- These Conditions govern all supplies of materials and components to manufacturing plants of GF Piping Systems in Europe.
- By accepting our order or by supplying the goods ordered, the Supplier is deemed to have accepted the present conditions.
- Only orders in traceable form (in writing, by Telefax, E-Mail) are binding. Verbal orders or orders by phone as well as changes and additions to our order shall be binding only if confirmed by us in traceable form. Terms at variance with our General Purchase Conditions and additional terms, including reservations regarding price or exchange rates, as well as, in particular, deviating General Conditions of Sale and Delivery of the Supplier shall be valid only if accepted by us in traceable form.
- The Supplier is kindly asked to immediately return his order confirmation and to notify the exact delivery date.
- The assignment of the order in whole to third parties shall require our prior consent in traceable form.
- The Supplier shall be liable for all costs incurred by us as a consequence of his failure to observe our instructions or due to faulty or not validly agreed deliveries.
- These General Purchase Conditions shall equally apply to future orders.
- Our employees are forbidden to accept gifts, commissions or other
compensations of whatever kind.
General Purchase Conditions for Materials and Components
In the following points we establish the binding framework for aspects related to ordering from suppliers, such as delivery conditions and payment processes. Liability issues are also set out here.

General
Prices and Transport Costs
- Unless otherwise agreed, the prices are considered firm.
- In case of orders showing no price or an indicative price only we
reserve the right to approve the price following the receipt of
the
order confirmation. - Unless otherwise agreed the goods have to be supplied DDP (Incoterms 2010) to the destination named in the purchase order.
Invoice and Payment
- Invoices are to be submitted immediately following dispatch of the goods to the address indicated in the order.
- The Supplier may not claim payments being contingent on the
fulfilment of his obligations, prior to the fulfilment of such
obligations, unless the non-performance shall be caused by our acts or omissions.
Delivery
- Deliveries arriving without the required transport documents shall
be stored at Suppliers expense and risk until such documents are
properly supplied.
- Part shipments and advance deliveries require our prior consent.
- Deliveries by messengers are only be deemed effected if evidenced
by delivery notes properly countersigned by us. Deliveries are to
be
made to the respective departments of our works.
- The time of delivery shall be of essence. The time of delivery is
met, when the goods have arrived at our works. Foreseeable
delays
hindering the timely delivery in whole or in part shall be notified immediately specifying the reasons for and the estimated duration
of the delay. Such notice shall without prejudice to our remedies at law (e.g. partial or total termination or rescission of the order).
- In case of the delay, the Supplier shall not be excused by missing
documents, hardware or components to be supplied by us unless
he has timely requested their supply. In such case, the parties shall mutually agree on a reasonable extension of the delivery period.
- The risk in the goods ordered shall pass on us upon their arrival
at the place of fulfilment, or, if an acceptance test is agreed,
upon
successful completion of said test.
Packing
- The Supplier has to arrange for appropriate packing at his own
costs and shall be liable if the goods are damaged on transport
due
to faulty packing.
- At our election, the Supplier shall credit us with the price
charged for packaging material returned by us free of charge or
shall provide
for a pertinent refund.
Notification of Defects
- Without being bound by statutory inspection periods, we shall
examine the goods supplied at our earliest convenience.
- By making payments or conducting pre-shipment tests, we are not waiving our legal remedies for faulty deliveries.
Warranty
- The Supplier warrants that the goods have the agreed qualities,
are fit for the purpose under the contract and generally are free
from
defects impairing their value or fitness for the agreed or normal use.
- The goods must comply with all applicable laws, regulations and
accident prevention rules being in force in Buyer’s country.
In
addition to that the supplier warrants that the goods are free from any radioactivity.
- In case of defects in the goods supplied we shall be entitled to
avail ourselves of the pertinent remedies at law. However we shall
only
be entitled to rescind the contract if the Supplier, within a reasonable period, has been unable or unwilling to repair the defect
or to replace the defective product at his expense. In case of urgency or if the Supplier is defaulting in his obligation to remedy
the defect, we are entitled to have the defects remedied at Supplier's cost.
- The Supplier shall reimburse the costs of dismantling defective
goods or products which have become defective as a result of
defective goods supplied by Supplier as well as the costs of reinstalling goods or products being free from defects.
- Unless otherwise agreed, the warranty period shall be 30 months
following the receipt of the goods in our works. To the extent
the
parties have agreed on subjecting the goods to a functional acceptance test in our works, the warranty period shall commence
with the signing of the acceptance protocol.
- Claims for defects, which have been duly notified during the
warranty period shall be time-barred 12 months after the expiry
of
the warranty period.
- Defective goods or parts thereof shall remain at our disposal up
to their replacement or cancellation of the contract. Following
replacement the defective goods are placed at Supplier's disposal in our works. - The warranty for replacement and repairs shall be the same as
agreed for the original delivery; the warranty period for
replaced
parts shall start running anew. This shall equally apply to replaced parts and components.
Product Liability, Insurance
- The Supplier shall indemnify us against any claims, damages,
losses, liabilities, suits and expenses arising from the supply
of
defective goods or services.
- The Supplier shall take out and maintain product liability
insurance providing for a word-wide coverage of at least EUR 5 Mio
per
incident in case of injury, illness or death and /or damage to property as well as for a coverage of at least EUR 0,5 Mio. per case
and calendar year for the costs of dismantling and reinstallation. The limitations of the insurance coverage shall not be construed to
be limitations of Supplier’s liability.
Tools, Patents, Drawings, etc.
- All data, drawings, equipment, patents, tools, models, etc. placed
by us at Supplier's disposal for the manufacture of the goods
shall
remain our property and may not be used for other purposes, copied or disclosed to third parties. Copyrights therein shall remain
vested in us. All documents shall be returned, free of charge, as soon as they are no longer needed for the execution of the order. If no deliveries are agreed, the documents shall equally be returned to us.
- Products manufactured according to our drawings, patents,
confidential data, our tools or copies thereof, shall not be used
by
the Supplier for his own use nor may they be offered or delivered to third parties. This shall equally apply to printing orders.
Secrecy
- The Supplier shall treat the order and all related deliveries as confidential.
Industrial Property Rights
- The Supplier warrants that the goods and services supplied do not
infringe third party property rights. He will indemnify us from
any
third party claims related thereto.
Place of Performance
- Place of performance for the goods and the services shall be the
agreed place of destination. Place of performance for the
payment
shall be the registered office of the business unit having placed the order.
Jurisdiction and applicable Law
- Exclusive place of venue for any differences shall be our office
having issued the order. We shall however be entitled to bring
actions in any other competent courts.
- In case of disputes all supplies shall be subject to substantive
laws in force at Buyer's place of business, excluding any conflict
of laws
provisions, deliveries from abroad in addition to the UN Convention on the International Sale of Goods of 11.4.1980.
8/2011
Downloads
- General purchase conditions for Production companies in Europe (PDF | 33.8 kB)
- Condizioni Generali di Acquisto per le società di produzione in Europa (PDF | 36.8 kB)
- General purchase conditions for Production companies in the US (PDF | 109.3 kB)
- Shipping Instruction from Europe to Switzerland (PDF | 822.9 kB)