Version 1 January 2025
1. DEFINITIONS
1.1 Berlin Packaging Limited, a private limited company registered in Ireland with company number 136925 and registered office at Unit A2, Three Rock Road, Sandyford Business Park, Dublin 18, D18 ER27, Ireland (“Berlin Packaging”), is a supplier of packaging Goods.
1.2 Berlin Packaging supplies Goods to contracting partners (“Customer”).
1.3 Either party defined under clause 1.1 or 1.2 shall hereinafter be referred to individually as a ‘party’ and together as the ‘parties’.
1.4 The “Goods” means the products, goods and other items or materials or any part thereof to be supplied by Berlin Packaging to the Customer and which are listed in Berlin Packaging’s confirmation of order form.
1.5 A ‘working day’ shall be a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in Ireland.
2. APPLICABILITY
2.1 These general terms and conditions of sale (“General Conditions”) apply to all offers made by Berlin Packaging and accepted by the Customer for the delivery of goods (“Agreement”) to the exclusion of any other terms that the Customer seeks to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by law, trade custom, practice or course of dealing.
2.2 The applicability of any other
terms and conditions of the Customer is hereby expressly excluded, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties.
2.3 Deviations from and/or supplements to these General Conditions shall only bind Berlin Packaging insofar as they have expressly been agreed in writing by Berlin Packaging. Save for such deviations and/or supplements these General Conditions shall continue to be in full force and effect.
2.4 If one or more provisions of these General Conditions appears to be invalid in whole or in part, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect in their entirety. Any invalid provision shall be replaced by a suitable provision that approaches the intent of Berlin Packaging and the economic result pursued by it as closely as possible.
2.5 Any failure or delay by Berlin Packaging in exercising any right under these General Conditions or any Agreement, any single or partial exercise of any such right or any partial reaction or absence of reaction by Berlin Packaging in the event of a breach by the Customer of any of its obligations under these General Conditions or any Agreement, shall not operate or be interpreted as a waiver (either express or implied, in whole or in part) of Berlin Packaging’s rights under these General Conditions or any Agreement, nor shall it preclude any further exercise of any such rights.
3. OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE
3.1 Any quotation from Berlin Packaging (“Quotation”) shall be non-binding and shall be subject to withdrawal or revision at any time before acceptance of the Customer’s Order by Berlin Packaging.
3.2 An order placed by the Customer (“Order”) constitutes an offer by the Customer to purchase the Goods in accordance with these General Conditions and shall not be deemed to have been accepted by Berlin Packaging until after Berlin Packaging has sent a written confirmation (“Order Confirmation”), or after Berlin Packaging has begun implementing the Order, at which point the Agreement shall come into existence. The Customer is responsible for ensuring that the terms of the Order are complete and accurate.
3.3 The Customer shall be deemed to have agreed with an Order Confirmation if it, within 4 working days after the date of the Order Confirmation, has not protested against the content thereof in writing, or it has performed one or more activities in accordance with the Order Confirmation (whichever is earlier).
3.4 The fact that Berlin Packaging supplies goods to the Customer on a regular basis and/or has previously supplied the Customer does not give the Customer any right to future deliveries by Berlin Packaging. Berlin Packaging is not required to provide any reason for refusing to supply the Customer in the future.
4. PRICES
4.1 The price stated in Quotations and invoices from Berlin Packaging shall consist of the purchase price of the Goods, exclusive of transportation costs, VAT, duties, and other government levies.
4.2 The packaging expenses shall be excluded in the price referred to in Clause 4.1. Berlin Packaging shall not take back the packaging, except as may otherwise be agreed in the Quotation.
4.3 The prices shall be based on cost factors, including but not limited to raw materials prices, salaries, social charges, transport costs, taxes, energy costs, etc., applicable at the time of the Order Confirmation. If, after acceptance of the Order and before the moment of actual delivery, the prices of raw materials, energy, wages, freight, (environmental) levies or other costs factors are/is increased leading to an overall increase of the purchase price of Berlin Packaging of at least 5%, Berlin Packaging shall be entitled to pass on said increases to the Customer. In determining the price increases, Berlin Packaging shall refer to generally accepted cost price indexes of the relevant cost factors.
4.4 Adjustment of prices in accordance with Clause 4.3 do not entitle the Customer to cancel, terminate or dissolve the Agreement.
5. PAYMENT
5.1 Payment of the purchase price shall take place within 30 days after the invoice date.
5.2 All amounts due under the Agreement shall be paid in full without any set-off, counterclaim, deduction or withholding (other than any deduction or withholding of tax as required by law).
5.3 Berlin Packaging reserves the right to demand advance payment or security for payment at all times, even if deliveries were previously made with a payment credit.
5.4 Berlin Packaging may, insofar as it is held to perform an obligation under an Agreement, suspend the performance thereof until full payment of the amount that is due has been received, or dissolve the Agreement at its choice in full or in part by means of a written notification, this without prejudice to its right to claim damages.
5.5 If the amount due according to the invoice is not paid on time, the Customer shall be in default, without any demand or prior notice of default being required, and shall owe Berlin Packaging the statutory commercial interest determined pursuant to S.I. No. 580/2012 – European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 from the date the invoice becomes payable. It shall as then also be due an immediately due and payable agreed late-payment fine of 2% of the invoice amount.
5.6 All payments shall first be used for payment of fines, interests and costs, and subsequently each time for payment of the oldest outstanding invoice.
6. DELIVERY
6.1 Unless agreed otherwise between the parties in writing, deliveries shall be made FCA according to Incoterms® 2020 at the location stated in the Order Confirmation.
6.2 The risk in the Goods shall pass to the Customer on completion of delivery and if the Customer does not accept the delivery, as from the moment that the delivery has been refused.
6.3 Delivery times shall always be estimates and shall not be of the essence. Any excess of the delivery time, provided within reasonable limits, shall not entitle the Customer to cancel any order(s) or to compensate costs or losses created by the excess.
6.4 The Customer shall provide its full collaboration to the delivery of the goods that are to be delivered by Berlin Packaging pursuant to the Agreement. The Customer shall without having been demanded to do so be in default if it, after the first request of Berlin Packaging to that effect, fails to pick up the goods that are to be delivered or, if delivery at its address was agreed, if it refuses to accept delivery of the Goods that are to be delivered.
6.5 If the Customer refuses delivery of the goods, Berlin Packaging shall be entitled to store the Goods at the expense and the risk of the Customer.
7. QUANTITY AND CAPACITY
7.1 Berlin Packaging has the right to deliver up to 10% more or less than the agreed quantity. The Customer shall accept the excess up to that maximum or accept the shortage.
7.2 Berlin Packaging has the right to supply orders in parts, which may be invoiced separately.
8. PERFORMANCE
8.1 Berlin Packaging may, at its option, fully or partly suspend the performance of the Agreement or terminate the Agreement in whole or in part by written notice to the Customer without recourse to the courts with immediate effect and without Berlin Packaging being liable for payment of any compensation, in the event that:
a. the Customer fails to perform its obligations under an Agreement or these General Conditions properly, in a timely manner or at all;
b. the Customer applies for or is granted a suspension of payments, or applies for or is declared bankrupt;
c. the Customer is placed under legal guardianship or administration;
d. the Customer's enterprise is sold or discontinued;
e. an attachment is levied on a significant part of the Customer's operating assets.
8.2 In case of the situation of Clause
8.1 (a), the Customer shall be liable for all damage suffered by Berlin Packaging, inter alia consisting of loss of profits, suffered losses, product damage, costs and interests, transport charges, commission fees, judicial and extra-judicial costs, as well as all further direct and indirect costs connected with a breach of the Agreement.
9. RETURN SHIPMENTS
9.1 The shipments that have been ordered by the Customer but of which delivery has not been accepted or that have been returned shall be charged to the Customer. All damage arising for Berlin Packaging from the non-acceptance or the return shipments shall be paid by the Customer, unless the Customer demonstrates that the delivered Goods are not in accordance with the Agreement.
9.2 Without its prior written permission Berlin Packaging shall not be held to accept Goods that have been returned to Berlin Packaging by the Customer, except as may otherwise be agreed in writing in the order confirmation. The acceptance of the Goods returned by the Customer shall not imply an acceptance by Berlin Packaging of the reason of the return.
10. COMPLAINTS
10.1 The Customer is obliged to inspect the quantity and quality of the delivered Goods immediately after they have been delivered. Any visible defects relating to the quality or quantity must be notified to Berlin Packaging in writing within two (2) working days after delivery, specifying the nature and scope of the complaint. Other complaints must be submitted to Berlin Packaging in writing within fourteen (14) days after delivery.
10.2 After expiry of the periods stated in Clause 10.1, the Goods shall be considered to have been delivered according to the agreed upon quantity and the agreed upon specifications and/or (legally) required quality. Any complaints that are submitted after the stated periods or not in writing shall not be handled.
10.3 If the delivered Goods have been processed or used, the Customer shall be deemed to have accepted the Goods without reservation, and submitting any complaints therefore shall no longer be possible.
10.4 The Customer is required upon first request of Berlin Packaging to return a sample of the allegedly defective items in order to conduct an investigation into the root cause of the complaint.
10.5 The terms of payment shall not be suspended by submitting a complaint.
10.6 If and to the extent Berlin Packaging considers the Customer's complaint to be justified, it will, at its option:
a. repair or replace the delivered Goods; or
b. credit (part of) the purchase price paid by the Customer in connection with the delivered Goods; or
c. take back the delivered Goods without any further performance of the Agreement.
11. RETENTION OF TITLE
11.1 Title to the Goods shall not pass to the Customer until Berlin Packaging receives payment in full (in cash or cleared funds) for the Goods and all other which are or which become due to Berlin Packaging from the Customer on any account. The retention of title extends to anything Berlin Packaging has to claim from the Customer, including compensation and fines.
11.2 Until title to the Goods has passed to the Customer, the Customer shall (a) store the Goods (at no cost to Berlin Packaging) separately from all other goods held by the Customer or any third party so that they remain readily identifiable as Berlin Packaging’s property, (b) not remove, deface or obscure any identifying mark or packaging on or relating to the Goods, (c) label the Goods delivered by Berlin Packaging as such to be able to identify which Goods belong to Berlin Packaging, (d) maintain the Goods in satisfactory condition and keep them insured on Berlin Packaging’s behalf for their full price against all risks to the reasonable satisfaction of Berlin Packaging and (e) treat Goods with care until ownership has been transferred to the Customer.
11.3 Customer shall insure the Goods at its own expense for the duration of the retention of title against damage by fire, explosion, water, theft and destruction.
11.4 If the same Goods have been delivered on one or more unpaid invoices, the Goods that are present at the Customer shall be considered to have been delivered on the unpaid invoices. As long as Goods have not been paid in full and/or the Customer also otherwise fails to perform any of its obligations towards Berlin Packaging, Berlin Packaging shall irrevocably continue to have the right and shall irrevocably continue to be authorised to take back any Goods delivered by it that are still present at the Customer, without interference of the courts, irrespective of its further actions towards the Customer. The Customer is obliged to grant Berlin Packaging access to the area(s) in which the Goods delivered are located, failing which the Customer shall forfeit a due and immediately payable fine amounting to EUR 50,000 for every refusal to grant access and EUR 2,500 for every day the refusal continues.
11.5 The Customer is obliged to immediately report situations in which any third parties enforce rights, including seizures, in relation to Goods delivered by Berlin Packaging that are still delivered under retention of title. If the Customer does not fulfil this obligation, the Customer shall forfeit an immediately due and payable fine amounting to 20% of the principle amount due to Berlin Packaging, exclusive of VAT, with a minimum of EUR 500.
11.6 As long as Berlin Packaging has any outstanding claim on the Customer on any account whatsoever, the Customer may not dispose of, deliver or pledge the Goods delivered by it or perform legal acts with regard to these Goods, except within the framework of its regular corporate activities, until after Berlin Packaging has granted its prior written approval to do so as well as to the conditions subject to which all this takes place.
12. WARRANTY
12.1 Unless otherwise agreed in writing by Berlin Packaging, Berlin Packaging does not make any warranties in relation to Goods delivered to the Customer other than that the Goods delivered meet the specifications as included in the Order Confirmation and as long as the Goods are used under normal and expected circumstances and in accordance with Berlin Packaging’s instructions. Berlin Packaging expressly excludes all other warranties, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
12.2 The exclusive remedies for a breach of warranty as defined in Clause 12.1 are stated in Clause 10.6 of these General Conditions.
12.3 Samples are provided to the Customer as an example of the good that can be delivered. The Customer is not entitled to claim any rights in relation to the characteristics, looks, properties and use of the Good based on the samples provided.
12.4 The Customer is responsible for testing the compatibility of the packaging delivered by Berlin Packaging and the product of the Customer used in combination with this packaging. Berlin Packaging excludes any and all liability for damages resulting from non- compatibility of the packaging with the Customer’s or any third party product.
13. LIABILITY
13.1 Nothing in these General Conditions shall limit or exclude Berlin Packaging's liability for:
a. death or personal injury caused by its intent or negligence;
b. fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
c. any matter in respect of which it would be unlawful for Berlin Packaging to exclude or restrict liability.
13.2 Subject to Clause 13.1:
a. Any liability of Berlin Packaging shall be limited to the amount (excluding VAT) charged by Berlin Packaging to the Customer for the supply of the relevant Goods that caused the damage or loss, subject to a maximum of EUR 25,000 (twenty-five thousand euros) per event or series of related events; and
b. Berlin Packaging shall under no circumstances whatsoever be liable to the Customer for loss of profit, claims by third parties or other indirect or consequential damages.
c. Berlin Packaging shall not be liable for any damages as a result of Customer’s use of the Goods contrary to their labelling or intended use.
13.3 The Customer shall without delay take all necessary efforts to limit any damages and its effects to a minimum.
13.4 The exclusions and limitations of liability in this Clause 13 also apply in favour of Berlin Packaging’s affiliates, subsidiaries, agents, legal representatives, employees, subcontractors and any persons or entities mandated by Berlin Packaging to fulfil its obligations.
13.5 The exclusions and limitations in this Clause 13 apply to any contractual and non-contractual liability of Berlin Packaging and will survive termination of the Agreement.
14. INDEMNITY
14.1 Without prejudice to the provisions set forth in Clause 13, the Customer shall indemnify and hold harmless Berlin Packaging against any and all claims of third parties and consequential damages resulting from the delivery of Goods by the Customer to third parties, including Goods that have been delivered by Berlin Packaging to the Customer.
15. LOSS OF RIGHTS
15.1 All Customer's rights of action against Berlin Packaging, whether in breach of contract, in tort or on any other ground, shall lapse as soon as a period of one
(1) year has elapsed from the day on which the Customer became aware or could reasonably have become aware of the existence of those rights of action and the Customer has not commenced legal proceedings in respect of those rights of action within that one-year period.
16. FORCE MAJEURE
16.1 A default by Berlin Packaging in the performance of any obligation to the Customer cannot be attributed to Berlin Packaging in the event of a circumstance beyond Berlin Packaging's control, as a result of which the performance of its obligations to the Customer is prevented in whole or in part or as a result of which the performance of its obligations cannot reasonably be required of Berlin Packaging. Such circumstances include but are not limited to: war or similar situations, riots, sabotage, boycotts, strikes, occupations, blockages, shortages of raw
materials, failures in the operation of factories, transportation problems of whatever nature (among which traffic-jams), machine damage, thefts, such sickness absence of staff of Berlin Packaging that the implementation of the Agreement is seriously obstructed, failures in the performance by subcontractors, transporters and/or other third parties who have been called upon by Berlin Packaging to assist in the implementation of the Agreement, obstructed shipping traffic, measures of the government that lead to any obstructions in either the Netherlands and/or abroad, natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics and quarantines.
16.2 In case of force majeure on the side of Berlin Packaging, Berlin Packaging shall have the right at its own discretion to suspend the implementation of the Agreement for the duration of the force majeure situation.
16.3 If a situation as described in Clause 16.1 lasts longer than 60 days, both parties have the right to dissolve the Agreement in full or in part by submitting a written statement to that effect. The parties shall make a reasonable arrangement regarding the consequences of that dissolution.
17. CONFIDENTIALITY
17.1 Neither party may disclose the existence of an Agreement or any non-public information it receives from the other party (collectively, “Confidential Information”) to any third party, nor use the Confidential Information for any purpose other than performance of any Agreement, without the prior consent of the other party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Confidential Information may be disclosed if the receiving party becomes legally compelled to do so, provided that before disclosure the receiving party must notify the disclosing party and cooperate at the expense of the disclosing party to contest, limit or protect such required disclosure.
17.2 If either party breaches the obligation stated in Clause 17.1, the other party shall forfeit an immediately due and payable fine amounting to EUR 50.000, exclusive of VAT.
18. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
18.1 The Customer warrants that any orders placed with Berlin Packaging do not infringe copyrights, model or drawing rights or any other intellectual or industrial property rights of third parties. The Customer shall indemnify Berlin Packaging against any and all claims of third parties for infringements of intellectual or industrial property rights in connection with the order placed by the Customer.
18.2 Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, Berlin Packaging shall at all times be the exclusive owner of any intellectual or industrial property rights that may arise in respect of the works created by Berlin Packaging in the performance of the Agreement, including but not limited to design drawings, models, artwork, inventions, computer software, databases and photographic recordings. Insofar as necessary, the Customer shall use its best efforts to cooperate to transfer any of these rights to Berlin Packaging or any third party designated by Berlin Packaging.
19. GOVERNING LAW AND COMPETENT COURT
19.1 All offers and Agreements shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland.
19.2 All disputes that arise from or in the context of any Agreement shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts
General terms and conditions of Sale Berlin Packaging Ireland Limited B.V. 1 January 2025