GENERAL CONDITIONS of Dutch Premium Horses, in the following called DPH
Article 1. Definitions
1.1. In the absence of explicit statement to the contrary, the terms used in these general terms and conditions are defined as follows.
Article 2: General
These conditions are applicable to all offers, quotations and all contracts between DPH and a client to which DPH has stated that these conditions are applicable, in so far as the parties have not made any specific written agreements to the contrary.
2.1. These terms and conditions are further applicable to all contracts with DPH that are
executed with the assistance of third-parties.
2.2. Departures from these general terms and conditions are valid exclusively if expressly
agreed in writing.
2.3. The applicability of any purchasing or other conditions of the client is expressly rejected.
2.4. If one or more of the provisions of these general terms and conditions or of the accompanying contract are invalid or set aside, the remaining provisions of these general terms and conditions and the contract shall remain applicable in full. DPH and the client will in that case enter into consultation with a view to making agreement on the substitution of the invalid provisions with new ones that approach as closely as possible the purpose and the tenor of the original provisions.
Article 3: Offers and quotations
3.1. All offers are subject to contract unless the offer contains an express written statement to the contrary.
3.2. In the absence of statement to the contrary, the prices stated in the aforementioned
offers and quotations are exclusive of VAT and other governmental levies as well as the costs incurred in relation to the contract, including administration expenses.
3.3. If the acceptance differs (on minor points) to the offer set out in the quotation, DPH is not bound to those differing points. In the absence of statement to the contrary by DPH, the contract will in that case not be formed in keeping with those different points.
3.4. A composite price statement does not oblige DPH to perform part of an order at a
corresponding proportion of the stated price.
3.5. Offers and quotations are not automatically applicable to future orders.
Article 4: Execution of the contract, information and resources
4.1 DPH will execute the contract to the best of his knowledge and ability and in accordance with high standards and in keeping with the expertise the client can reasonably expect of DPH. DPH does not however guarantee that any intended result will be achieved.
4.2. DPH will determine how and by whom the order is carried out, but will act in accordance with the client’s indicated wishes wherever possible. If and in so far as required for the correct execution of the contract, DPH reserves the right to have the work carried out by third-parties.
4.3. The client shall ensure that DPH is provided in full and in good time with all information, as well as amendments thereto, in the form and manner that DPH indicates is necessary for the performance of the contract or which the client could reasonably expected to understand is required both on commencement and during the execution of the contract. If the information required for the execution of the contract is not issued to DPH on time or in full, DPH reserves the right to suspend execution of the contract and/or to charge the client with extra costs incurred as a result of the delay at the current market rates.
4.4. The client shall ensure that DPH is provided in good time with all resources and
facilities that DPH indicates are necessary and which the consumer could reasonably be expected to realise are necessary to the execution of the contract and to ensure that they are available at all times. If sufficient resources or facilities required for the execution of the contract are not issued to DPH, DPH reserves the right to suspend execution of the contract and/or to charge the client with extra costs incurred as a result of the delay at the current market rates.
4.5. DPH cannot be held liable for losses of any nature whatsoever caused by DPH’s use of incorrect and/or incomplete information provided by the client, unless DPH should have been aware of that inaccuracy or incompleteness.
4.6. The client is obliged to inform DPH without delay of changes to the issued information and other facts and circumstances that could be important to execution of the contract.
4.7. If it has been agreed that the contract will be executed in stages, DPH reserves the
right to suspend execution of the components forming part of a subsequent stage until the client has approved the results of the preceding stage in writing.
4.8. If DPH or third-parties engaged by DPH in the context of the order carry out work
at the client’s location or a location indicated by the client, the client shall provide those employees, free of charge, with the facilities that can reasonably be required by those employees.
Article 5: Amendments to the contract
5.1. If during the execution of the contract it becomes apparent that it is necessary to make amendments or additions to the work for the correct execution of the contract, the parties shall enter into consultation in good time and amend the contract accordingly.
5.2. Amendments or additions to the contract that have been agreed by the parties can
result in a change to the completion date. DPH shall inform the client of changes to the completion date as soon as possible. Amendments or additions to the contract do not give the client any entitlement to compensation for damages.
5.3. If the amendment or addition to the contract has any financial and/or quality
implications, DPH shall inform the client of those implications in advance. DPH has the right to charge additional costs to the client.
5.4. If a fixed fee has been agreed, DPH shall further indicate the extent to which the
amendment or addition to the contract will result in that fee being exceeded.
Article 6: Duration of the contract; period of execution
6.1. The contract between DPH and a client is entered into for an indefinite period of time unless the nature of the contract provides otherwise or the parties make express and written agreement to the contrary.
6.2. Unless it has been established that execution of the contract has become permanently impossible, the contract cannot be dissolved by the client owing to the term being exceeded unless DPH also fails to execute the contract or execute it in full within a reasonable period of time that he has indicated in writing following expiry of the agreed time of delivery.
Article 7: Termination
7.1. Either party is authorised to terminate a contract for consulting or services with due observance of a notice period considered reasonable in the circumstances and towards the end of a calendar month unless otherwise agreed by the parties. Notice must be given in writing.
7.2. If the contract is prematurely terminated (if the contract was entered into for a fixed period of time) by the client, DPH has the right to compensation for damages in respect of resulting and demonstrable loss of capacity utilisation unless the termination is in response to facts and circumstances that can be attributed to DPH. The client is further obliged to pay the bills for work carried out up until that time.
7.3. If the contract for services is prematurely terminated by DPH, DPH will arrange in consultation with the client for the work not yet carried out to be transferred to third-parties, unless the termination is in response to facts and circumstances that can be attributed to the client.
7.4. If DPH incurs extra costs when transferring the work, the client shall be obliged to compensate DPH for those costs with due observance of the provisions of articles 8 and 9 of these general terms and conditions.
Article 8: Fee
8.1. The parties can agree upon a fixed fee for consulting or services when forming the contract.
8.2. If a fixed fee is not agreed, the fee will be calculated on the basis of the hours actually worked. The fee will be calculated at DPH’s customary hourly rates applicable to the time period in which the work is carried out unless a different hourly rate has been agreed.
8.3. The fee and any cost estimates are exclusive of VAT.
8.4. For orders with a term of more than two months the payable costs will be charged periodically.
8.5. If DPH agrees on a fixed fee or hourly rate with the client, DPH shall none the less be entitled to increase that fee or rate, in cases where amendments or additions are made to the contract, for example.
8.6. DPH is further authorised to pass on price increases to the client if cost-determining factors such as salaries are increased between the time of the quotation and delivery.
8.7. DPH is further entitled to increase the fee if, during the performance of the work, it becomes apparent that the originally agreed or anticipated amount of work was underestimated when the contract was entered into, for reasons that cannot be attributed to DPH, to such an extent that DPH cannot reasonably be expected to perform the agreed work for the originally agreed fee. DPH will inform the client of his intention to increase the fee or rate. DPH will state the amount of the increase and the date on which it will come into effect.
Article 9: Payment
9.1. Payment is due within 14 days of the invoice date, without any deduction, discount or set-off, by depositing or transferring the payable amount to the bank or bank giro account stipulated by DPH. Objections to the level of the bills do not suspend the payment obligation.
9.2. If the client fails to remit payment within the 14-day period, the client shall be held in default by operation of law. The client shall in that case be liable for the payment of interest equal to the statutory commercial interest rate at that time. The interest over the payable amount shall be calculated from the time at which the client was held in default until the time of full and final settlement, in which context part of a month shall be deemed to be a full month.
9.3. In the event of the client being liquidated, declared bankrupt or granted suspension of payment, the claims of DPH on the client shall become immediately due and payable.
Article 10: Retention of title
10.1. All horses and goods delivered by DPH remain the property of DPH until the client has met in full all of the obligations under the contract entered into with DPH; this to be decided at DPH’s discretion.
10.2. The client is not authorised to pledge or encumber in any other way the goods covered by retention of title.
10.3. The client is obliged to insurance goods delivered under retention of title and to keep them insured against fire, explosion and water damage and against theft and to issue the insurance policy for inspection on demand.
10.4. Goods delivered by DPH and which are covered by retention of title as provided for under paragraph 1 of this article may only be sold on in the context of normal business operations and may not under any circumstances be used as a means of payment.
10.5. In the event of DPH wishing to exercise his property rights as provided for in this article, the client hereby gives unconditional and irrevocable permission, now for then, for DPH or third-parties engaged by DPH to enter the places where the property of DPH is located and to repossess that property.
Article 11: Collection costs
11.1. All judicial and extrajudicial (debt collection) costs reasonably incurred by DPH in connection with the client’s non-compliance or late compliance with his payment obligations shall be for the client’s account.
11.2. The client is liable for payment of interest over the debt collection costs.
Article 12: Inspection, complaints
12.1. Complaints about the work carried out must be lodged in writing by the client to DPH within eight days of the faults being established, but 14 days at the latest following completion of the work in question. The notice of default should contain a description of the failure to perform in as much detail as possible so that DPH is able to put forward an adequate responsible. A claim does not suspend the client’s payment obligation other than if and insofar as DPH has informed the client in writing that he regards the claim as being well-founded or well-founded in part.
12.2. If the complaint is well-founded, DPH shall as yet carry out the work as agreed unless that is demonstrable no longer of any benefit to the client. The client shall be responsible for indicating that that is the case in writing.
12.3. If it is no longer possible or beneficial to carry out the agreed work, DPH can repay a proportion of the fee already paid without continuing to carry out the order and DPH can only be held liable in that regard within the constraints set forth in article 16.
Article 13: Expiry period
13.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of article 12, the client is obliged if he is or remains of the opinion that DPH has failed to implement the contract on time, completely or correctly – unless this is done subject to the provisions of article 12.1 – to notify DPH as such in writing and without delay and to exercise his rights to institute claims on that basis within one year of the date of that notification, or within one year of the time at which notification should have taken place, in the absence of which all of his rights and claims in that regard shall lapse upon expiry of the period set forth above.
Article 14: Suspension and dissolution
14.1. DPH is authorised to suspend compliance with his obligations or to dissolve the contract if:
– The client fails to meet his contractual obligations or meet them in full.
– After entering into the contract, DPH becomes aware of circumstances that give
DPH good grounds to presume that the client will not meet his obligations. If there are good grounds for presuming that the client will only meet his obligations in part or not adequately, the suspension shall only be permitted if justified by the shortcoming.
– Upon entering into the contract the client was required to furnish security for
meeting his contractual obligations and has failed to provide that or sufficient security.
14.2. DPH is further authorised to dissolve the contract or have it dissolved if circumstances arise of such a nature that compliance with the contract is no longer possible or can no longer be required according to the standards of fairness and equity of if circumstances arise of such a nature that the contract cannot reasonably be left in effect in unamended form.
14.3. If the contract is dissolved, the claims of DPH on the client shall become immediately due and payable. If DPH suspends compliance with his obligations, he retains his claims by law and under the contract.
14.4. DPH reserves the right at all times to claim compensation for damages.
Article 15: Return of issued goods
15.1. If DPH has issued the client with goods during implementation of the contract, the client is obliged to return those goods in their original condition, free of defects and complete within 14 days of DPH’s first request for him to do so.
15.2. If the client fails to meet the obligation set out above under 15.1, the client will be obliged to compensate DPH for the losses and costs arising thereof, including the replacement costs.
Article 16: Liability
16.1. In the event of DPH being held liable, that liability shall be limited to the provisions of this clause.
16.2 DPH’s liability for losses suffered by the client as a result of the order not being carried out on time, in full or correctly is limited to a maximum of twice the amount of the fee charged by DPH to the client for the performance of the work in which the cause of the loss occurred, subject to the proviso that this relates exclusively to the fee payable during the last three months in which that work was carried out. The compensation payable by DPH to the client cannot however under any circumstances exceed the amount for which DPH’s liability is insured, or a maximum amount of 50% of the contract value if no cover is provided by that insurance. The above is subject to exception in cases of intentional act or omission on par with gross negligence on the part of DPH. For the purpose of this and subsequent clauses of this article DPH is also defined as DPH’s employees and third-parties he has engaged for the implementation of the order.
16.3 DPH cannot be held liable for losses caused by the client’s failure to meet the disclosure obligation pursuant to article 4.3 or the fact that the information provided by the client is not in keeping with the provisions of article 4.5, unless those losses are the result of intentional act or omission or causes on par with gross negligence on the part of DPH.
16.4 Neither can DPH be held liable for losses caused by acts or omissions of third-parties engaged by the client during implementation of the order, unless those losses have been caused by intentional act or omission or causes on par with gross negligence on the part of DPH.
16.5 DPH is further authorised at all times to maximally limit or reverse the client’s loss, for which the client is obliged to cooperate in full.
16.6 DPH cannot under any circumstances be held liable for indirect losses, including consequential losses, loss of income, missed savings or losses caused by business stagnation. The above is subject to exception in cases of intentional act or omission on par with gross negligence on the part of DPH.
Article 17: Indemnification
17.1. The client indemnifies DPH against claims of third-parties regarding intellectual property rights on materials or information issued to the client and which are used during implementation of the contract.
17.3 The client indemnifies DPH against claims of third-parties regarding losses related to or arising from the order implemented by DPH if and insofar as DPH is not liable to the client in that respect by virtue of the provisions of article 16.
Article 18: Transfer of risk
18.1. The risk of the horses or goods forming the subject of the contract being injured, lost or damaged shall transfer to the client at the time at which they are legally and/or actually delivered to the client and are thus placed at the client’s disposal or a third-party nominated by the client for that purpose.
Article 19. Force majeure
19.1. The parties are not be required to comply with any obligation if prevented from doing so as a result of a circumstance that is beyond their control and for which they cannot be held accountable by virtue of the law, a juristic act or generally accepted views.
19.2. In these general conditions, force majeure is defined – in addition to that which is deemed as such by law and legal precedent – as all circumstances, foreseen or unforeseen, that are beyond the control of DPH but which prevent DPH from meeting his obligations. That includes strikes at DPH’s business.
19.3. DPH shall also be entitled to invoke force majeure if the circumstance preventing (further) compliance occurs after DPH should have met his obligations.
19.4. The parties can suspend their contractual obligations during the period of force majeure. If the period of force majeure lasts for longer than two months, either party shall be entitled to dissolve the contract without being obliged to pay any compensation for damages to the other party.
19.5. If DPH has already partly met or will partly meet his contractual obligations when the period of force majeure begins and independent value can be attached to the obligations complied with or to be complied with, DPH reserves the right to separately charge for the obligations already complied with or to be complied with. The client is obliged to pay that charge as though it were a separate contract.
Article 20: Confidentiality
20.1. Both parties are obliged to protect the confidentiality of all confidential information that they obtain from each other or from other sources in the context of their contract. Information is deemed to be confidential if the other party has been informed that is the case or if that is apparent from the nature of the information.
20.2. If DPH is obliged pursuant to a statutory provision or a legal ruling to disclose confidential information to third-parties designated by the law or the court with competent jurisdiction, and DPH is unable to invoke a right to privilege recognised or permitted by statute or by the court with competent jurisdiction, DPH is not obliged to pay compensation for damages or other compensation and the counterparty is not entitled to dissolve the contract on the ground of any losses thus caused.
Article 22. No-takeover of personnel
22.1. During the term of the contract and for one year following its termination the client will refrain from employing or otherwise making use of the services, directly or indirectly, of employees of DPH or of companies engaged by DPH for the implementation of this contract or which are or have been involved in the implementation of the contract other than following proper consultation on that subject with DPH.
Article 23: Disputes
23.1. In the absence of mandatory rules of law to the contrary, the court in DPH’s place of establishment has exclusive competent jurisdiction.
23.2. The parties shall not refer a matter to court until they have done their utmost to resolve the dispute in mutual consultation.
Article 24: Applicable law
24.1. All legal relationships between DPH and the client to which these general conditions apply shall be governed by the laws of theNetherlands. The Vienna Sales Convention is expressly excluded.
Article 25. Source of the conditions
25.1 These conditions have been filed at the offices of the Chamber of Commerce in Lelystad, theNetherlands
25.2 The most recently filed version or the version that was applicable at the time at which the contract was formulated shall be applicable at all times.