General Terms and Conditions of Sale

§ 1 Scope of application, form

(1) These General Terms and Conditions of Sale (“GTCS”) apply to all our business relations with our customers ("Buyer"). The GTCS only apply if the Buyer is an entrepreneur (§ 14 BGB), a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law.

(2) The GTCS apply in particular to contracts for the sale and/or delivery of movable goods ("goods"), irrespective of whether we manufacture the goods ourselves or purchase them from suppliers (§§ 433, 650 BGB). Unless otherwise agreed, the GTCS in the version valid at the time of the Buyer's order or in any case in the version last notified to him in text form shall also apply as a framework agreement for similar future contracts without us having to refer to them again in each individual case.

(3) The GTCS shall apply exclusively. Deviating, conflicting or supplementary general terms and conditions of the Buyer shall only become part of the contract if and to the extent that we have expressly agreed to their validity. This requirement of consent shall apply in any case, for example even if we carry out the delivery to the Buyer without reservation in full knowledge of the Buyer's general terms and conditions.

(4) Individual agreements made in individual cases with the Buyer (including collateral agreements, supplements and amendments) shall in any case take precedence over these GTCS. Subject to proof to the contrary, the content of such agreements shall be governed by a written contract or our written confirmation.

(5) Legally relevant declarations and notifications of the Buyer with regard to the contract (e.g. setting of a deadline, notification of defects, withdrawal or reduction) must be made in writing, i.e. in written or text form (e.g. letter, e-mail, fax). Legal formal requirements and further evidence, in particular in cases of doubt as to the legitimacy of the declarant, remain unaffected.

(6) References to the validity of statutory provisions have only clarifying significance. Even without such clarification, the statutory provisions shall therefore apply insofar as they are not directly amended or expressly excluded in these GTCS.

§ 2 Conclusion of contract

(1) Our offers are subject to confirmation and non-binding. This shall also apply if we have provided the Buyer with catalogues, documentation (e.g. calculations or calculations), other product descriptions or documents - also in electronic form - to which we reserve ownership rights and copyrights.

(2) The order of the goods by the Buyer is considered as a binding contract offer. Unless otherwise stated in the order, we shall be entitled to accept this contractual offer within four (4) weeks of its receipt by us.

(3) Acceptance can be declared either in writing (e.g. by order confirmation) or by delivery of the goods to the Buyer.

§ 3 Delivery period and delay in delivery

(1) The delivery period shall be agreed individually or specified by us upon acceptance of the order. If this is not the case, the delivery period shall be approx. four (4) weeks from conclusion of the contract.

(2) If we are unable to comply with binding delivery periods for reasons for which we are not responsible (non-availability of performance), we shall inform the Buyer immediately thereof and at the same time inform the Buyer of the expected new delivery period. If the performance is also not available within the new delivery period, we shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract in whole or in part; we shall immediately reimburse any consideration already rendered by the Buyer. In particular, the non-availability of the service in this sense shall be deemed to be the non-timely self-delivery by our supplier if we have concluded a congruent hedging transaction, neither we nor our supplier are at fault or we are not obliged to procure in individual cases.

(3) The occurrence of our delay in delivery shall be determined in accordance with the statutory provisions. In any case a reminder by the Buyer is necessary. If we are in default of delivery, the Buyer may demand lump-sum compensation for the damage caused by the delay. For each completed calendar week of delay, the lump-sum compensation shall amount to 0.5% of the net price (delivery value), but not more than a total of 5% of the delivery value of the goods delivered late. We reserve the right to prove that the Buyer has suffered no damage at all or only a significantly lower damage than the above flat rate.

(4) The Buyer's rights pursuant to § 8 of these GTCS and our statutory rights, in particular in the event of exclusion of the obligation to perform (e.g. due to impossibility or unreasonability of performance and/or subsequent performance), shall remain unaffected.

§ 4 Delivery, passing of risk, acceptance, default of acceptance

(1) Delivery shall be ex warehouse, where the place of performance for the delivery and any subsequent performance shall also be. At the request and expense of the Buyer, the goods will be shipped to another destination (mail order purchase). Unless otherwise agreed, we shall be entitled to determine the type of dispatch (in particular transport company, dispatch route, packaging) ourselves.

(2) The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods shall pass to the Buyer at the latest when the goods are handed over. In the case of sale by delivery to destination, however, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods as well as the risk of delay shall pass upon delivery of the goods to the freight forwarder, carrier or other person or institution designated to carry out the shipment. If acceptance has been agreed, this shall be decisive for the transfer of risk. For the rest, the statutory provisions of the law governing contracts for work and services shall also apply mutatis mutandis to an agreed acceptance. The handover or acceptance shall be deemed to have taken place if the Buyer is in default of acceptance.

(3) If the Buyer is in default of acceptance, fails to cooperate or delays our delivery for other reasons for which the Buyer is responsible, we shall be entitled to demand compensation for the resulting damage including additional expenses (e.g. storage costs).

The proof of higher damages and our statutory claims (in particular reimbursement of additional expenses, appropriate compensation, termination) shall remain unaffected; however, the lump sum shall be set off against further monetary claims. The Buyer shall be entitled to prove that we have incurred no damage at all or only considerably less damage than the above flat rate.

§ 5 Prices and terms of payment

(1) Unless otherwise agreed in individual cases, our prices valid at the time of conclusion of the contract shall apply, ex warehouse, plus statutory value-added tax.

(2) In the case of sale by delivery to destination (§ 4 paragraph 1), the Buyer shall bear the transport costs ex warehouse and the costs of any transport insurance requested by the Buyer. Any customs duties, fees, taxes and other public charges shall be borne by the Buyer.

(3) The purchase price is due and payable within 14 days of invoicing and delivery or acceptance of the goods. However, even within the framework of an ongoing business relationship, we are entitled at any time to make a delivery in whole or in part only against advance payment. We declare a corresponding reservation at the latest with the order confirmation.

(4) The Buyer shall be in default upon expiry of the aforementioned payment period. The purchase price shall bear interest during the period of default at the statutory default interest rate applicable from time to time. We reserve the right to assert further claims for damages caused by default. Our claim against merchants to commercial interest on maturity (§ 353 HGB) remains unaffected.

(5) The Buyer shall only be entitled to set-off or retention rights to the extent that his claim is legally established or undisputed. In the event of defects in the delivery, the Buyer's counter rights shall remain unaffected, in particular pursuant to § 7 para. 6 sentence 2 of these GTCS.

(6) If it becomes apparent after conclusion of the contract (e.g. by filing for the opening of insolvency proceedings) that our claim to the purchase price is at risk due to the Buyer's inability to pay, we shall be entitled in accordance with the statutory provisions to refuse performance and - if necessary after setting a deadline - to withdraw from the contract (§ 321 BGB). In the case of contracts for the manufacture of unjustifiable items (custom-made items), we can declare our withdrawal immediately; the statutory provisions on the dispensability of setting a deadline remain unaffected.

§ 6 Retention of title

(1) Until full payment of all our current and future claims from the purchase contract and an ongoing business relationship (secured claims), we reserve title to the sold goods.

(2) The goods subject to retention of title may neither be pledged to third parties nor transferred by way of security prior to full payment of the secured claims. The Buyer must notify us immediately in writing if an application is made to open insolvency proceedings or if the goods belonging to us are seized by third parties (e.g. seizures).

(3) In the event of breach of contract by the Buyer, in particular non-payment of the purchase price due, we shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract in accordance with the statutory provisions and/or demand the return of the goods on the basis of retention of title. The demand for surrender does not at the same time include the declaration of withdrawal from the contract; we are rather entitled to merely demand surrender of the goods and to reserve the right to withdraw from the contract. If the Buyer does not pay the due purchase price, we may only assert these rights if we have previously unsuccessfully set the Buyer a reasonable deadline for payment or if such setting of a deadline is dispensable under the statutory provisions.

(4) Until revoked in accordance with (c) below, the Buyer shall be entitled to resell and/or process the goods subject to retention of title in the ordinary course of business. In this case, the following provisions shall apply in addition.

(a) The retention of title shall extend to the full value of the products resulting from the processing, mixing or combining of our goods, whereby we shall be deemed the manufacturer. If the ownership rights of third parties remain in force in the event of processing, mixing or combination with goods of third parties, we shall acquire co-ownership in proportion to the invoice values of the processed, mixed or combined goods. For the rest, the same shall apply to the resulting product as to the goods delivered under retention of title.

(b) The Buyer hereby assigns to us by way of security any claims against third parties arising from the resale of the goods or the product as a whole or in the amount of our possible co-ownership share pursuant to the preceding paragraph. We accept the assignment. The obligations of the Buyer stated in paragraph 2 shall also apply with regard to the assigned claims.

(c) The Buyer remains authorised to collect the claim alongside us. We undertake not to collect the claim as long as the Buyer meets his payment obligations towards us, there is no defect in his ability to pay and we do not assert the retention of title by exercising a right in accordance with paragraph 3. If this is the case, however, we may demand that the Buyer informs us of the assigned claims and their debtors, provides all information necessary for collection, hands over the relevant documents and informs the debtors (third parties) of the assignment. In this case we shall also be entitled to revoke the Buyer's authority to further sell and process the goods subject to retention of title.

(d) If the realisable value of the securities exceeds our claims by more than 10%, we shall release securities of our choice at the Buyer's request.

§ 7 Warranty claims of the Buyer

(1) The statutory provisions shall apply to the Buyer's rights in the event of material defects and defects of title (including incorrect and short delivery as well as improper assembly or defective assembly instructions), unless otherwise specified below. In all cases, the statutory special provisions shall remain unaffected upon final delivery of the unprocessed goods to a consumer, even if the consumer has further processed them (supplier recourse pursuant to §§ 478 BGB). Claims from supplier recourse are excluded if the defective goods have been further processed by the Buyer or another entrepreneur, e.g. by installation in another product.

(2) The basis of our liability for defects is above all the agreement reached on the quality of the goods. All product descriptions and manufacturer details which are the subject of the individual contract or which were made public by us (in particular in catalogues or on our Internet homepage) at the time the contract was concluded shall be deemed to be an agreement on the quality of the goods.

(3) Insofar as the quality has not been agreed, it shall be assessed according to the statutory provisions whether a defect exists or not (§ 434 Para. 1 S. 2 and 3 BGB). However, we accept no liability for public statements made by the manufacturer or other third parties (e.g. advertising statements) to which the Buyer has not referred us as decisive for the Buyer's purchase.

(4) The Buyer's claims based on defects presuppose that he has fulfilled his statutory obligations to inspect and give notice of defects (§§ 377, 381 HGB). If a defect becomes apparent upon delivery, inspection or at any later point in time, we must be notified thereof in writing without delay. In any case, obvious defects must be reported in writing within a few working days of delivery and defects not recognisable during inspection within the same period of discovery. If the Buyer fails to properly inspect the goods and/or to notify us of any defects, our liability for the defect not reported, or not reported in a timely manner, or not properly reported, shall be excluded in accordance with the statutory provisions.

(5) If the delivered item is defective, we may initially choose whether we provide subsequent performance by remedying the defect (subsequent improvement) or by supplying a defect-free item (replacement delivery). Our right to refuse subsequent performance under the statutory conditions shall remain unaffected.

(6) We shall be entitled to make the subsequent performance owed dependent on the Buyer paying the purchase price due. However, the Buyer shall be entitled to retain a reasonable part of the purchase price in proportion to the defect.

(7) The Buyer shall give us the time and opportunity required for the owed subsequent performance, in particular to hand over the rejected goods for inspection purposes. In the event of a replacement delivery, the Buyer must return the defective item to us in accordance with the statutory provisions. Subsequent performance does not include the removal of the defective item or its reinstallation if we were not originally obliged to install it.

(8) We shall bear or reimburse the expenses necessary for the purpose of inspection and subsequent performance, in particular transport, travel, labour and material costs as well as any dismantling and installation costs, in accordance with the statutory provisions, if a defect actually exists. Otherwise, we shall be entitled to demand reimbursement from the Buyer for the costs incurred as a result of the unjustified demand to remedy the defect (in particular testing and transport costs), unless the Buyer could not recognize the lack of defectiveness.

(9) In urgent cases, e.g. if operational safety is endangered or to prevent disproportionate damage, the Buyer has the right to remedy the defect himself and to demand compensation from us for the objectively necessary expenses. We must be informed immediately, if possible in advance, of any such self-development. The right of self-remedy does not exist if we would be entitled to refuse a corresponding subsequent performance in accordance with the statutory provisions.

(10) If the supplementary performance has failed or a reasonable period to be set by the Buyer for the supplementary performance has expired without success or is dispensable according to the statutory provisions, the Buyer can withdraw from the purchase contract or reduce the purchase price. In the case of an insignificant defect, however, there is no right of withdrawal.

(11) Claims of the Buyer for damages or reimbursement of futile expenses shall only exist in accordance with § 8 even in the case of defects and shall otherwise be excluded.

§ 8 Other liability

(1) Insofar as nothing to the contrary arises from these GTCS including the following provisions, we shall be liable in the event of a breach of contractual and non-contractual obligations in accordance with the statutory provisions.

(2) We shall be liable for damages - for whatever legal reason - in cases of intent and gross negligence. In the event of simple negligence, we shall be liable, subject to statutory limitations of liability (e.g. care in our own affairs; minor breach of duty), only

1. a) for damages resulting from injury to life, body or health,
2. b) for damages resulting from the breach of an essential contractual obligation (obligation, the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on the observance of which the contractual partner regularly relies and may rely); in this case, however, our liability shall be limited to compensation for the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.

(3) The limitations of liability resulting from paragraph 2 shall also apply to breaches of duty by or for the benefit of persons whose fault we are responsible for in accordance with statutory provisions. They shall not apply if we have fraudulently concealed a defect or assumed a guarantee for the quality of the goods and for claims of the Buyer under the Product Liability Act.

(4) Due to a breach of duty which does not consist in a defect, the Buyer may only withdraw or terminate the contract if we are responsible for the breach of duty. A free right of termination of the Buyer (in particular according to §§ 650, 648 BGB) is excluded. Otherwise, the statutory requirements and legal consequences shall apply.

§ 9 Statute of limitations

(1) Notwithstanding § 438 para. 1 no. 3 BGB, the general limitation period for claims arising from material defects and defects of title shall be one year from delivery. If acceptance has been agreed, the limitation period shall commence upon acceptance. Further statutory special regulations regarding the statute of limitations (in particular § 438 Para. 1 No. 1, Para. 3, §§ 444, 445b BGB) shall remain unaffected.

(3) The aforementioned limitation periods of the sales law also apply to contractual and non-contractual claims for damages of the Buyer which are based on a defect of the goods, unless the application of the regular statutory limitation period (§§ 195, 199 BGB) would lead to a shorter limitation period in individual cases. Claims for damages of the Buyer according to § 8 Para. 2 as well as according to the product liability law become statute-barred however exclusively after the legal limitation periods.

§ 10 Choice of law and place of jurisdiction

(1) These GTCS and the contractual relationship between us and the Buyer shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany to the exclusion of international uniform law, in particular the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

(2) If the Buyer is a merchant within the meaning of the German Commercial Code, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the exclusive - also international - place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising directly or indirectly from the contractual relationship shall be our place of business in Berlin. The same applies if the Buyer is an entrepreneur within the meaning of § 14 BGB (German Civil Code). In all cases, however, we shall also be entitled to bring an action at the place of performance of the delivery obligation in accordance with these GTCS or a prior individual agreement or at the general place of jurisdiction of the Buyer. Prior statutory provisions, in particular regarding exclusive responsibilities, shall remain unaffected.