Terms & Conditions
These terms and conditions apply to auctions conducted by Madam Claire Notari, bailiff in Monaco, and shall apply mutatis mutandis to any private sale.
1. In the Terms and Conditions, the words and phrases listed below have the following meanings:
- "Bailiff" - Madam Claire Notari, bailiff in Monaco.
- "Organizer" - SARL HERMITAGE FINE ART
- "Catalogue" - Any advertisement, brochure, price list and other publications.
- "Expenses" incurred at the time of sale of any Lot, the fees and expenses incurred by the Organizer for insurance, packaging, transportation, storage, eventual restoration and framing, taxes and various expenses and all other VAT related costs.
- "Hammer price" - Price in Euros of the Lot, which is awarded to the Buyer.
- "Lot" - Any item presented with the intent that it be auctioned.
- "Purchase Price" - Hammer price plus all Expenses, VAT, additional costs and expenses in Euros owed by the Buyer in default in accordance with Clause 14.
- "Sales Proceeds" - The net amount due to the Seller consisting of the Hammer Price minus the commission owed by the Seller to the Organizer in any capacity, and generated in any way whatsoever.
- "VAT" - Value Added Tax
- "Fees" - The buyer shall pay the Organizer, in addition to the Hammer Price of each Lot, a premium of 27% of the final bid, plus VAT. Please note that all Lots purchased through the services of online sales and auctions such as Le Figaro Enchères, The-saleroom.com, Invaluable.com, Auction.fr, Lot-tissimo.de and Bidspirit.com will be subject to an additional charge of 3%+ VAT of the hammer price.
2. The Bailiff sells as the agent for the Seller and is not responsible for any mistakes made by the Buyer or the Seller.
3. Despite the efforts to ensure the accuracy of the description of each Lot in the Catalogue, nor the Bailiff nor the Organizer do not guarantee that such a description is accurate. Any statements other than printed in the Catalogue, relating to, but not limited to, authenticity, provenance, origin, age, date, condition, estimated selling price, or quality of any Lot, is a matter of opinion, and neither the Bailiff nor its servants or agents shall be held liable for the accuracy of any given opinion. No person is authorized by the Organizer to make whatever statement unless already printed in the Catalogue.
4. The Bailiff or the Organizer, if instructed by a potential Buyer, may accept bids on his or her behalf, provided that neither the Bailiff nor its employees or agents shall be held liable for negligence or error in the execution or non-execution of such orders.
5. The Bailiff reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to refuse admission to any person within its premises or attendance at its auctions.
6. The Bailiff reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to refuse a bid, to divide any Lot, to combine two or more Lots, to withdraw any Lot from the auction and in case of conflict to place back any Lot for sale and increase the bid as it suits him or her.
6A. TEMPORARY IMPORTATION
6A.1. Any Lot marked with a symbol "plus (+)" are "free port" and are subject to import tax.
The Buyer intending to import the aforesaid Lot into the European Union should be aware that an import tax will be due on the Hammer Price.
This import tax shall be paid to Hermitage Fine Art in addition to other fees
(e.g.: 5.5% for antiques and works of art in Monaco).
6A.2. Any other Lots are in free circulation within the European Union.
6A.3. The Buyer shall be responsible for checking and fulfilling all the conditions for the transportation of the Lots to their destination, including, but not limited to, checking the import status of the Lots, and the regulations for importation at destination.
7. Nor the Bailiff nor the Organizer shall not be held liable for injury, damage or loss of any kind whatsoever, suffered by any person while he or she is at the premises of the exhibition and sale, except in the case of death or injury caused by the negligence of the Bailiff, its employees and agents.
8. Any notice given by the Bailiff addressed to the Seller, Buyer, or potential Buyer, may be delivered by hand or sent by mail, telex or fax, and shall be deemed received:
a) Upon delivery, if delivered by hand.
b) Within 2 hours following the transmission during a business day, if sent by telex or fax.
c) Within 48 hours following the postmarked date, if the mail is sent to the same country, and within 7 days if it is sent abroad.
9. 9.1 Any transaction subject to these Terms and Conditions and any matters related thereto shall be settled by Monegasque law and all parties concerned shall refer themselves to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Monegasque courts.
9.2 The rights of reproduction of any written content and illustrations referring to Lots shall remain at all times the absolute property of the Organizer and shall not be used, even partly, by any person without prior consent of the Organizer.
10. Any person wishing to bid shall be required, before the sale, to complete a "registration form" with the Bailiff and Organizer. He or she shall provide the Bailiff and Organizer a photo ID as well as his or her bank references. The duly completed form, signed and dated, will be returned to the Bailiff before the start of the sale and a registration number shall be assigned to each potential bidder. A bidder is only allowed to bid if he or she holds a registration number and provided that he or she is aware of the catalogue, which contains these general terms and conditions of sale to which the Bailiff and Organizer explicitly refer to. The act of bidding will automatically entail that the bidder has read, understood and accepted the said terms and conditions.
11. THE BAILIFF
11.1 The sale shall be carried out by Madam Claire Notari, Bailiff of Monaco, who will announce the Hammer Price, ensure that the bidding is properly carried out, and generally will take all necessary measures in maintaining order during the Sale.
11.2 The Bailiff reserves the right, in its sole discretion, and without any obligation for justification of his or her decision, to continue or stop the sale, to remove one or more Lots, to accept or refuse a bid, to proceed with any split, joining or withdrawal of the Lots.
11.3 Generally, the Bailiff has the authority to make any decision in order to resolve any dispute arising during the Sale.
11.4 The Bailiff and the Organizer explicitly reserve the right to make any statement before the opening of the sale or prior to the auctioning of a Lot, referring to changes, descriptions, statements, details in the Catalogue or these Terms and Conditions of Sale; these modifications shall be imposed on the bidder.
11.5 The Bailiff shall notify the bidders before the sale begins of the conditions of the Hammer Prices including the additional incurred fees.
11.6 The Bailiff can accept bids from any person present in the room. He or she may also take orders from bidders not present once they have been given to the employees of the Organizer by phone, telex, fax, or by any other written order and approved by the Organizer and the Bailiff. In any case, the latter shall not be held liable for negligence, error or mistake in the execution of orders. In all cases, the Organizer and the Bailiff will not be held responsible for the non-execution for any reason whatsoever, of an order that they have received.
12. AUCTIONS
12.1 Auctions are conducted in Euros. The Bailiff and the Organizer reserve the right to install a currency conversion table but shall decline all responsibility in the event of failure or display error. Only the amount of the last bid, as expressed by the Bailiff, shall be taken into consideration.
12.2 Each bidder shall be deemed and presumed to have acted on his or her own behalf, unless before the sale, he or she has explicitly brought to the attention of the Bailiff and the Organizer in writing that he or she will be bidding on behalf of a third party, which has been approved by the Bailiff and the Organizer.
12.3 In the case of dispute with the third party, the bidder and the third party shall both be held accountable for the bidding.
13. AUCTION SALE
13.1 The highest and last bidder that is accepted by the Bailiff shall be declared the successful purchaser; he or she shall be required to make a payment in the manner outlined below.
13.2 At the time of the announcement of the hammer price, the Buyer shall immediately disclose to the agents of the Bailiff the number he or she has been assigned. The Organizer or the Bailiff explicitly reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to immediately place back the Lot for sale with no possibility of appeal from the highest bidder.
13.3 In case of dispute, the notary that is the Bailiff, has the right to rescind the sale and to immediately place back the Lot concerned for auctioning.
13.4 In addition to the hammer price up to and including 250.000 EUR, the Buyer shall also pay a premium of 27% plus VAT.
Buyer's premium rate payable on the hammer price in excesse of 250.000 EUR up to and including 2.500.000 EUR - 21.5% + VAT.
Buyer's premium rate payable on the portion of the hummer price in excess of 2.500.000 EUR - 12.5% + VAT.
This amount will be added to the final bid. Please note that all Lots purchased through the services of online sales and auctions such as Le Figaro Enchères, The-saleroom.com, Invaluable.com, Auction.fr, Lot-tissimo.de and Bidspirit. will be subject to an additional charge of 3%+ VAT of the hammer price.
14. PAYMENT
14.1 The hammer price and the abovementioned amount in section 13.4 shall be immediately paid; however, the Seller can give Madam Claire Notari the right to grant, in its sole discretion, the possibility for the successful purchaser to pay the hammer price and additional charges mentioned above by bank transfer. In any case, the payment must absolutely occur no later than 12h00 (12pm) of the first business day after the auction with the Organizer's Monegasque banking institution.
14.2 In case of non-execution or of partial execution of the obligations borne by the successful purchaser under these Terms and Conditions, particularly in the case of non-payment of the hammer price and additional charges or in the case of partial payment within 24 hours following the sale, provided that the Lot has not been immediately placed back for auctioning during the concerned vacation, the Organizer reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to exercise the following rights and actions:
- To demand definitive compensation by way of penalty clause, a percentage of 0.5% per day late on the price or a fraction of the unpaid price and additional fees until full payment;
- To demand for compensatory damages, which shall not only cover any loss arising from the resale of the Lot in question, but also the expenses of such a resale, as well as damages suffered by the Bailiff and the Organizer;
- To set an interest rate of 16% per annum on the amount due by the successful purchaser;
- To achieve the compensation between the amounts owed by the Buyer with all funds held or which may come to be held by the Organizer on behalf of the Buyer.
15. TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP
The transfer of ownership of a Lot in favor of the Buyer shall only take place after full payment of the Hammer Price and abovementioned additional fees. However, upon auction sale (finalized by the Bailiff's hammer blow), all risks relating to the Lot will be transferred to the successful purchaser in full and without reservation.
16. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BUYER
16.1This list not being restrictive, the successful purchaser shall be solely responsible for the loss, theft, partial or total destruction, or damage which may occur between the auction sale and the transfer of ownership after full payment of the Hammer Price and additional fees.
16.2 The successful purchaser shall be required to undertake at his expense, the withdrawal of the Lot of which he has become the owner, under section 15, within 48 hours of the auction sale.
16.3 Likewise, all charges for storage and insurance purposes that have been put forward by the Organizer for the time period between the auction sale and the payment of the hammer price and additional fees (transfer of ownership), shall remain the successful purchaser's responsibility and shall be paid at the time of payment of the hammer price and additional charges.
16.4 In the case of uncollected Lots by the Buyer within the time period stipulated in Clause 16.2, the Organizer reserves the right to arrange for the removal of the Lots at the risk and expense of the Buyer, as well as the shipment under the same terms and conditions to Monaco, France or any other country specified by the Buyer.
17. CONDITION OF THE LOTS
The Lots are sold in the same condition in which they were presented at the time of sale and no action shall be exercised against the Bailiff or the Organizer for flaws or hidden defects affecting the Lot that is to be sold, regardless of the significance of the flaw or defect. It will be up to the potential bidders, prior to the Auction during the public exhibition of the Lots for sale, to check the condition, quality and authenticity of the Lots.
18. EXPORT OF LOTS
Due to Monaco being part of the French Customs Union, exports outside of Monaco undergo the same rules and regulations as those existing in France. Any Lot coming from the Customs Union or a beneficiary of temporary importation, if it remains in the Customs Union, may be removed upon presentation of proof of payment of the Purchase Price. On the other hand, if the successful purchaser intends to export the Lot outside of the Customs Union, it will be up to him or her, and under his or her full and sole responsibility, to perform all the necessary procedures and formalities required by the law in force. Under no circumstances shall the Organizer or Bailiff be pursued for non-compliance or completion of the said formalities.
19. ORGANIZER'S MANDATE
The Organizer carries the role of agent of his or her mandate, which gives him the authorization to sell one or more Lots. Under this capacity, neither the Organizer nor the Bailiff shall be part of the contract binding their mandate and Seller to the Purchaser: therefore neither the Organizer nor the Bailiff shall be held responsible if one of the parties fails to fulfill any of the obligations stipulated in the contract.
20. JURISDICTION
The sale as well as these Terms and Conditions are explicitly regulated by Monegasque law. Any dispute relating to the sale or these Terms and Conditions will be subject to the jurisdiction of the Monegasque courts.
