GENERAL
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, these general terms and conditions apply to all quotations made by Kruisraket bvba, to all agreements concluded between Kruisraket bvba and the client, and to all invoices issued by Kruisraket bvba, regardless of the client’s place of residence or headquarters, or the location where delivery must take place. The client’s general terms and conditions are only valid if accepted in writing by Kruisraket bvba. In case of any conflict between the accepted general terms of the client and these terms and conditions of Kruisraket bvba, the latter shall prevail.
QUOTATIONS
All quotations, whether oral or written, are non-binding. The prices on which the quotations are based exclude VAT, packaging, and shipping costs.
AGREEMENTS
Agreements are only binding for Kruisraket bvba after written confirmation by them.
DESIGN
A design refers to any drawing, illustration, model, photo, layout, or text by which Kruisraket bvba gives shape to an idea. Both preliminary and final designs are considered designs. Unless otherwise agreed, the client must provide Kruisraket bvba with a written specification of the design assignment. In any case, the client must communicate the design assignment as accurately as possible.
CLIENT OBLIGATIONS
The client is assumed to have the right to commission the creation of a design. Concerning third parties, the client bears sole responsibility for the orders they place and approve. The client shall indemnify Kruisraket bvba upon first request against any third-party claims and bear all costs of any possible legal procedures. The client, therefore, assumes full responsibility and commits to indemnifying Kruisraket bvba for any claims or demands from third parties concerning the given order. Regarding print work, the client accepts the provisions established for the graphic industry, which allow for a maximum deviation of 10% in terms of quantity, format, color, and paper weight.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Kruisraket bvba cannot be held liable for data loss, delays, or interruptions of services provided. Kruisraket bvba cannot be held liable for the non-performance or late performance of an assignment due to force majeure of any kind or any event beyond its control. Kruisraket bvba is not required to prove the unforeseeable nature of the circumstance constituting force majeure. The client may not invoke any defects in the result, despite all due care, as a reason to withhold payment of an outstanding invoice. Furthermore, the client indemnifies Kruisraket bvba from all consequences of claims made by their customers against Kruisraket bvba. Kruisraket bvba recommends that the client take out their own insurance in this regard. Kruisraket bvba accepts no liability for direct or indirect damages suffered by clients or third parties caused by downtime, malfunction, or poor performance, or caused by appointees, or resulting from any cause whatsoever. Kruisraket bvba also accepts no liability for damage or loss of materials entrusted for processing and/or storage, regardless of the cause of this damage or loss. Kruisraket bvba cannot be held liable for any error or even gross negligence by itself or its appointees, except in the case of an intentional fault. In no event can Kruisraket bvba be held liable for consequential damages such as loss of expected profits, decline in turnover, loss of clientele, which the client might suffer as a result of any fault or negligence by Kruisraket bvba related to this agreement. Any liability of Kruisraket bvba – of any kind – is limited to a maximum of 50% of the value of the criticized product by the client.
EXPENSES AND ADDITIONAL FEES
If during the execution of the design, expenses are incurred for technical tools (i.e., typesetting, photos, etc.), travel and accommodation costs, travel expenses, work by third parties, etc., these will be borne by the client. Additional work (i.e., print checking, meetings, gathering information, etc.) may lead to additional fees based on an hourly rate. If Kruisraket bvba, at the request of the client, conducts preliminary research before the actual design work, an additional fee is also due. An additional fee is also due when the client requests advisory and supervisory assistance during a complete design process or part thereof.
COMPENSATION AFTER PARTIAL EXECUTION OF DESIGN
If, for whatever reason, Kruisraket bvba begins executing an assignment before all preparatory work is completed, and the execution must be halted due to the absence of necessary information requested from the client, the client shall owe a deposit proportional to the work already performed and costs incurred.
COMPENSATION AFTER DESIGN REJECTION
If the client rejects a preliminary or final design without allowing Kruisraket bvba to adjust it, or if the design or draft may not be finalized, the compensation for the work performed, along with any costs incurred, will be charged. In such a case, the design must be returned to Kruisraket bvba.
DELIVERY
A. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, prices are valid from the headquarters of Kruisraket bvba. Consequently, Kruisraket bvba fulfills its delivery obligation when the design is made available to the client at its headquarters. If the design is not picked up by the client on the agreed delivery date for any reason, it will be stored at Kruisraket bvba’s headquarters at the client’s expense and risk. The client bears all costs and risks associated with the transportation of the design from Kruisraket bvba's headquarters to the desired destination. B. The agreed delivery times are not binding. These deadlines will be respected as much as possible. Exceeding the delivery term cannot give rise to any liability on the part of Kruisraket bvba, nor can it be grounds for terminating the agreement.
DELIVERY OF PARTIAL ASSIGNMENTS
When the client assigns Kruisraket bvba only a partial assignment, Kruisraket bvba will deliver the result of this partial assignment to the client for review and acceptance. However, if it has been agreed in writing that the result of the partial assignment must be delivered directly to a third party, and control and acceptance by the client is therefore excluded, this implies that the client accepts the result of the partial assignment. No counter-evidence can be provided. In such a case, Kruisraket bvba cannot be held liable for any problems that may arise in the following phases of the production process that have not been entrusted to Kruisraket bvba.
FORCE MAJEURE
Kruisraket bvba cannot be held liable when the failure to comply with its obligations is due to cases of force majeure, such as war, unrest, partial or general strike, partial or general lock-out, contagious diseases, operational accidents, fire, machine breakdown, technical defects, bankruptcy of suppliers, etc. Force majeure does not entitle the client to terminate the agreement or claim compensation.
COMPLAINTS
Complaints regarding the execution of the design must be reported to Kruisraket bvba by registered mail within two days of delivery. Late complaints are inadmissible. A complaint does not exempt the client from the obligation to pay the amount of the invoices on the agreed dates and according to the agreed terms. A complaint, even if justified, does not authorize the client to refuse the execution of the agreement for designs that are not the subject of the complaint.
ACCEPTANCE OF INVOICE - PAYMENT
Each invoice shall be deemed accepted in the absence of protest by registered letter within eight days of the invoice date. All invoices are payable in cash at the headquarters of Kruisraket bvba within thirty days of the invoice date, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Payment by transfer, bill of exchange, or any other means shall not be considered as a waiver of this provision and does not constitute a renewal of debt. Payment must be made in cash, without discount, and in euros unless otherwise agreed in writing. All payment costs are borne by the client. Also, all collection and protest costs of accepted or non-accepted bills of exchange are borne by the client. If Kruisraket bvba’s trust in the client's creditworthiness is shaken due to legal actions against the client and/or other events that call into question the proper execution of the commitments made by the client, Kruisraket bvba reserves the right to suspend the entire execution of the order or part thereof and to demand suitable guarantees from the client. If the client refuses to comply, Kruisraket bvba reserves the right to cancel the entire order or part thereof. The above applies without prejudice to the rights of Kruisraket bvba to claim damages and interest. In case of full or partial non-payment on the due date, the outstanding invoices will automatically and without prior notice incur an annual default interest at the judicial interest rate, increased by 2%, with a minimum interest rate of 12%. Furthermore, the outstanding balance, after unsuccessful formal notice, will be increased by 12% of the invoice amount, with a minimum of 250 euros, even in case of granting grace periods. Non-payment on the due date of a single invoice renders the outstanding balance of all other, even non-due invoices, immediately payable by law. Upon presentation of this document at Kruisraket headquarters, you will receive a cold beer.
APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION
All disputes between the client and Kruisraket bvba fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of the judicial district of Kortrijk. The relationship between the client and Kruisraket bvba is governed exclusively by Belgian law.
INDEPENDENCE OF CLAUSES – DUTCH TEXT
The possible invalidity of one or more provisions of these terms does not affect the applicability of all other clauses. In case of dispute regarding the interpretation of these terms, the Dutch text shall always prevail.