General Terms and Conditions

I/ General, Scope of Validity

1. Our terms and conditions shall apply exclusively; we will not recognise Orderer conditions contrary to or deviating from our terms and conditions unless we agree to their validity expressly and in writing. Our terms and conditions shall even apply if we carry out a delivery or perform a service for the Orderer without reservation, knowing that Orderer conditions are contrary to or deviating from ours.
   
2. All agreements reached between the Orderer and us for purposes of fulfilling this contract are to be set down in this contract in writing.
   
3. Our terms and conditions shall also apply to future transactions with the Orderer.
   
4. We expressly reserve the right to make technical and optical changes or to have such changes made by manufacturer.
   
5. HL Hutterer & Lechner shall make deliveries only to enterprises within the meaning of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act [KSchG].
   

II/ Offer, Offer Documents

1. Our offers are subject to confirmation. Orders are not deemed accepted until we have confirmed them in writing.
   
2. We shall retain any and all usage and other rights – in particular ownership and copyright – with respect to all individual drawings, plans, drafts and other documents that are custom-prepared according to the Orderer’s wishes. These may not be made accessible to third parties.
   

III/ Prices, Terms of Payment

1. Unless otherwise agreed upon, our prices shall apply to deliveries ex works, including original packaging.
   
2. Statutory VAT is not included in our prices. It will be indicated separately in the statutory amount on the invoices on the day they are issued.
   
3. Discount allowances shall require special written agreements.
   
4. Unless negotiated otherwise, prices shall be due for payment without deduction 10 days after the invoice date. Should the Orderer be in arrears,
1. we shall be entitled to default interest of 4% above the basic rate;
2. we shall be entitled to avail ourselves of the collection services of an authorised third party or a firm of attorneys;
3. HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH shall be entitled to claim a refund of dunning fees, collection charges and attorney costs which arise in conjunction with due process. The permissible amount of collection fees shall be calculated applying the highest rates of the Collections Institutes as stipulated in the Regulation of the Federal Minister for Commercial Affairs, Fed. Law Gaz. 1996/141, as amended. The permissible amount of attorney fees shall be calculated according to the provisions of the Austrian “Attorney Fees Act 1969 [“Rechtsanwaltstarifgesetz”],” as amended.
5. Any setoff or retention against HL claims shall only be permissible with such counterclaims of the Orderer that have become due and payable and that are based on one and the same contractual relationship and are not opposed by any objection being raised.

IV/ Delivery times

1. The delivery and performance times we state shall be conditional upon all technical issues being settled; they do not apply to custom-made products. Unless a special, written agreement has been made between the Orderer and us on a binding delivery time, the delivery and performance times we state constitute non-binding benchmarks having no binding character.
   
2. After we have fallen into arrears and the Orderer grants us a reasonable grace period in writing on pain of rejection, he shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract following the fruitless expiration of such period. The Orderer may only make claims for damages on grounds of non-fulfilment if the delay was intentional or grossly negligent on the part of HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH.
   
3. Compliance with our delivery obligation presupposes timely, due and proper fulfilment of the Orderer’s obligations.
   
4. Should the Orderer delay acceptance or breach other cooperation duties, we shall be entitled to demand the losses we incur, including any additional expenditures. In such a case, the risk of accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the delivery or service shall pass to the Orderer at that time when the latter delays acceptance.

V/ Return delivery

In principle, we are not obligated to take back goods which the Orderer no longer needs; this shall require a special written agreement. Guidelines for a possible take-back agreement may include

1. The goods must not be more than two years old (date stamp on label).
   
2. The goods must conform to Hutterer & Lechner’s current catalogue.
   
3. We reserve the right to invoice handling charges, at least 10% for goods in shipping condition, 20% for goods with dirty or damaged packaging.
   
4. Damaged goods cannot be returned. Should the Orderer nevertheless send them to us, they will remain in the plant for one month, ready for collection (calculated from the Orderer’s notification) before being disposed of.
   
5. For products in transparent packaging: complaints about missing parts can only be acknowledged if the goods are returned in their unopened original packaging.

VI/ Transfer of Risk

1. Unless negotiated otherwise, deliveries “ex works” shall be deemed agreed upon.

VII/ Warranty for Defects

1. General
   
   1. The Orderer’s warranty rights presuppose that the Orderer has complied with his mandatory obligations for inspection and reporting of defects. The Orderer must fulfil his mandatory obligations for inspection and reporting of defects within the stipulated time even if he has bought the goods for purposes of resale. Attention is drawn to the duty to give notice of defects (“Mängelrüge”) within a reasonable time (Sec. 377 of the Austrian Companies Code [“UGB”], as amended).
      
   2. Warranties are limited to the statutory periods. In the case of Sec. 933b of the Austrian Civil Code (“ABGB”), Orderer’s warranty claims become time-barred two years after delivery to him of the goods concerned. The burden of proof is on the Orderer to show that the claimed defect already existed when the goods were released to him; application of Sec. 924, 2nd Sentence of the Austrian Civil Code (“ABGB”) shall be precluded.
      
   3. Warranties are void if, without involvement on our part, the Orderer alters goods delivered or services rendered or allows them to be altered by third parties, unless he is able to prove that the defects in question were not caused by any alterations made by him or by any such third party.
      
2. Products
   
   1. We guarantee that our products have the quality and characteristics warranted on the sales form and are free of defects which might nullify or reduce the value or the fitness for normal use or any specific use stipulated in the contract; insignificant reductions in value or fitness shall be disregarded.
      
   2. The Orderer must report defects arising during the warranty period without delay, including all details perceivable by him, complying with our problem-analysis and defect-determination instructions to the extent reasonable. Any complaint by the Orderer safeguarding his rights (cf. Clause VII 1.a) presupposes that HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH is timely informed in writing, including evidentiary material, as to which product is affected (product designation according to the HL Hutterer & Lechner catalogue, including lot number) and to what extent; it must contain a detailed description of the nature of the defect and the concomitant circumstances under which it arose. The Orderer must allow HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH to inspect and test the goods if asked to do so.
      
   3. Within the scope of our warranty obligation, we may repair or replace defective products, elements, additional installations or parts. The Orderer shall allow us the requisite time and opportunity to implement the remedial work.
      
   4. There is no warranty for defects arising due to improper installation or cleaning not corresponding to state-of the-art technique, or as a result of improper use or insufficient maintenance or care of the product. Furthermore, in such cases, any and all claims for damages against HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH shall be precluded.

VIII/ Liability

1. If nothing else arises from the provisions below, any and all further claims by the Orderer for whatever legal reasons shall be precluded, unless there are binding statutory provisions to the contrary. We are not liable for damage which does not occur on the goods delivered or services rendered themselves. This exemption from liability, however, shall not apply if the damage has been incurred through wrongful intent or gross negligence. Furthermore, it does not apply if the Orderer asserts claims for damages on grounds of non-fulfilment due to the absence of a warranted quality.
2. Should we negligently breach an essential contractual obligation, our duty to pay compensation for property damage or personal injury shall be restricted to the cover sum of our product-liability insurance. At the Orderer’s request, we are prepared to allow him to inspect our policy.
3. The warranty periods granted by us shall also be deemed limitation periods. In addition, they also apply to compensation claims for consequential damage caused by defects, unless claims arising from tortious acts are being asserted.
4. The foregoing provisions do not apply in cases of incipient incapacity or impossibility which the Orderer has to account for.
5. To the extent our liability is precluded or restricted, this shall also apply to the personal liability of our employees, workers, colleagues, representatives and vicarious agents.
6. We assume no liability for the content of Internet sites accessible via links, Internet links or hyperlinks from our website www.hutterer-lechner.com. In particular, we assume no liability for the correctness of the product descriptions, product specifications and product information on these linked sites.

IX/ Retention of Title

1. We retain ownership of the items we deliver until we have received all payments from the business arrangement. Should the Orderer be in breach of contract – default in particular – we shall be entitled to recall the product. Our recall does not constitute withdrawal from the contract unless we declare it expressly in writing. Our garnishment of a purchased item never constitutes withdrawal from the contract. We shall be entitled to resell the purchased item after recalling it. The proceeds from resale shall be credited to the Orderer’s debt minus reasonable resale expenses.
   
2. The Orderer shall undertake to handle the purchased item with care; he is particularly under obligation to insure it sufficiently at the original value and at his own expense against any damage caused by fire, water, theft or vandalism. The Orderer must promptly implement at his own expense any and all necessary maintenance and inspection work.
   
3. The Orderer must inform us in writing without delay of any garnishment or other intervention by third parties, so that we may litigate. The Orderer shall be liable for the loss we may incur if the third party is unable to refund us for the court costs and extrajudicial expenses of the litigation.
   
4. The Orderer is entitled to resell the delivered product in a normal business transaction. However, he shall assign to us already now all receivables from his buyer or third parties in the amount of the final invoice sum including VAT which accrue to him in the course of the resale. The Orderer remains empowered to collect the payable even after such assignment; our authorisation to collect the payable ourselves shall not be affected thereby. However, we shall undertake not to collect the payable as long as the Orderer complies with his payment obligations from the negotiated proceeds and as long as he is not in arrears and, in particular, there is no petition to instigate insolvency or composition proceedings or stoppage of payments. But if this is the case, we may demand that the Orderer announce the assigned payables and the debtors, make all statements necessary for collection, hand over the appurtenant documents and inform the debtors (third parties) of the assignment.
   
5. At the request of the Orderer, we shall undertake to release the collaterals due to us to the extent that the value of our collaterals exceeds the collateral for the payables to be secured by more than 20%. It rests on us to choose the collateral to be released.

X/ Data Protection

The data included in the contract shall only be used for our accounting purposes and customer documentation. We may and will use the data to comply with statutory regulations, in payment transactions and for advertising purposes. The data will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act currently in force and will not be passed on to third parties.

XI/ Jurisdiction, Choice of Law

1. The commercial court responsible for Vienna’s 1st District shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all disputes arising in connection with the contract.
2. The parties agree that Austrian law shall apply exclusively and that the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) shall be precluded.
   We acknowledge the Internet Ombudsman as the conciliation board (“Streitschlichtungsstelle”).
   
   www.ombudsman.at
   Version: 20.06.2018

Disclaimer of Liability

1/ Content of Online Offer

HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH (HL) assumes no warranty whatsoever for the up-to-dateness, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided online. In general, liability claims against HL concerning material or non-material damage caused by use or non-use of the proffered information and/or the use of incorrect and incomplete information shall be precluded, unless HL is to blame for reasons of wrongful intent or gross negligence. The author expressly reserves the right to change, supplement or delete portions, pages or the entire content without separate notice and to cease the publication in whole or in part.

2/ References and Links

HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH (HL) assumes no liability for the content of third-party websites referred to on HL websites directly or indirectly (hyperlinks). At the time the relevant reference was set up, HL had no knowledge of circumstances within the meaning of Sec. 17 of the Austrian E-Commerce Act 2001 (“ECG”). As soon as HL learns of information to the contrary, we will remove the computerised reference.

The author has no influence whatsoever on the current and future design, content or copyright/ownership of the linked sites. Therefore, he hereby expressly disassociates himself from all content of all the linked sites changed after linking. This declarative statement applies to all links and references within HL’s own Internet offer and to third-party entries in all guestbooks, discussion forums, link catalogues and mailing lists set up by HL, as well as all other forms of databases to the content of which external written access is possible.

3/ Copyright and Trademark Rights

In all publications, HL Hutterer & Lechner GmbH endeavours to observe the copyright on graphics, sound documents, video sequences and texts used, to utilize its own graphics, sound documents, video sequences and texts, or to avail itself of licence-free graphics, sound documents, video sequences and texts. All trademarks and brand names indicated and protected by third parties are unrestrictedly subject to the provisions set out in the applicable trademark laws and ownership rights of each registered owner. Mere naming shall not infer that a trademark is not protected by third-party rights!

Use and rights for published objects made by HL itself shall remain with HL alone. Reproduction and use of such graphics, sound documents, video sequences and texts in other electronic or printed publications is not permitted without HL’s express consent.

4/ Data Protection

To the extent that it is possible to enter personal or business data (e-mail addresses, names, postal addresses) within the Internet offer, divulging such data is, without exception, expressly voluntary on the user’s part. As far as technically possible and reasonable, the use and payment of all proffered services shall also be permitted without stating such data and/or by stating anonymised data or a pseudonym. Use by third parties of any data published within the framework of the Site Notice (“Impressum”) or any comparable information, such as postal addresses, telephone and fax numbers or e-mail addresses, for purposes of sending information not expressly solicited shall not be permissible. The right to take legal steps against senders of so-called spam mails in the case of any failure to comply with this prohibition is expressly reserved.