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Terms and Conditions

Edition 2021

§ 1  General, scope

1. Our General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTC) shall apply to all orders placed with us.

2. Our GTC shall apply to all future business with the same contractual partner, even if they are not expressly incorporated into contracts on each individual occasion.

3. Exceptions to these GTC shall only be valid if approved in writing.

4. For further information concerning the characteristics and potential uses of our natural stone products and the handling, care and cleaning of natural stone, please refer to our notes and information sheets, available for download at www.truffer.ch.

 

§ 2  Offers, placing of orders

5. Unless agreed otherwise, our offers remain valid for 60 days.

6. All of our offers are based on details and specifications provided to us by our customers or their auxiliaries. If samples are provided to us by customers or if we provide customers with samples of natural stone, we are naturally unable to guarantee that our delivery will be precisely identical to the sample with regard to colour, structure, veining, marking, etc. Any samples are provided solely for reference purposes.

7. Orders shall be deemed to have been received by us upon delivery of the unaltered written order confirmation signed by the customer (by post, fax or email).

 

§ 3  Scope of performance

8. Unless agreed otherwise, our performance shall only extend to the delivery of the natural stone or natural stone products ordered in accordance with the order confirmation. Performance by us shall only include consultancy work with regard to the suitability of the natural stone for the intended purpose made known to us insofar as such services have been assured by us and specified accordingly in the order confirmation.

9. Performance by us shall not include indications regarding the laying of natural stone slabs, the working of natural stone or static calculations.

 

§ 4  Prices, payment terms

10. Our prices do not include packaging and transport costs. These shall be borne by the customer. Transport costs shall be charged to the customer separately for each delivery. Pallets delivered shall not be taken back by us.

11. Our prices do not include statutory value added tax, which shall be stated separately in the invoice. Deliveries from Switzerland to a foreign country shall be exempt from Swiss value added tax. Any import excise tax on deliveries to a foreign country shall be borne by the customer.

12. We reserve the right to increase our prices by a reasonable amount if cost increases occur after order confirmation, including in particular in the event of exchange rate variations.

13. Deliveries to a foreign country shall only be made following advance payment or the provision of an appropriate payment guarantee. Unless agreed otherwise, 20% of the order value shall be paid by the customer upon signature of the order confirmation and 80% prior to delivery of the goods ordered.

14. Unless agreed otherwise and stated in the order confirmation, our invoices shall be payable net within 30 days of the invoice date. Any discounts agreed upon may only be deducted in the event of payment within the agreed payment term. In the event of a price reduction, transport and packaging costs shall not be eligible for the reduction.

15. In the event of late payment the customer shall owe us default interest at 6% from the time a notice of default was issued. The customer shall be deemed to be in default upon issue of a payment demand by us.

16. The purchase price may not be offset against any claims resulting from defective deliveries or other claims under this Contract.

 

§ 5  Delivery

17. Unless specified otherwise in the order confirmation, delivery shall occur ex works from our warehouse in the logistics centre operated by Kuoni in Domat/Ems. The costs of transportation of our natural stone products from Vals to Domat/Ems shall be borne by the customer and charged separately. Unless agreed otherwise, organisation of onward transport shall be a matter for the customer.

18. Our deliveries shall be examined by the customer immediately upon consignment to the building site or on its premises as to their completeness, qualitative defects and any damage. Any claims shall be submitted in writing as follows:
• claims due to incomplete delivery or damage caused during transit must be reported to us promptly;
• claims relating to the products delivered (damage, quality defects, etc.) within 8 days of receipt of the goods.

If no claim is submitted within this period, delivery shall be deemed to have been made according to contract. If a claim is submitted in relation to a delivery, the customer may not process the goods involved, otherwise any warranty claim shall be forfeit.

19. Risk of the accidental destruction of or damage to the goods shall transfer to the customer once the goods have been prepared for shipment at the logistics centre. If we deliver ex works, risk shall transfer once the goods have been prepared for loading on our factory premises. We shall accordingly not bear liability for any damage arising during the loading procedure or during transportation to the customer.

20. The delivery deadlines stated by us are non-binding, unless any deadline has been confirmed by us in writing as a “binding delivery deadline”. The delivery deadlines, which are stated in weeks, shall commence upon receipt of the order confirmation by us.

21. In the event of a binding commitment regarding the delivery deadline, we shall not bear any liability for late delivery attributable to force majeure, breakdown etc.

22. If the customer is late in acceptance or breaches any other duties of cooperation, we shall be entitled to claim compensation for the damage thereby caused to us. If the customer fails to collect the goods made available in our warehouse in the logistics centre within 10 working days and if additional storage costs are thereby incurred by us, these shall be borne by the customer.

23. We shall retain ownership over the goods delivered by us until payment in full of all claims resulting from the business relationship.

24. Unless agreed otherwise, deliveries to a foreign country shall be governed by the relevant applicable version of the INCOTERMS of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris.

 

§ 6  Warranty, product liability

25. We provide a five-year guarantee (limitation period) against all defects in the goods delivered by us which we manufacture for customers according to a corresponding order under the terms of the law on contracts for work and services (Articles 367 et seq of the Swiss Code of Obligations), subject to the following limitations. We provide a guarantee of one year (limitation period) for the delivery of fungible goods in accordance with the law on contracts of sale, subject to the following limitations.

26. Any defects must be reported to us as soon as they are discovered.

27. We provide no guarantee that natural stone material delivered by us will be precisely identical to the sample with regard to colour, structure, veining, etc. Colour differences and naturally occurring features such as veins, different marking, small cracks, etc. that are not aesthetically noticeable shall not constitute defects. Natural stones are naturally formed geological bodies consisting of various minerals. They exhibit different characteristics and properties depending on their origin, composition and structure. Minerals that form in rock (pyrite) may discolour as a result of weather-related oxidation, however these discolourations do not constitute a material defect and therefore do not form the basis for valid liability claims.

28. In addition, we shall not bear any liability in the event that the natural stone products delivered by us are exposed without our knowledge to severe weather conditions or mechanical or chemical stress.

29. We shall only bear liability for differences in weight of goods manufactured and delivered by us if the tolerance levels of the Swiss Natural Stone Association are exceeded. We shall not accept any liability for compliance with tolerance levels in the event that our products are processed by a third party.

30. The customer shall bear liability for the professional processing of the natural stone and for its professional relocation. In addition, we shall not bear any liability for damage attributable to inappropriate cleaning or inadequate maintenance.

31. Notwithstanding statutory provisions, in the event of any defect (excepting claims for compensation), the customer shall be solely entitled to demand rectification. Should rectification be objectively impossible, we shall pay compensation up to the maximum amount of the value of the goods delivered.

 

§ 7  Concluding provisions

32. All of our contracts with the customer shall be governed exclusively by Swiss law. The Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall not apply.

33. The place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of these contracts with our customers shall be Vals.