General terms

Our deliveries and related services are subject exclusively to the following terms and conditions of sale. No other terms and conditions shall become part of the contract, even if we do not expressly object to them. Any deviation from the present Terms of Sale require our express written approval. The Terms of Sale shall apply only if the Buyer is an entrepreneur, Sect. 14 BGB (German Civil Code), a legal person under public law, or a special fund under public law. References to the applicability of statutory provisions shall only have the meaning of clarification. Therefore, even without such clarification, the statutory provisions shall apply, unless they are directly amended or expressly excluded in these General Terms and Conditions of Sale.

1. Offers / Conclusion of contract

1.1 All our offers are made without obligation.
1.2 The order the Buyer places for goods shall be considered a binding offer to contract. Unless such order states otherwise, we are entitled to accept such offer to contract within two weeks from receiving it.
1.3 Acceptance may be declared either in writing (e.g. by confirming the order) or by delivering the goods to the Buyer.

2. Prices

In the event that, within the period of time between the conclusion of the contract and delivery, we generally change our prices for the products to be delivered, we shall be entitled to apply the price that is valid on the day of delivery. In the case of an increase of the price, the Buyer shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract within 14 days of the notification of the price increase.

3. Product regulations and product information

3.1 Our products are intended for professional use.
3.2 Deviations from product information are permitted, provided they are insignificant or unavoidable despite exercising all due care.

4. Loading, delivery

4.1 In the case of loading ex works, storage, or the shipping point, the net weight determined there shall apply.
4.2 Delivery times are non-binding and subject to change.
4.3 In the case that „carriage paid to agreed destination“ (CPT) is agreed for delivery, the risk of loss or damage shall pass to the Buyer on delivery of the goods to the first carrier. This shall apply even if the goods are delivered to the carrier at a location other than the place of performance.

5. Packaging

We deliver our products in their original shipping units on the basis of our current valid price list.

6. Payment

6.1 Payment date: In the absence of any other payment arrangements, payment shall be effected in full within 30 days from the invoice date.
6.2 Punctuality: A payment shall be considered punctual, if, on the due date, the invoiced amount is credited to the account stated in the invoice.
6.3 Late payment: We are entitled to charge interest on the purchase price at the then applicable statutory rate of default interest, without any prior warning. We reserve the right to claim additional damages caused by default. Our claim to commercial default interest (Sect. 353 of the German Commercial Code – “HGB“) vis-à-vis merchants shall not be affected.

7. Advice and information

We provide all advice and information to the best of our knowledge and based on our research work and experience. All information and data relating to the suitability and use of our goods is non-binding, in particular it shall not qualify as a guarantee as defined by Sect. 444 BGB. It does not release the Buyer from carrying out own inspections and tests.

8. Claims based on defects

8.1 The Buyer’s claims based on defects are subject to the Buyer’s own fulfilment of his statutory obligations to inspect the goods and give notice of any defects (SS 377, 381 HGB). If a defect emerges during inspection or thereafter, we must be notified in writing without delay. Such notice is without delay if it is made within five (5) working days. Irrespective of the obligation to inspect the goods and give notice of defects, the Buyer shall make written notice of any evident defects (including delivery of the wrong goods or short deliveries) within five (5) working days from delivery. If the Buyer fails to make the due and proper inspection and/or notice of a defect, our liability for any defect not notified shall be excluded.
8.2 In the case of justified notices of defects, we will subsequently deliver the missing quantities or exchange the goods. Should we not be able to exchange the goods or if the replacement delivery is defective, we will, at the Buyer’s choice, either take back the goods or grant a price discount.
8.3 We are entitled to make subsequent delivery conditional upon the payment of the due purchase price by the Buyer.
8.4 The Buyer shall be liable for ensuring that the products we deliver comply with the valid laws and regulations in the country of destination, especially regarding import, delivery, storage, and use.

9. Liability

9.1 Unless otherwise stipulated in the present Terms of Sale including the provisions herein-below, our liability for breaches of contractual and non-contractual obligations shall be governed by statutory law.
9.2 We shall be liable for damages – regardless of their cause – in the case of wilful intent and gross negligence within the framework of the fault-based liability regime. In the case of simple negligence, we shall be liable according to statutory provisions under reservation of a milder liability regime (e.g. the level of care exercised in own matters)
a) for damage resulting from an injury to life, the body, or health,
b) for damage resulting from the significant breach of an essential contractual obligation (an obligation the fulfilment of which is conditio sine qua non for the due performance of the contract and upon the observance of which the contracting party may regularly rely); in this case, however, our liability is limited to compensation for the foreseeable damage that typically occurs.
9.3 The limitations of liability resulting from No. 9.2 shall also apply in the case of a breach of an obligation by, resp. for the benefit of, a person for whose fault we are responsible for under statutory law. They shall not apply in the case that we fraudulently concealed a defect, or granted a guarantee for the quality of the goods, and/or for claims of the Buyer based on the German Product Liability Act (German: Produkthaftungsgesetz).

10. Limitation

10.1 The Buyer’s claims based on defects shall expire one year from the start of the statutory period of limitation.
10.2 The abovementioned limitation periods under the laws governing the sale of goods or services shall apply likewise to contractual and extra-contractual damages claims of the Buyer that are based on a defect of the goods, unless the application of the regular statutory limitation period (SS 195, 199 BGB) would lead to a shorter limitation period in the individual case. Damages claims of the Buyer within the framework of the fault-based liability regime in the case of wilful intent and gross negligence, for damage from an injury to life, the body, or health, and under the German Product Liability Act, shall expire exclusively in accordance with the statutory limitation periods. Other special limitation statutes, in particular in the cases of third party claims to in rem surrender (Sect. 438, para. 1, no. 1), seller’s malicious or fraudulent intent (Section 438, para. 3), and/or recourse against the supplier in the case of end delivery to a consumer (Sect. 479 BGB), shall not be affected.

11. Force majeure

All and any events and circumstances which to prevent is beyond our control, e.g. nature phenomena, war, industrial action, shortages of raw materials and energy, unavoidable transport or operational disruption, damage caused by fire and/or explosion, sovereign acts, and all other cases of force majeure, shall release us from our contractual obligations for the duration of the disturbance and to the extent of its impact. This shall apply likewise if the events or circumstances foreseeably render the performance of the transaction uneconomical in the long term, or occurred at our suppliers. If such an event continues for longer than 3 months, we are entitled to withdraw from the contract. Effects and consequences of events and circumstances known at the time of the conclusion of the respective contract may nevertheless be considered force majeure if the effects and consequences were not foreseeable for us at the time of the conclusion of the respective contract.

12. Set-off, right to withhold performance and retention rights; security

12.1 Off-setting against claims other than undisputed claims or claims that are res judicata, and exercising retention rights or rights to withhold performance on the grounds of claims other than undisputed counterclaims or counterclaims that are res judicata, shall require our prior approval.
12.2 In the case of founded doubts as to the Buyer’s ability to pay, in particular if the Buyer is in arrears with payment, we may demand security and/or revoke any payment dates granted, under reservation of additional claims for other deliveries.

13. Reservation of ownership

We reserve our ownership of the goods delivered until all payments have been fully effected.

14. Incoterms

Trade terms shall be interpreted in line with the valid Incoterms as amended at the time of the delivery.

15. Place of performance, place of jurisdiction and applicable law

15.1 The place of performance for the Buyer and the place of jurisdiction is Münster. We are entitled, however, to also bring an action against the Buyer at his general place of jurisdiction.
15.2 The contract is governed by German law to the exclusion of UN Sales Law.
15.3 In the case of the invalidity of one or more than one provisions in the present Terms of Sale, the contracting parties shall agree a valid substitute provision that comes as close as possible economically to the invalid provision.

16. Contract language

In case these General Conditions of Sale/Export are made known to Buyer in his native language in addition to the language in which the sales contract has been concluded (“contract language”), this is merely done for Buyer’s convenience. In case of differences in interpretation, the version in the contract language shall be valid.

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Münster, January 2024

COMPO EXPERT GmbH
Krögerweg 10
D-48155 Münster

Company’s registered offices Münster
Register court Amtsgericht Münster
Registration no. HRB 14034