Orders shall only be considered final once they have been confirmed in writing by an order confirmation issued by the client.
A copy of the order confirmation must be returned to us after signing.
Our agents or representatives are not authorized to collect payment for an invoice unless expressly stated otherwise.
Our delivery times are provided for informational purposes only and are approximate.
No delay shall give rise to compensation or cancellation of payment.
We reserve the right to make partial deliveries and issue partial invoices.
Shipments are made without prior notice.
For any delay accepted by the seller, the resulting costs shall be borne in full by the buyer, with a minimum charge of one and a half percent per month of delay to cover financing, insurance, and storage costs.
Shipment is always at the buyer’s risk and expense from the moment the goods leave the loading area in the seller’s warehouses.
Any reservations must be addressed to the carrier, even if we bear the freight cost.
If shipment is delayed due to a circumstance attributable to the buyer, the goods shall be deemed delivered and the risk shall pass to the buyer on the day they are ready for shipment.
Any increase in freight or transportation costs occurring between the order and shipment shall, in the case of a carriage-paid sale, be borne by the consignee.
In the event of force majeure, the seller reserves the right to either cancel the agreement or extend the delivery period.
However, if this situation lasts for more than three months, the agreement may be canceled by either party.
Termination does not entitle either party to any compensation.
In addition to the events specified by law, the following are also considered force majeure: strikes, lockouts, serious accidents at the seller’s or its supplier’s premises, fire in general, and any event—even occurring abroad—that would jeopardize the proper performance of the agreement.
The buyer is required to inspect the goods upon receipt and at their own expense.
To be valid, any complaint must be submitted in writing within three days of receipt, on pain of nullity, provided that the goods have not been altered or processed in any way.
Any complaint regarding hidden defects must be filed within eight days of the defect being discovered, under penalty of nullity.
The complaint must be submitted in writing and sent to the seller by certified mail.
In all cases, the seller’s liability shall be limited to the replacement of the delivered goods and only for those goods for which the buyer has actually suffered damage, calculated at the invoice price, regardless of the cause of the damage.
The invoice is payable at the registered office of N.V. Vanhauwaert & C°.
This provision shall remain in effect even if we draw bills of exchange on buyers or receive securities in payment.
Unless the seller has expressly granted other payment terms, payment is due 30 days after the invoice date.
In the event of a delay in payment, the invoice amount or the outstanding balance shall, by operation of law and without prior notice of default, accrue interest at a rate of one and a half percent per month.
Furthermore, if an invoice remains wholly or partially unpaid as of its due date, the seller shall, following a notice of default that has gone unheeded, be entitled to a lump-sum compensation amounting to 12 percent of the amount not paid on time, with a minimum of €125.00 per invoice.
Failure to pay an invoice by its due date shall result in the forfeiture of any payment deferral granted for other deliveries and shall render all unpaid invoices immediately due and payable.
Any pending disputes of any kind do not entitle the customer to withhold payment.
In the event that the buyer fails to fulfill its obligations under this contract or any other contract between the same parties, the performance of the buyer’s obligations under these contracts shall be suspended by operation of law and without any notice of default.
Furthermore, the seller has the right to cancel these contracts, in whole or in part, 14 days after sending a notice of default by registered mail and without prior recourse to the courts, without prejudice to the seller’s right to compensation, which is set at a flat rate of 25 percent of the price of the undelivered goods.
The notice of cancellation shall be sent by registered mail.
If, for any reason, one or more of the provisions listed above cannot be applied, all other provisions shall nevertheless remain in effect.
Goods delivered in Belgium remain our property until the buyer has fully fulfilled its obligations.
However, the buyer is responsible for these goods and is liable for any loss thereof.
Goods delivered abroad remain our property until full payment has been made by the client.
If this client applies for a deferral of payment, is declared bankrupt, or if, in our opinion, payment is in doubt, we are entitled to take back the delivered goods, whether processed or unprocessed, in which case the agreement is dissolved even without judicial intervention, without prejudice to the right to compensation.
If, at the customer’s request, the delivery invoice is issued in the name of a third party and the goods are delivered to that third party, the customer remains responsible for and guarantees payment of the delivery invoice.
By accepting delivery at the location specified by the customer, the customer acknowledges receipt of the delivery.
Regardless of the agreed terms of payment, the buyer authorizes us at any time—i.e., prior to delivery or before proceeding with delivery—to require a bank guarantee to ensure fulfillment of its payment obligations.
Until such a guarantee is provided, we are entitled to suspend all further deliveries.
Changes to the current terms and conditions of the contract may only be agreed upon in a separate agreement that is expressly signed by both parties.
All contracts entered into by N.V. Vanhauwaert & C° are governed exclusively by Belgian law.
The courts of the judicial district of Kortrijk shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes.
