Auction Terms
1) Equine Elite The Auction (hereafter: Equine Elite), organises The Equine Elite Auction (hereafter: ‘the auction’) annually on the last Saturday of October at Paardensportcentrum “Stal Korenbloem” in Weert.
2) Equine Elite cannot be considered a seller in any legal way. The sale comes about between the owner of the contributed horse (seller) and the buyer. The name of the seller is stated on the contract of sale and can therefore be requested from the secretariat.
3) These auction terms and conditions apply primarily to the relationship between Equine Elite and the bidder/purchaser. Bidder/purchaser also includes any legal successors/assignees.
4) Participation in the auction shall be deemed as acceptance of these auction terms and conditions to the exclusion of any terms and conditions to be applied by the participant himself.
The auction:
5) The horses will be sold without action or reaction, in the condition that they are in at the time of award.
6) The auctioneer has the power to change the order of the horses to be sold or refuse persons as bidder/purchasers without giving reason.
7) Bidders/purchasers shall be deemed to be fully capable of acting and in full awareness. Each bidder/purchaser shall be deemed to have bid for himself and shall be bound by his bid until a higher bid is finally accepted. A bidder/purchaser shall be fully liable in addition to his principal, if any, for failure to fulfil his obligations.
8) Registered horses will be sold by auction. If no bid comes, the horse is not sold. Bidding stages will be determined by the auctioneer and made clear to the public prior to the auction.
9) The risk regarding the horses, including but not limited to damage to and caused by the horses, will immediately pass from the seller to the bidder/purchaser at the time of award. As long as Equine Elite has not received full payment from the bidder/purchaser, the seller remains the owner of the horse.
10) The bidder/purchaser will sign a written purchase agreement immediately after being awarded under presentation of identification. If the purchase agreement is not immediately presented to the bidder/purchaser for signature, he should report to the Equine Elite secretariat immediately after the auction. Bidding starts from 10,000,-
Information on the horses:
11) Equine Elite has attempted to compile the catalogue as accurately as possible. The information on the pedigrees and/or the horses is intended to give an impression of the quality of the horses, without pretending to be complete and without giving any guarantees. Interested parties are advised to do their own research into the accuracy of published data.
12) A copy of the veterinary report as well as X-rays can be inspected upon request prior to the auction and on the day of the auction. The content of the veterinary report, X-rays and any other veterinary report provided by Equine Elite is binding on Equine Elite and bidder/buyer.
13) The bidders/purchasers are obliged to provide information regarding their financial standing at Equine Elite's request, submitting documents to Equine Elite showing such standing. By requesting to participate in the auction, the bidders/purchasers authorise Equine Elite to obtain information from third parties regarding their financial standing.
Costs and Payment:
14) At the auction, the bidder/purchaser must pay the purchase price plus 8% premium (excluding VAT) on the purchase price (including VAT if applicable), in cash at the Equine Elite secretariat, in euros without any discount or deduction.
15) Only with prior written consent of Equine Elite, a bidder/purchaser has the right to pay by giro, whereby the amount due must be credited to the account number of Equine Elite within 7 days after the auction. In such case, Equine Elite obliges the bidder/purchaser to have the horse insured with immediate effect and at the bidder/purchaser's expense.
16) If the bidder/buyer is in default with this, Equine Elite has the power to immediately re-auction the horse, whereby the bid of the original bidder/buyer will not be accepted again. The original bidder/purchaser is obliged to pay Equine Elite the difference between his bid and the final lower purchase price, as well as the costs of re-auction. The bidder/purchaser has no claims in the event of higher proceeds after re-auction.
17) Equine Elite has the power to revoke the consent it has given at any time if, in its opinion, there is doubt about the financial soundness of the bidder/purchaser or the security provided by him/her.
18) Payment to any other than Equine Elite does not release the seller or bidder/purchaser from payment obligations against Equine Elite.
19) If Equine Elite has not received complete payment from the bidder/buyer within 7 days after the auction, the bidder/buyer is legally in default. The bidder/purchaser shall then, in addition to the other amounts owed by him (sub 14), owe to and for the benefit of Equine Elite a compensation in the amount of 12% (including VAT) of the purchase price (including VAT). The total amount due by the bidder/buyer under his payment obligations shall be increased by the statutory interest, to be calculated from the auction until the time of complete payment.
20) If Equine Elite has not received full payment from the bidder/buyer within 7 days after the auction, Equine Elite further has the power, without notice of default on behalf of the seller and without his consent, to consider the sale as dissolved. In that case, the seller and the bidder/purchaser remain liable to Equine Elite to fulfil all their payment obligations mentioned in these auction terms and conditions, insofar as they concern compensation for the benefit of Equine Elite.
21) If Equine Elite does not dissolve the purchase, Equine Elite is entitled, on behalf of the seller, to collect the purchase price and all additional costs of legal assistance, stabling/training costs and interest, whether or not through legal proceedings under Dutch law. The seller assigns all claims on the purchaser to Equine Elite.
22) If the bidder/buyer is in default with respect to his (payment) obligations, all (extra)judicial costs incurred by Equine Elite as a result shall be borne by the bidder/buyer, with a minimum amount of €1,000.00 including VAT.
Vetting of the horses for auction:
23) All horses have undergone a veterinary examination prior to the auction. A copy of the veterinary examination as well as any X-rays are available for inspection for several weeks prior to the auction. All x rays can be forwarded per e-mail upon request. A veterinarian will be present before and during the auction to provide clarification of the veterinary examination.
24) A potential buyer has the right, at his own expense, to have one (or more) horses examined and to have additional examination(s) carried out by his own appointed veterinarian prior to the auction. If, despite having been given ample opportunity to do so, the buyer omits to have his own examination or inspection performed, the consequences thereof shall be at the expense and risk of the buyer in the broadest sense of the word.
Issue and removal of horses:
25) Immediately after award, the bidder/purchaser is responsible for the care of and liable for damage to the horse and/or caused by the horse.
26) If and only after the bidder/purchaser has fully complied with his/her (payment) obligations, including payment obligations that involve compensation for the benefit of Equine Elite, the bidder/purchaser can dispose of the horse, whereby he/she will receive the necessary documents. Equine Elite is never obliged to surrender the horse if the bidder/purchaser has not fully complied with his/her (payment) obligations. After a period of 96 hours, unless explicitly agreed upon and confirmed in writing, the buyer/bidder will owe Equine Elite a fee of €92 per day (ex VAT) due to training & stabling costs.
Stable vices and defects:
27) If the bidder/purchaser observes any barn vices in the horse purchased, being crib-biting, weaving or air-sucking, or any other physical defect then the bidder/purchaser shall notify Equine Elite in writing within 7 days of the auction, giving as detailed a description as possible of the nature of the problem. Then Equine Elite will lodge the horse at a location to be determined by Equine Elite and have the horse examined by a veterinary surgeon to be appointed by Equine Elite for the stable vices or defect described by the bidder/purchaser. The said veterinary surgeon shall determine the nature of the stall vices or defect in a binding manner. If, in the opinion of such veterinary surgeon, the stall vices or defects described by the bidder/purchaser are present, the bidder/purchaser shall have the right to cancel the sale.
28) If the bidder/purchaser does not report said stall vices or (other) defects within the aforementioned period of 7 days after the auction in the aforementioned manner and/or if the aforementioned veterinary surgeon does not establish the stall vices or (other) defects, the bidder/purchaser's right to rescind the sale or invoke a lack of will shall lapse.
Dissolution and annulment:
29) If the sale is validly dissolved or annulled by the bidder/purchaser or the seller, the bidder/purchaser remains obliged to fulfil all his/her payment obligations against Equine Elite mentioned in these auction terms and conditions, insofar as they concern compensation for the benefit of Equine Elite. The sale may be dissolved or annulled with due observance of the relevant statutory provisions, to the extent not validly deviated from in these auction terms and conditions.
Liability:
30) Although Equine Elite strives to provide information as complete and accurate as possible, Equine Elite is not liable for the accuracy of the information in the catalogue, the information given at the auction site and the information during the auction.
31) Equine Elite is not liable for the accuracy of the information in the veterinary report, the veterinary information given on the auction premises and the information during the auction. To this end, the buyer/bidder should contact the veterinarian.
32) Equine Elite is not liable for any damage suffered by and/or to persons, goods or horses prior to, during or after the auction.
33) With regard to the horses, Equine Elite does not take out insurance for the benefit of the bidders/purchasers. As bidders/purchasers participate in the auction entirely at their own expense and risk, Equine Elite advises them to take out such insurance themselves.
34) Equine Elite is not liable for failures of third parties.
35) Equine Elite excludes liabilities except in case of intent or gross negligence of HR Equestrian.
36) Anyone causing damage to (goods belonging to or used by) Equine Elite is liable for such damage.
37) Bidders/purchasers are liable for all damage caused by them. The bidders/purchasers indemnify Equine Elite against any claims by third parties (including other bidders/purchasers, or visitors or exhibitors) in this respect.
Other:
38) If, with regard to the transfer of auctioned horses to another Member State of the European Union, invoicing is carried out at the zero VAT rate at the request of the bidder/purchaser, the bidder/purchaser undertakes to fulfil all necessary conditions to that effect in order to achieve a legally valid intra-Community transaction.
39) If, with regard to the transfer of auctioned horses to a country outside the European Union, the VAT zero rate is invoiced at the request of the bidder/purchaser, the bidder/purchaser undertakes to fulfil all necessary conditions to that effect in order to achieve a legally valid export transaction.
40). If application of the VAT-zero rate turns out not to be possible due to whatever circumstances (afterwards), the bidder/purchaser still has to pay an amount equal to the amount that would be due if there was a domestic delivery of the horse concerned. However, at Equine Elite's request, the bidder/purchaser is obliged to immediately pay the aforementioned amount to Equine Elite. Then repayment thereof will only and only take place if the bidder/buyer has fulfilled Equine Elite's conditions (sub 38/39). The bidder/purchaser is liable and in any case indemnifies Equine Elite for all damages resulting from failure to comply with the conditions (sub 38/39). In addition, the bidder/purchaser is liable for all (extra)judicial costs incurred by Equine Elite, with a minimum amount of €1,000.00 including VAT.
Conversion:
41) If one or more of the provisions mentioned in these auction terms and conditions should be or become invalid, the other provisions shall remain valid. In that case, a new provision shall take the place of the said invalid provision, which shall correspond to the said old invalid provision as far as possible as regards content, scope and purpose.
Disputes:
42) This is a translation of the original Dutch Terms and Conditions. In the event of any dispute or discrepancy, only the Dutch version shall be legally binding.
43) If a difference of opinion arises on an allotment as to who made the last bid, or if other difficulties, ambiguities and disputes arise on bids and/or on the allotment, the auctioneer is authorised to pronounce a binding opinion thereon. In case of the aforementioned difference of opinion concerning the last bid, the auctioneer is authorised to continue the sale by auction.
44) The legal relations between Equine Elite and the bidder/purchaser are exclusively governed by Dutch law, with complete exclusion of the Vienna Sales Convention (CISG). Disputes, other than those submitted to the judgement of the auctioneer or the notary as a result of the provisions under 40, will be exclusively settled by the competent court in Roermond.
