General Terms and Conditions of Sale (GTC)

These General Terms and Conditions of Sale (hereinafter “GTC”) apply to all sales, deliveries and services provided by Quintessence Publicité Sàrl (hereinafter “Quintessence”) to its business customers (hereinafter the “Customer”). Quintessence operates exclusively in B2B, on the basis of personalised quotes.

The Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) applies on a supplementary basis.

Any contract concluded by Quintessence is governed by these GTC, to the exclusion of any other terms, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

All offers and quotes are non-binding and are prepared on the basis of the information provided by the Customer.

The contract is deemed concluded upon:

• written acceptance of the quote by the Customer (signature, e-mail or explicit approval),
• and, where applicable, receipt of the required deposit.

Any accepted order is firm and final.

From the fourth offer not resulting in an order, Quintessence reserves the right to charge CHF 30.– per additional offer.

Prices are stated in Swiss francs (CHF), excluding VAT.

VAT is invoiced separately at the applicable statutory rate.

Prices are calculated on the basis of:

• raw material costs,
• transport costs, valid on the date the offer or order confirmation is issued.

Due to strong fluctuations in these costs, Quintessence reserves the right to adjust prices if necessary, including for orders not yet fulfilled.

Quintessence also reserves the right to modify product models or specifications at any time, provided this does not substantially alter the order.

An administrative fee of CHF 50.– is automatically charged for any order below CHF 500.–.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the payment terms are as follows:

• Orders < CHF 1’000.– or new customer:
  100 % payment upon order
• Other orders:
  50 % deposit upon order, balance payable within 15 days net after receipt of the goods

Any amount not paid by the due date, without written and reasoned objection, automatically results in late payment.

The Customer is then liable for:

• default interest of 7 % per year,
• reminder fees of CHF 30.– per reminder,
• all costs incurred by Quintessence for debt collection.

Quintessence reserves the right to entrust debt collection to a third party.

Delivery times are given for information purposes only, unless otherwise committed in writing.

For technical production reasons, quantity variations of ±10 % may occur for certain items.

The quantity actually delivered is the quantity invoiced.

Due to the nature of the materials, inks and printing processes, slight differences in shade or finish are unavoidable and do not constitute a defect.

Such variations may under no circumstances give rise to a complaint.

Goods travel at the Customer’s risk, even in the case of carriage-paid delivery.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing:

• deliveries within Switzerland are made CPT (Incoterms in force),
• exceptionally EXW (ex works) by written agreement, including for goods collected by the Customer.

Insurance against damage of any kind is the sole responsibility of the Customer. Any liability of Quintessence in this respect is expressly excluded.

The goods delivered remain the property of Quintessence until full payment of the agreed price.

The Customer expressly acknowledges this retention of title and authorises Quintessence to take any measures necessary to safeguard its rights.

The Customer must inspect the goods immediately upon receipt.

Any complaint must be submitted in writing:

• within 10 days of delivery,
• or, for defects not immediately detectable, upon their discovery and no later than 20 days after delivery.

The goods must not have undergone any processing or alteration.

The amount of any complaint is limited to the amount of the invoice concerned. Any other claim is excluded.

Quintessence reserves the right to cancel an order, without compensation, if it is unable to meet its commitments.

Quintessence shall under no circumstances be held liable for indirect damage, in particular:

• loss of turnover,
• business interruption,
• loss of profits or contracts,
• damage to reputation,
• loss of data, time or opportunity,
• non-material damage.

In the event of force majeure preventing performance of the contract, Quintessence will inform the Customer within 15 days.

Force majeure includes in particular: strikes, lock-outs, civil unrest, war, natural disasters, epidemics, transport or supply disruptions, IT or telecommunications failures, legal or regulatory restrictions, and any event beyond the control of the parties.

Obligations are suspended for the duration of the event, without compensation.

If the force majeure lasts more than 3 months, the contract may be terminated by either party, without compensation.

Non-payment by the Customer can under no circumstances be justified by force majeure.

Quintessence’s claims arising from this contract may not be set off against any claims of the Customer.

These GTC are governed by Swiss law.

Any dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Canton of Valais.