeing to set off the total amounts of claims and obligations arising from their dealings during a fixed period of time and to pay the balance.

If claims and obligations arising from bills and notes and other commercial instruments are included in an open account, and the obligor of a commercial instrument does not perform its obligation, the parties may exclude the item that concerns that obligation from the open account.

If the parties do not specify a term during which a set-off must be made, the term is six months.

Once a party acknowledges an account statement showing each of the items under claims and obligations, it may not object to those items; provided, however, that this does not apply if an entry in the account statement contained a mistake or omission.

①An obligee may claim statutory interest on the balance after set-off beginning on the date of the closing of the account.

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph do not preclude the accrual of interest from the day on which each of the items under the claims and obligations subject to the set-off were included in the open account.

Either of the parties to an open account may cancel the account at any time. In such a case, the party cancelling the open account may immediately close the account and demand payment of the balance.