My brother is purchasing a home in Vermont and the following is holding up
the negotiations after home inspection; he's trying to decide if the seller
should pay for this (whether it's worth the risk in the negotiation because
my brother has already negotiated a rock bottom deal on the house). The
custom home was built in 1999. The general home inspector says that since
the main panel in the basement doesn't have a main breaker, it is a code
violation. Instead the main breaker is outside near the pole which the home
inspector is calling a "supplementary disconnect." He says the main panel
needs to be replaced which would cost thousands. He didn't tell us what NEC
code section was violated so we asked him but it will take a few days for
him to retrieve this info, but seller and buyer are anxious to proceed
sooner.

I reviewed relevant sections of the 2008 NEC and it says that it is fine to
have the main disconnect outside the house and the NEC chapter on the
disconnects didn't say that the disconnect has to be inside the main panel
which is attached to the home. I understand that in some installations the
main disconnect is placed separately outside so that firefighters can get to
it.

Is there a code violation that my brother should ask the seller to remedy?
I am not sure how the electrical inspector could miss something so basic
when the home was built in 1999. That makes me wonder if the general home
inspector is correct or not. Or was there an update to the NEC in the past
few years? What section/paragraph is not in compliance?