General Terms and Conditions

1. General

a. The following General Terms and Conditions of Business apply for all business relations between Europlast Kunststoffbehälterindustrie GmbH (hereinafter referred to as Europlast) and natural and legal persons (hereinafter referred to as the Customer(s)) for the present business transaction and all future business, even if in the individual case, and especially in the case of future additional and follow-up orders, these General Terms and Conditions are not expressly referred to. The version valid at the time of conclusion of contract shall be definitive.

b. Deviating, contradictory or supplementary general terms and conditions of business of the Customer are expressly excluded. No further refutation in the individual case is required. Under no circumstances should any behaviour by Europlast be regarded as being implied approval of such terms and conditions, nor in particular should any actions taken by Europlast for the fulfilment of contract, silence, unreserved transmission of an order confirmation, an order etc. be regarded in this way. General terms and conditions of business of the Customer are only agreed if Europlast expressly agrees in writing to their being applied.

c. Verbal agreements and departures from these General Terms and Conditions of Business are only valid after being confirmed in writing by an employee of Europlast who is authorised to provide such confirmation to the Customer. If in exceptional cases agreements are made that depart from or are worded differently to these General Terms and Conditions of Business, these departures shall apply exclusively to this individual transaction and must be expressly stated in writing and signed by both sides.

2. Conclusion of contract

a. A contract between the Customer and Europlast is only formed when the order confirmation is transmitted by Europlast.

b. Estimates provided by Europlast to Customers are non-binding and must be remunerated unless agreed otherwise in writing in the individual case.

3. Prices

a. Unless expressly indicated otherwise, the stated prices do not count as flat-rate prices. The prices offered are daily prices and apply until revoked. Prices indicated apply ex stock and do not include the respective statutory VAT in force. The Customer bears packaging, transport, loading and shipping costs, as well as customs duties and insurance. Packaging material is only taken back if this is agreed in a separate contractual agreement.

b. Europlast is entitled to adjust contractually agreed prices if changes have occurred since conclusion of contract in respect of wage costs by law, ordinance, collective agreement, works agreement, or in respect of other cost factors that are necessary for the provision of performance, such as procurement costs for the material being used on the basis of recommendations by an equal representation committee, or changes to the national or global market prices for raw materials, exchange rates etc.. This adjustment shall take place to the extent to which the actual production costs at the time of conclusion of contract change in comparison to those at the time of the actual provision of the performance.

c. In the event of continuing obligations, the remuneration shall additionally be agreed to be index-linked according to the CPI 2016, and an adjustment to the remuneration shall take place as a result. The starting basis shall be the month in which the contract was concluded.

d. The minimum order value amounts to EUR 100,-- net. Orders under the minimum order value will be charged with an administration fee of EUR 25,- net /order due to the high administrational effort. The minimum order quantity of hot printed articles is 50 pieces. Orders beneath the amount of 50 pieces will be charged with the following fees: 2-wheeled bins EUR 5,- net / bin, 4-wheeled bins EUR 10,- net / bin, Boxes EUR 3,- net / box.

4. Payment terms

a. Payments must take place without the deduction of discounts within 30 days of invoicing. The invoice shall be deemed to have been paid as soon as the invoice amount has been received in Europlast’s bank account. The purpose of payments stated by the Customer is not binding on Europlast.

b. In the event of default of payment, Europlast is entitled to charge interest on late payments in the amount of 8 percentage points above the respective base rate of the European Central Bank. Europlast expressly reserves the right to assert damages in excess of this resulting from late payment.
Payments that are made shall be credited against the respective oldest claim. Insofar as Europlast becomes aware of circumstances that cast justified doubt on the Customer’s creditworthiness or financial standing, Europlast shall be entitled even after conclusion of contract to request immediate adequate security or cash payment of the claim.

c. If the Customer is in default of payment within the framework of other existing contractual relationships with Europlast, Europlast shall be entitled to cease the fulfilment of its obligations until the Customer fulfils its duty of payment. In this case, Europlast shall also be entitled to declare all claims for services already provided from the ongoing business relationship with the Customer due for payment.

d. If the payment period is exceeded, all reductions granted (rebates, discounts, etc.) shall lapse and be added to the invoice. This also applies to partial performances.

e. The Customer undertakes in the event of default of payment to reimburse Europlast for the necessary and purposive costs of collection (reminder costs, collection charges, solicitors’ costs etc.).

f. The Customer is entitled to setoff only insofar as the counterclaims have been determined judicially or recognised by Europlast.

g. If insolvency proceedings are opened over the Customer’s assets, or in the event of the Customer’s insolvency, Europlast shall be entitled to withdraw from the contract with immediate effect.

5. Execution of performance

a. Europlast is only obliged to take account of subsequent wishes of the Customer for changes and/or extensions if this is necessary for technical reasons in order to achieve the purpose of the contract. Reasonable, objectively justified minor modifications of the execution of performance are deemed as having been approved by the Customer in advance.

b. In the event of an alteration or addition to the order for whatever reasons after the order has been issued, the delivery/performance period shall be extended by an appropriate period.

c. Objectively justified partial deliveries and partial performances are permissible and can be invoiced separately by Europlast.

d. If delivery by call-off has been agreed, the delivery item/the goods shall be deemed to have been called off at the latest six months after ordering.

e. Europlast’s duty of execution of performance commences when all the technical details have been clarified, the Customer has created the technical and legal prerequisites, any down payment agreed has reached Europlast’s account or the security deposit has been handed over to Europlast, and any official authorisations/communications have been obtained by the Customer at its own expense.

6. Delivery terms

a. Delivery/performance periods are only binding upon Europlast if this was stated in writing. In the event of minor overruns of the delivery period, the Customer is not entitled to withdraw from the contract or to assert any claims of whatever kind (compensation etc.).
Nor can any claims of any kind whatever (compensation, withdrawal etc.) be asserted from overruns of the delivery period due to force majeure, strike, unforeseeable delay by the supplier for which Europlast is not to blame, culpable delays by Europlast’s suppliers or other comparable events that are beyond the control of Europlast. The delivery periods and dates shall be deferred by the period for which such an event lasts.

b. If the commencement of the execution of performance or the execution is delayed or interrupted by circumstances ascribable to the Customer, in particular the infringement of duties of cooperation, the performance periods shall be extended accordingly, and completion dates postponed accordingly. In this event Europlast shall be entitled to charge 20% of the net invoice amount (plus VAT) for the storage of materials and equipment thus rendered necessary for each month or part thereof for which the performance is delayed, whereby the Customer’s obligation of payment and responsibility for acceptance shall be unaffected by this.

c. In the event of default of delivery, the Customer must set Europlast an appropriate grace period with a simultaneous threat of withdrawal. This shall be communicated by registered letter. The Customer shall only be entitled to withdrawal after the fruitless expiry of this grace period.

d. The risk passes to the Customer as soon as the purchase item, material or device is held ready for collection at the plant or warehouse, delivered or handed over to a carrier. The Customer hereby approves any customary form of shipment.

e. Europlast reserves the right to over- or under-deliver by a maximum of 2% of the agreed number of items.

7. Default of acceptance

a. If despite an appropriate grace period being set by Europlast, the Customer is in default of acceptance (refusal of acceptance, delay in advance payments, no call-off within an appropriate period in the case of call-off orders, etc.), Europlast shall be entitled to store the goods at the Customer’s expense, for which a monthly storage charge in the amount of 20% of the net invoice amount (plus VAT) can be stipulated. Europlast is also entitled to utilise the goods otherwise.

b. Europlast expressly reserves the right to assert further claims.

8. Retention of title

a. The purchase item shall remain under the ownership of Europlast by way of security until all claims to which Europlast is entitled against the Customer now or in the future have been fulfilled. The Customer is obliged to handle the goods with care until all claims have been paid.

b. The Customer is permitted to resell the purchase item with the consent of Europlast. In the case of consent, the claim to the purchase price to which the Customer is entitled shall be deemed to have been ceded to Europlast. The goods/purchase item must not be pledged, transferred as security or encumbered in any other way with the rights of third parties until all claims of Europlast have been paid in full.

c. The Customer must note the retention of title in his accounts and on his invoices, and make his debtors aware of this cession, until the remuneration or purchase price has been paid in full. On request the Customer must provide Europlast with all the documents and information necessary for asserting the ceded claims and receivables.

d. If the Customer is in default of payment, after setting an appropriate grace period Europlast shall be entitled to request the return of the goods that are subject to retention of title. Europlast shall be entitled to utilise the goods that are subject to retention of title at its discretion and in the best possible way.

e. If insolvency proceedings are opened over the Customer’s assets, or the goods that are subject to retention of title are pledged by third parties, the Customer must inform Europlast of this immediately.

f. For the assertion of this retention of title, the Customer hereby declares that employees of Europlast are permitted to enter the Customer’s site/home.

g. The Customer shall bear the costs that are necessary and appropriate for legal action for this purpose.

9. Third party property rights

a. If the Customer furnishes intellectual creations or documents and if third party property rights are asserted in respect of these documents or creations, Europlast shall be entitled to cease the production of the delivery item at the Customer’s risk until these alleged property rights have been clarified, and to claim the reimbursement of the necessary and purposive costs that have been expended by Europlast. The Customer shall indemnify Europlast and hold it harmless in this respect, including from and against execution proceedings.

b. Europlast shall be entitled to request corresponding cost advances from the Customer for all and any necessary legal costs.

10. Intellectual property of Europlast

a. Delivery items, as well as design documents, plans, sketches, quotations etc. in this respect, and software that is provided by Europlast or created by means of a contribution from Europlast, shall remain the exclusive intellectual property of Europlast.

b. The express written consent of Europlast is required for the use of intellectual property, in particular transmission, reproduction, publication and making it available, including copying only in the form of extracts, and also for imitation, processing or utilisation. In the event of contravention, Europlast expressly reserves the right to assert claims for injunctive relief and for damages, as well as all and any further claims.

c. The Customer is obliged to maintain secrecy in respect of third parties regarding the knowledge that has become known to him from the business relationship with Europlast.

11. Warranty

a. The warranty period is one year from handover. In the absence of any agreement otherwise, the handover date is the completion date. At all events the goods shall be deemed to have been taken over by the Customer insofar as they pass into his authority to dispose over them or if the Customer has refused to accept the goods without stating reasons.

b. Written notification of defects and objections of any kind shall be notified to Europlast immediately by the Customer in writing specifically stating the defect, otherwise the claims under warranty shall lapse. If no written notification of defects takes place, the goods shall be deemed to have been approved. The Customer must prove that the defect was already present on handover.
In the event of unjustified complaints of defects, the Customer shall be obliged to immediately reimburse the costs of establishing the freedom from defects or rectifying the defects.

c. The Customer must immediately cease any use or processing of the defective goods if as a result of this further damage is threatened, or researching and/or rectifying the cause is aggravated or hindered. Europlast is entitled to undertake any inspection which it regards as necessary, or have such inspection undertaken. This also applies if such inspection should make the goods unusable.

d. The transport and/or travel costs incurred in connection with rectifying the defect shall be borne by the Customer. The defective goods shall be returned to us by the Customer insofar as this is reasonable. On our request the Customer must provide the workers, energy and space necessary for rectifying the defect and or preparatory actions free of charge, as well as lifting equipment and services, scaffolding etc. and must collaborate.

e. Europlast must be granted at least two attempts at rectifying the defect(s). The improvement of an alleged defect does not represent any recognition of this defect.

f. If goods are produced on the basis of details, drawings, plans, models or other specifications from the Customer, Europlast shall only guarantee the execution of the goods in accordance with the stipulations. If goods are provided by the Customer, Europlast shall not provide any guarantee for the goods provided or for damages arising from further processing.

g. If the goods cannot be used for the purpose wished by the Customer, this shall in no event constitute a defect if it is exclusively ascribable to the actual circumstances being different from the information available to Europlast at the time of conclusion of contract. It shall also not represent a defect if the Customer’s technical facilities are not in perfect condition ready for use, or are not compatible with the delivered goods. Differences in colour in subsequent deliveries do not represent a defect.

h. The only product characteristics due from Europlast are those that can be expected by the Customer with regard to acceptance requirements, operating instructions and other product-related instructions and information (in particular also maintenance and inspection) from Europlast or third-party manufacturers or importers, taking account of his knowledge and experience.

12. Liability/guarantee

a. Guarantees are solely assumed when there is an express written assurance of a guarantee.

b. In the case of pecuniary loss, the liability of Europlast Kunststoffbehälterindustrie GmbH shall, in principle, be limited to cases of intent or gross negligence. The amount of damages shall be limited to 1.5 times the invoice amount, but not more than the maximum liability amount of a liability insurance concluded by Europlast Kunststoffbehälterindustrie GmbH. This may be inspected by the contracting partner. This also applies to items that Europlast has accepted for processing.

c. This limitation or exclusion also applies to claims against employees of Europlast which the latter inflict upon the Customer without reference to an existing contractual relationship between Europlast and the Customer.

d. Claims for damages must be asserted within two years, otherwise they shall have lapsed.

e. The maximum warranty on embossing (such as in-mould, laser engraving, relief, and hot stamping) is two years for containers and boxes.

f. Liability by Europlast is further excluded for damages due to improper handling or storage, excessive stress, not following operating and installation instructions, faulty assembly, maintenance, commissioning etc. by the Customer or third parties. Liability is also excluded if natural wear and tear was responsible for the damage. This also applies also to all labelling variants such as in-mould labels, laser engraving, relief, and hot stamping as well as stickers. Furthermore, Europlast shall not be held liable for failure to carry out the necessary maintenance.

g. The amount of liability shall be limited insofar as the Customer benefits from insurance payments from his own indemnity insurance or such insurance taken out for his benefit (liability, accidental damage, transport etc.). In this case the Customer undertakes to make use of the insurance payment, and the liability by Europlast towards the Customer shall be limited to such disadvantages as accrue to the Customer as a result of making use of this insurance (e.g. higher amount insured).

h. Claims for recourse by way of product liability are excluded. This does not apply to damage arising due to the behaviour of Europlast which was caused through gross negligence or intent. The burden of proof for this rests with the Customer.

i. The warranty and liability provided by Europlast apply exclusively to the components and assembly work supplied and carried out by Europlast. We expressly point out that Europlast is not liable for any damages that may arise from self-assembly (especially faulty assembly) by the clients. Warranty claims, guarantees and liability claims shall only remain valid in the case of self-assembly if the assembly has been carried out by personnel/client who have been verifiably and regularly trained by employees of the contracting party/Europlast.

Please also note the guidelines on GGAWB.

13. Terms of guarantee for containers for recyclable waste

Europlast guarantees the quality of its containers exclusively on the following terms.

a. The Customer must have a documentation system corresponding to EN ISO 9001:2000 and must retain all the documents relevant to containers and vehicles for the entire guarantee period.

b. The location and the prevailing conditions must be documented over the entire guarantee period.

c. The guarantee applies only to containers that have exclusively been lifted and emptied with lifting devices conforming to EN 1501.

d. All maintenance and modifications to the vehicle body and the lifting device components must be documented with the signature of the technician, stating the intervention period, place, persons, reason for the intervention, subject of the intervention, description of the intervention, deviations from standards identified, and problems occurring.

e. Interventions and maintenance work on the body and lifting device must exclusively be undertaken by the lifting device manufacturer by persons with proven and documented specialist knowledge.

f. The lifting devices must only be operated by personnel trained by the lifting device manufacturer.

g. During regular, documented inspections all the prescribed inspection points must be documented according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The inspection intervals must not exceed three months or 10,000 lifting operations.

h. If containers are damaged, the following procedure must be complied with immediately:

If damage to the container is relevant under the guarantee, a possible claim under guarantee must be notified in writing to Europlast (Europlast GmbH, 9772 Dellach) immediately, namely on the following or next working day at the latest. The vehicle must be parked in a dry area protected from the weather, and made available to Europlast there for inspection. On request, lifting operations must be demonstrated and measurements taken according to instructions in the presence of named representatives of Europlast.

i. The location of the containers must be level and even in accordance with DIN 18202. During the guarantee period, the containers can be exposed to a maximum radiation dose of 500 kLy.

j. Care must be taken to handle, transport and store containers properly and appropriately to their use, and this must be documented.

k. In cases covered by guarantee, the burden of proof rests with the Customer. All documents must be made available to Europlast for inspection on first request, and if asked must be issued as notarial copies.

l. The date of manufacture marked on the container is the start date of the guarantee.

m. The number of lifting operations within the guarantee period is limited. A maximum average lifting frequency of one lifting process a week applies.

n. Differences in colour are excluded by this guarantee.

14. Data protection 

The Customer agrees to his personal details, namely name, address, phone number and email address, being stored by Europlast for the purpose of managing the contractual relationship and sending advertising material about Europlast’s products. This consent can be revoked with Europlast (Europlast GmbH, Schmelz 83, 9772 Dellach) at any time.

15. Severability clause

If individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions of Business should be/become ineffective, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts. In this case a new agreement shall be concluded by the contracting parties that comes closest to the ineffective provision.

16. Place of jurisdiction/applicable law

a. The place of performance is deemed to be the registered office of Europlast.

b. Insofar as the disputed amount is below or up to € 500,000.00 (in words: five hundred thousand euros) and an enforcement treaty for judicial decisions by Austrian courts is in place with the state in whose sovereign territory the Customer has his registered office/normal place of residence, the contracting parties agree that Austrian law shall apply to all disputes or claims arising between Europlast and the Customer from or in connection with the contractual relationship or these General Terms and Conditions of Business respectively, including disputes as to their validity, infringement, dissolution or nullity, with the exclusion of the rules on the conflict of laws and of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The court with competence for disputes is the court with competence for the matter for the town of Spittal/Drau.

c. If the disputed amount is over € 500,000.00 (in words: five hundred thousand euros) and in the event that no enforcement treaty for judicial decisions by Austrian courts is in place with the state in whose sovereign territory the Customer has his registered office/normal place of residence, all disputes or claims arising between Europlast and the Customer from or in connection with the contractual relationship or these General Terms and Conditions of Business respectively, including disputes as to their validity, infringement, dissolution or nullity, shall be heard in accordance with the rules of arbitration of the International Arbitration Court of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber(VIAC) (Vienna Rules) and these disputes shall be decided by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with these rules. Austrian law shall apply, with the exclusion of the rules on the conflict of laws and of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

In the event of arbitration proceedings, it is expressly agreed that the losing party shall reimburse the winning party for the entire legal costs. 

17. Language

Insofar as another language is used alongside the contractual language German, the German language shall take precedence.