What is a merchant?

A traductor/ merchant is understood to be a  person who is dedicated to negotiating by buying and selling different merchandise as an economic activity, business , trade or profession. Merchants are those people who buy products at a certain price, to then sell them at a higher price and thus obtain a difference, which constitutes the profit.

It may happen that before selling it, some transformation has been applied to the good that provides it with added value, or that it is directly sold in the same way in which it was purchased, in which case the function is limited to bringing customers products that , otherwise, they probably would not be able to obtain.

History of trade

The history of trade is not separate from the general economic history of the world (and mainly from its economic systems), and began when ancient civilizations used barter as a way of exchanging possessions.

The need to continue exchanging goods even in asymmetric situations determined the emergence of currencies , with which it was no longer necessary for both parties to have something to give to receive a good from the other, since the currency became the standard that governs these transactions. .

On the other hand, the means of transportation were evolving and making trade from one place to another possible, even over great distances, so that today trade is absolutely normal, not only internally but also between countries .

There are many factors that have determined the characteristics of trade and merchants in different parts of the world (regulation or deregulation by the State, new technologies, banking, digitalization of processes, etc.). However, the existence of trade as an exchange of products for money is still necessary, and for the time being, the merchant is an essential figure for this.

Commercial law

Commercial law is the branch that is dedicated to the study of the legal framework of commerce , and considers that merchants are only people who regularly (and not occasionally) deal with activities that the law considers commercial. The Commercial Codes of the countries are those that establish the particularities, but in many cases the assessments coincide.

Commercial acts, in our country, are legal legal acts to establish or modify commercial obligations between parties. These acts must be carried out on behalf of a person, with intermediaries (such as employees, transporters or managers) not acquiring the category of merchant.

For these transactions, people must have capacity , and cannot be minors, or incapacitated by dementia or particular illnesses, as well as people who occupy a series of positions that are considered incompatible with engaging in commerce (magistrates, judges or employees in the collection and administration of public funds, for example).

Commerce is regulated, which gives the merchant a series of rights but also several obligations. The former are guaranteed only based on compliance with the latter, and include the use of accounting books as a means of proof, non-discrimination by regulatory entities, or the ability to request judicial agreements with eventual parties. creditors.

Commercial obligations in Argentina are the following:

• Registration in the Public Registry of Commerce. So that anyone can access the merchant’s background, as well as check solvency, address and liability .
• Maintaining all accounting books so that individual transactions can be legally identified, with the proper details of figures and statements.
• Preservation of correspondence. That it is related to the merchant’s business, and cannot be judicially excused for having lost or discarded it.
• Accountability before the law.