The provisions of these General Terms and Conditions apply to each individual offer and agreement between seller and buyer. The buyer’s purchasing conditions are expressly contradicted unless otherwise agreed in writing between the buyer and seller. These terms and conditions also apply to all contracts between seller and buyer, the execution of which requires the involvement of third parties; exceptions require a written agreement between all parties. If one or more provisions of these terms and conditions are void or declared void, the remaining provisions of these terms and conditions remain in full force and effect.
The product or object of purchase remains the property of the seller until the claims to which the seller is entitled have been settled. Any processing of the object of purchase is carried out by the buyer on behalf of the seller, who also becomes the owner of the newly manufactured items. The buyer may only resell the object of purchase and the objects resulting from their further processing in the ordinary course of business. He already assigns the claims arising from the resale or from any other legal transaction to the seller for his security in the amount of the agreed purchase price.
The seller is not the manufacturer of the goods sold. In the event of defects in the delivered product of purchase, the seller’s liability is therefore limited to replacement delivery of a defect-free object of purchase. Further warranty and damage claims are excluded. The shipping time to our customers is the time specified by the manufacturer of the product for a new delivery to us. The responsible shipping company is liable for any damage to the product that can be traced back to shipping.
German law shall apply to each and every agreement between seller and buyer. Any other (national) law, or (purchase) conditions are explicitly excluded. The Treaty of Vienna (CISG) is explicitly excluded. For the time being, exclusive jurisdiction lies with the Cologne District Court until further clarification of any kind. All decisions and proceedings are decided by courts in Germany.
All offers are subject to change unless they are officially issued as a proforma invoice. Official offers will only be made by issuing a stamped and signed proforma invoice on stationery. The validity of each offer is stated and is not subject to any standard. The Seller will only be bound by the offer if the Buyer confirms acceptance of the offer by paying the entire amount before the due date indicated on the pro forma invoice. Should full payment be received after the stated expiration date, the seller will confirm receipt and inform the buyer whether the offer can still be accepted or not. The prices indicated on the pro forma invoice do not include costs and expenses at the destination, such as VAT, rolling costs, customs clearance costs and/or other government charges, demurrage fees, local administration costs, etc. These items are listed individually. Previous offers and conditions do not automatically apply to future orders. The Seller is entitled to charge price increases if price changes have occurred between the time of the offer and the time of production/delivery, for example in relation to exchange rates, salaries and wages, raw materials, semi-finished products or packaging materials.
Due to the legal situation, e-invoicing will be introduced in Germany from January 1st, 2025. In preparation for this, from September 1st, 2024 we will only accept invoices in PDF or XMLS formats by email. We can therefore no longer process any invoice that reaches us by post. Please take this into account when creating your invoice. Reminders or further steps that are taken due to unpaid invoices that reach us by post are hereby rejected.
Delivery is made on the basis of the Incoterms stated in the proforma invoice. In case of CFR terms, the Buyer is responsible for cargo insurance. The risk of loss or damage to the goods subject to the contract passes to the Buyer upon loading of the goods. The Buyer is obliged to take delivery of the goods immediately after the vessel arrives at the port of destination. Empty containers must be returned to the port by the Buyer immediately after unloading and always remain the property of the shipping company. If the Buyer collects the goods from the port later than the number of free days stated in the consignment note, the Buyer is responsible for paying demurrage costs to the shipping company. If the Buyer has not collected the goods from the port 7 days after the number of free days stated in the consignment note, the Seller is entitled, at its option, to store the goods at the Buyer’s expense and risk or sell the goods to a third party, in which case the Buyer is obliged to compensate the Seller for the storage costs and any losses that may arise from resale. In order to carry out the delivery, the seller requires correct information from the buyer, which is noted on the consignment note. The buyer is responsible for providing correct information. If the seller has specified a delivery period, this is only a guideline. A specific delivery period is therefore not to be understood as a final date. If the ordered goods are stored with us for longer than 10 days and the goods are not paid for, picked up or otherwise clarified with us what happens to the goods, we are entitled to charge storage costs. All goods sent to us must be announced in advance by email or telephone. The delivery must also be confirmed by us. Any unsuccessful delivery that violates these provisions will not be accepted by us as an empty run or anything else, and we will not bear any costs for a delivery that does not take place.
Cologne, 01. September 2024
