Additional work arose due to errors in the project documentation — the state customer was obliged to pay for them
The parties have signed a construction contract. The customer accepted the result completely. Later, the contractor demanded to pay, among other things, additional work that was not taken into account in the project documentation.
The customer refused. There was no agreement to change the contract. Additional work was not coordinated, the contractor submitted acts on them only in court. The result has already been paid within a fixed price.
Three instances of money recovered:
- additional work occurred due to errors in the project documentation. They had to be completed in order to complete the construction. The customer knew about it. He himself instructed to correct the project, the acts of making changes were signed by his employees;
- the works were not independent. Their cost did not exceed 10% of the contract price;
- the customer accepted additional work, put the facility into operation. The volume and quality were not disputed, so the result needs to be paid.
A similar position was recently supported by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
It should be noted that in practice there is an example when a contractor in a similar situation was refused to collect payment. He did not prove the urgency of additional work, as well as the fact that the customer agreed on them. The courts also noted: the fact that the work is performed and their necessity for obtaining a result does not cancel the legal procedure for approval and does not entail unconditional payment.
Document: Resolution of the Arbitration Court of the Volga-Vyatka District of 02/16/2023 in case N A79-4609/2022