Short answer. Yes, in a narrow situation. For movable property, rescission takes place of right in the seller's favour if the buyer fails to appear to receive the goods on the delivery date, or appears but does not tender the price at the same time — unless the parties agreed on a longer period for payment.
What the law says
With respect to movable property, the rescission of the sale shall of right take place in the interest of the vendor, if the vendee, upon the expiration of the period fixed for the delivery of the thing, should not have appeared to receive it, or, having appeared, he should not have tendered the price at the same time, unless a longer period has been stipulated for its payment.
Civil Code, Article 1593 — Sale of Movables: Automatic Rescission. Read the full provision →
Why movables are treated differently
Ordinarily a party who wants out of a contract because the other side breached has to demand rescission, and the law gives the defaulting party room to comply. Goods are different. They spoil, they depreciate, prices move, and a seller left holding stock while a buyer decides whether to show up bears a loss that no later award of damages restores neatly. So for movable property the Civil Code lets rescission operate of right — it takes place in the seller's interest without his having to go to court first and without the buyer being given a further chance to pay. The rule exists to protect the seller's ability to move the goods on.
The two triggers, and the exception that swallows most cases
There are only two triggers. The buyer does not appear to receive the goods when the delivery period expires; or he appears but does not tender the price at the same time. Note how tightly this is drawn — it assumes a sale where delivery and payment are meant to happen together on a fixed date. The exception matters more than the rule in everyday commerce: unless a longer period has been stipulated for its payment. If the parties agreed on credit terms, thirty days, instalments, or payment on invoice, this automatic rescission does not apply at all. Most business supply arrangements fall outside it for exactly that reason, and the seller must then use the ordinary remedies.
What "automatic" does and does not mean
It means the seller does not need a court order before he treats the sale as cancelled and disposes of the goods elsewhere. It does not mean the buyer is barred from contesting it. If the buyer disputes that the delivery date had arrived, or says he did tender payment, or points to agreed credit terms, the argument ends up before a court anyway — only with the seller as the one who has already acted. The seller who gets the facts wrong and resells goods that were not properly his to resell exposes himself to a claim. Documenting the agreed delivery date, the buyer's non-appearance and the absence of any tender is therefore not a formality.
Before you cancel a supply deal
Read what you actually signed. Purchase orders, quotations and delivery receipts often contain payment terms that override the assumption of simultaneous delivery and payment, and one line granting credit takes the transaction out of this provision entirely. Check too whether the goods were already delivered, since the rule is aimed at the moment of delivery, not at a buyer who received goods weeks ago and has since stopped paying — that is a different problem with different remedies. And distinguish movables from immovables, because the rules for cancelling a sale of land are not these. If the amount at stake is significant, or the buyer has already taken possession, have counsel review the paperwork before you declare the sale rescinded.