General
1.1 These conditions shall apply to all the contracts concluded by Goveco bvba and to
all quotations issued by the seller, Departures from these conditions shall only be valid
if expressly agreed and indicated in a specially drafted annex duly signed by the seller.
1.2 Regardless of whether they are mentioned to the seller, any general or other
conditions of the client shall only apply if expressly agreed, and indicated in a specially
drafted annex duly signed by the seller.
1.3 If any provision in the present conditions is
invalid, or is declared void. all the remaining provisions of the contract shall remain in
force, and the seller and the client together shall in good faith consult in order to agree
a new provision to replace the invalid or voided provision. such that as far as possible
the purpose and tenor of the invalid or voided provision shall be taken into account.
2. Quotations and orders
2.1 All the seller's quotations are without obligation,
unless expressly otherwise stated. Prices stated in the quotation shall remain valid for a
maximum period of 30 days from the quotation date Printing errors, material errors
and errors in calculation shall not be binding on the seller.
2.2 References in a quotation to weight, tax and packaging are purely indicative and not binding on the
seller.
2.3 Illustrations from the seller's catalogue are purely indicative and not binding
on the seller.
2.4 Supplied samples have only an indicative value, Samples can only imply
an obligation from the seller if they were formally accepted by the client.
2.5 Unless expressly otherwise stated in the quotation, a contract with the seller shall only come
Into being after the seller has accepted the order in writing. Only an order
confirmation sent by the seller can consequently give rise to the existence of a
contract.
2.6 Orders once placed may only be cancelled with the prior agreement of
the seller. In the event of cancellation, the client shall automatically and without notice
be liable to pay standard compensation of 10% of the order price, without prejudice to
the seller's right to demonstrate a greater loss and to claim consequent damages.
3. Prices
3.1 Only the prices mentioned in an order confirmation issued by the seller shall be binding on him.
3.2 The price lists which may be published by the seller are purely indicative and not binding on him.
3.3 Unless otherwise expressly stated, all prices given in a quotation, order confirmation, contract etc. shall be EXW (Incoterms
2000) and exclude VAT.
3.4 Minimum order amount: I00 €t For orders below 3000 € we charge administrative costs of 30 €.
4. Delivery times
4.1 The seller shall aim to meet the agreed delivery times calculated from the date of the order confirmation.
4.2 The delivery times stated in Article 4.1. are only provided for information and are not binding, unless expressly
agreed in writing by the parties. Delays in the performance of the seller’s obligations
can however never give rise to any right of compensation from the seller, nor to the
termination of the contract.
5. Force majeure
5.1 Every acceptance of an order by the seller is subject to the circumstances of force maieure. Force majeure shall
include total or partial strikes.
Iock-outs, accidents. transport shutdown. war, mobilisation. sequestration. failure to
receive permits, lack of raw materials. total or partial sickness of the seller‘s work
force, flooding etc. This list is not exhaustive. In the event of force majeure affecting
the seller. his obligations to the client shall be suspended for the duration of the
Circumstances of force majeure.
5.2 If the circumstances of force majeure continue for
longer than sixty days, the client is entitled to cancel the order, without the prior
consent of the seller, The client may demand no compensation from the seller. Goods
or services already delivered or provided by the seller under the contract shall be
calculated pro rata.
6. Transport and acceptance of the goods
6.1 Deliveries by the seller within Benelux take place EXW (Incocerms 2010), in accordance with Article 3.4. At the
client's request, and after prior written confirmation from the seller, deliveries can be
made to another address than that of the client (eg an operational site) The delivery
time given by the seller is purely indicative and gives only the date of delivery, not the
time.
6.2 Deliveries outside Belgium are EXW. (Incoterms 2000), in accordance with
Article 3.5. If the goods ordered are not removed by the client on the delivery date,
the seller shall be entitled to charge the client for any storage costs incurred as a
result.
6.3 If goods are delivered by the seller on euro pallets these shall be charged to
the client. If the euro pallets are returned to the seller in good condition, the sum paid
in respect of euro pallets by the client shall be credited to him. The seller shall never
be obliged to take back from the client more euro pallets than he himself has supplied.
7. Confidential information
7.1 The client guarantees that all the technical information which he receives from the seller before and after the conclusion of the
contracts shall remain confidential In nature. Information shall be regarded as
confidential if it is so indicated by the seller. In addition, information shall be
confidential in nature when the confidentiality thereof can be reasonably assumed.
Under no circumstances may the client copy, transfer or give sight of any technical
information which remains the property of the seller.
8. Complaints
8.1 The client must inspect the goods immediately on delivery. The
client must notify the seller in writing of any complaints within eight days of the
delivery of the goods. Such complaints shall otherwise be deemed to have lapsed. The
letter must contain a detailed account of the faults and pictures The use of a delivery
or parts thereof shall irrefutably constitute acceptance of the whole delivery.
8.2 Complaints regarding hidden defects must be notified to the seller in writing within
eight days of discovery thereof. Such complaints shall otherwise be deemed to have
lapsed. The ‘short term‘ referred to in Article I648 of the Civil Code shall, between
the present parties, be a period of two months following the discovery of the defect.
8.3 In the case of a visible or hidden defect which is brought to the attention of the
seller in good time and in accordance with the present article, the seller may simply
exchange the goods in question. The seller may never be compelled to replace or take
back goods suppliedi Goods shall only be taken back with the seller's written prior
consent. In the event of the written consent of the seller, the seller shall himself take
the initiative for removal of the returnable goods at his own expense. The goods must
be in their original state.
8.4 In the case of a visible or hidden defect which is brought to the attention of the seller in good time and in accordance with the present article,
and where in accordance with Article 8.3 the seller deudes to exchange the goods, no
compensation shall be due from the seller. In the case of a visible or hidden defect
which is brought to the attention of the seller in good time and in accordance with the
present article and where the seller decides not to replace the goods in accordance
with Article 8.3, the compensation due from the seller in the event of a demonstrable
contractual fault shall be limited to the price of the goods in question, excluding VAT.
In no event may any compensation be due from the seller in the event of indirect or
immaterial damage (including, but not limited to, forgone profit, missed opportunities, or
other consequential loss).
8.5 The seller may never be held responsible for any damage or
defect of the supplied goods that may be attributed to injudicious transport, stockage and/or
installation by the purchasers.
8.6 Any liability of the seller with regard to the goods supplied
shall be limited to a period of six months after delivery. After the expiry of this period, the
seller may no longer be held liable by the client for defects in the goods supplied.
8.7 The seller may not be held responsnble for any damage or defect in the goods supplied arising
from the mistaken. noncompliant or careless use thereof or from their mistaken,
noncompliant or careless treatment or installation.
9. Reservation of title
9.1 The goods supplied shall remain the property of the seller until
the full payment of the original sum, costs and interest by the client. Until full payment for
the goods has been made, they may be repossessed by the seller. The client undertakes not
to make use of the goods, nor to process them nor to grant any commercial rights over
them, inter alia using them as security.
9.2 This retention of title shall also apply in the event of bankruptcy of the client, insofar as the goods are in stock on the client's premises, and
have not become immovable through incorporation.
10. Payment
10.1 The invoice shall be paid in advance, unless expressly otherwnse stated
on the invoices. Disputes or complaints, even if valid, do not suspend the client's duty of
payment. All the seller’s invomes are payable to Goveco , even if bills of exchange have been
drawn.
10.2 If the invoice has not been paid on the due date, the seller has the right to
suspend all his current undertakings vis-a-vis the client in question with immediate effect,
until such a time as the invoice is paid.
10.3 If the invoice has not been paid on the due date, the client shall be liable, automatically and without notice, to make interest payments at the
rate of 3% above the statutory rate on the due date. In addition, where the invoice has not
been paid on the due date the client shall be liable, automatically and without notice, to pay
a fixed amount of compensation in the sum of 10% of the total invoice sum including VAT,
with a minimum of €50 and a maximum of €3 750, without prejudice to the seller's right to
demonstrate a greater loss and to claim consequent damages.
10.4 The failure to pay any given invoice on the due date shall automatically cause all sums due to the seller from the
same client on the basis of other invoices to become due in full immediately, automatically
and without notice.
10.5 In the event of failure to pay the invoice on the due date, the seller
may, automatically and without notice, immediately repossess the goods supplied.
10.6 The drawing and/or acceptance of bills of exchange or other negotiable instruments implies no
novation and in no way adversely affects the applicability of the present conditions.
10.7 If the client should fail to comply with one of his essential obligations, such as the prompt
payment of the seller's invoices, the seller is entitled to terminate the contract without
prior judicial authority and without prior notice, with immediate effect.
10.8 Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 8, in the event of dispute an invoice must be protested
within 8 days of receipt thereof by the client.
11. Products on stock.
11.1 Products which on the initiative of the customer cannot be hand over on the indicated delivery date, can be, if desured, kept on stock at the supplier.
Products will be invoiced at the latest at the end of the month of the indicated delivery date.
As from the next month stock costs will be charged at 1% per month on the value of the
stocked items.
12. Guarantees to be provided by the client.
12.1 The client undertakes to provide the seller's credit insurer with all the information that this credit insurer deems necessary
to assess the client's credit standing.
12.2 If the amount due to the seller by a client meaning the sum of unpaid invoices and the value of orders still to be fulfilled by the seller,
exceeds the limit determined for the client in question by the seller‘s credit insurer, the
seller has the right to suspend all his obligations to the client with immediate effect until the
amounts due by the client to the seller (including the sums which would have been due had
the seller performed the suspended obligations) once again fall below the above-mentioned
limit.
12.3 If the seller’s confidence in the client’s credit standing is undermined by a court decision against the client, and/or other demonstrable events which damage or could
damage the seller's confidence in the client‘s proper performance of his obligations, the
seller has the right to demand a suitable guarantee of the client. Should the client refuse to
provide a suitable guarantee, the seller is entitled to cancel the order wholly or in part, even
if some or all of the goods have already been dispatched. Under such circumstances, the
client shall automatically and without notice be liable to pay standard compensation of 10%
of the order price, without prejudice to the seller's right to demonstrate a greater loss and
to claim consequent damages.
13. Disputeslll
13.1 Only the courts of the judicial district of Ghent shall be competent in
disputes regarding the establishment performance, non-performance etc., of any contracts
concluded or quotations issued by the seller.
13.2 Only Belgian law shall be applicable to the contracts concluded or quotations issued by the seller, with the exception of the rules of
international private law (including the CISG and other comparable conventions).
14.Responsibility for studies, advice, projects or offers
Unless a new specific
agreement is made , Goveco bvba cannot be held responsible for advice, studies, plans or
offers she proposes freely in good faith. Accordingly to this, the client should always be
assisted by an advisor, a professional engineer or architect, to check the feasibility of his
project as well as the suitability of the ordered material.
15. Guarantee
Unless more favourable mandatory legal provisions come into force, the
seller only provides the following guarantee: the seller shaII replace all parts recognised as
faulty after normal use within a 12-month period after the delivery of the device. The seller
does so free of charge and becomes the owner of the replaced parts The seller must be
given the chance to examine the specific device's installation and circumstances of use
immediately after the anomaly is detected. The seller refuses all responsibility for parts that
have been replaced without its advance written approval. The goods must not be returned
without the seller’s written approval, which does not entail any unfavourable
acknowledgement. If the goods are returned, they remain at the buyer's risk and continue
to be the buyer's liability during transport and when they are with the seller. The seller’s
obligation Is limited to the repair or replacement of the faulty parts — at his discretion — and
shall in no way result in a refund of the sales price or any compensation for direct or
indirect damage. The seller does not provide any other guarantee in addition to the above
provisions and is explicitly exempt from any liability for direct and indirect damage caused
by hidden defects that may affect the delivered goods. The seller is also not liable to pay any
damages on extra-contractual grounds.
16. Interventions
Interventions shall be charged according to the rates that are valid at
the time.