General Terms and Conditions
As of: 26.01.2012
1. Application
Our General Terms and Conditions are a component of the contract and apply to all, thus also future, deals, deliveries and services of the Gieß- Technische-Sonderkeramik GmbH & Co. KG (in the following named GTS) with the customer. They will be accepted by the customer to their full extent in the version valid at the time of the business transaction. Regulations deviating from these conditions, especially also business conditions of the customer, are herewith contradicted. We point out that it is possible to accept the GTCs in the internet under www.gts-keramik.de
OThe company address is:
Gieß- Technische- Sonderkeramik GmbH & Co. KG
CEO: Andreas Müller
Koppersstr. 29
40549 Düsseldorf
2. Offers and contract conclusion
2.1 All offers are always free of obligation and non-binding up to our order confirmation in writing.
2.2 Collateral agreements are only valid if they are confirmed in writing.
2.3 GTS expressly reserves the right to price changes, technical changes, mistakes, printing errors or intermediate sale.
3. Prices
The prices are in Euros plus legal VAT without early payment discount and other deductions. The prices at the time of ordering are valid. For delivery into EU countries, the present VAT tax rates of the Federal Republic of Germany are valid; with non-EU countries, the order value will be shortened by this amount. The customary import turnover tax is to be borne by the customer. The prices given in the offers and order confirmations are non-obligatory; they are valid ex works and do not include packaging, transportation, postage, guaranteed value and VAT.
4. Payment conditions
4.1 Purchase price including all costs is due from accounting.
4.2 The payments are to be made gross without discounts or any other deductions, as long as another mode of payment has not been expressly agreed in writing.
4.3 With delay of the customer, GTS is entitled to assert default interest according to the law for the acceleration of due payments. Compensation claims going beyond this remain unaffected by this.
4.4 The customer can only offset against the claims of GTS if the counterclaim of the customer is undisputed or there is a legally binding title.
5. Reservation of title
5.1 Each delivery ensues under reservation of title; only with complete payment of the invoice does the title transfer to the customer. Up to this time the goods must not be pledged, assigned by way of security or be encumbered with other rights.
5.2 The purchaser is bound to insure the reserved goods on his costs to our benefit sufficiently against fire and water damages as well as theft and burglary. Any insurance claims arising in the event of damage have already been assigned to us. The assignment of claims is accepted.
6. Shipping charges
6.1 In addition to the value of the goods, the shipping costs given at the completion of the order are to be paid.
6.2 GTS expressly reserves the right, in case it is necessary and conditioned by the character of the order, to demand higher shipping charges in consultation with the customer.
6.3 With non-EU countries, individual freight costs are calculated of which the customer will be informed following an order. After this he can either confirm the order or cancel it.
7. Order
The order of the customer is binding; it is only considered accepted with our written order confirmation, invoice or the shipment of the goods to the purchaser.
8. Right of Revocation
8.1 In ordering over the internet, the consumer (not the trade customer) has the right to revoke the purchase contract without giving reasons within 14 days from reception of the goods or to return the goods. For the observation of this deadline, it suffices to send the revocation off in good time. Then a reverse transaction of the contract will ensue step by step.
8.2 If the goods were used and have signs of wear, the purchase can likewise only be revoked within the legal deadline of 14 days. We reserve the right to charge the consumer the decrease in value and value of the use of the goods.
8.3 If the revocation concerns goods to a value of not more than 40 Euros, thus the purchaser has to bear the return costs unless the delivered goods do not correspond to the ones ordered.
8.4 When damaged goods are returned, we are entitled to assert compensation claims.
8.5 If the commercial purchaser refuses to accept the goods or if he withdraws from the order, thus we reserve the right to assert 25% of the agreed purchase price as lump sum compensation. With custom-made articles or goods especially ordered for the customer, a lump sum compensation of 60% is seen as agreed on.
9. Notice of defects – warranty – Liability
9.1 Insofar as nothing deviating is agreed on, the legal warranty period of 24 months is valid for not obvious defects. With obvious defects, the customer has to report them two weeks after reception of the goods in writing presenting the copy of the invoice, otherwise warranty claims for obvious defects are excluded. The legal provisions of the commercial code apply to notices of defects by merchants.
9.2 The customer is bound to allow us to check the defective goods. When a defective object has been delivered, the customer has the choice of a claim to subsequent improvement of the defective object or replacement delivery. Only if a subsequent improvement or first replacement delivery fails, the customer can assert his right to withdraw from the contract (rescission) or reducing of the purchase price (reduction). In the case of a subsequent fulfilment, the customer is however bound to return the defective object as well as pay compensation for the benefit of use.
9.3 There is no guarantee obligation for damages due to normal wear as well as incorrect handling. We carry the risk in returning goods rightly rejected. We also pay when the goods are sent anew.
9.4 We are exclusively liable for damages arising from the violation of essential contractual main responsibilities (cardinal duties). A further liability only arises from the product liability law, or due to intentional or grossly negligent behaviour by us or our vicarious agents.
10. Limitation of liability
10.1 The GTS guarantees that the contract products are not afflicted with defects, which also include the absence of warranted characteristics. The production of the contract products ensues with all necessary care. The contract parties are however aware of the fact that it is not possible, according to the present state of the art, to exclude errors in the end-product under all application conditions. Technical characteristics and descriptions in production information alone do not present any assurance of certain features, insofar as they have no effects on quality and usability of the objects. Therefore, customary deviations remain reserved. An assurance of characteristics is only given in the legal sense if the respective information was confirmed in writing by GTS. The liability of GTS is exclusively based on the agreements made in the previous section. This is not valid in case of gross fault or intent.
10.2 The liability limitation applies to contractual as well as non-contractual claims.
10.3 All deliveries to commercial resellers are subject to the reservations of correct and timely self-delivery. A delivery period begins as soon as all order conditions were agreed on. It extends, regardless of our rights with customer delays, by the time which the customer is in delay. Partial deliveries are basically permitted and bind the buyer to accept, unless something else was expressly agreed on during the contract conclusion.
10.4 Delay in delivery which occurs due to force majeure or due to events which make the delivery essentially more difficult or impossible – for example business disruptions, strikes, official orders, natural catastrophes, etc.- frees GTS from observing certain agreed on delivery periods.
10.5 The customer can withdraw from the contract if we are in delay and have let an extension of time of 4 weeks expire unused.
11. Data protection
In handling your personal data, we observe all provisions of the data protection law, and are entitled to process and store all data concerning the business relations with the customer observing this law. Furthermore, we are authorised according to applicable law to obtain details about creditworthiness from mercantile and credit enquiry agencies.
12. Place of jurisdiction
The following place of jurisdiction agreement is only valid for the business transactions with merchants. If the customer of GTS is a merchant in the sense of the law, the place of performance and the place of jurisdiction is Düsseldorf. Regarding a consumer as customer, the general place of jurisdiction follows the code of civil procedure. The contractual relationship is subject to German law.
13. Severability clause
Should single provisions of these terms and conditions be or become totally or partially invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions is not affected. The contract parties are bound in this case to interpret and formulate the provisions in such a way that the success striven for with the void or legally invalid parts is attained as far as possible.