DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
1.1 In these terms and conditions, unless expressly stated to the contrary, the following expressions shall have the following meanings:
Business Day - A day other than a Saturday or Sunday or public holiday in England and Wales;
Confidential - Of a party shall mean any information relating to a party’s (or any of its associated companies’) business, which is not in the public domain or already in the possession of the receiving party;
Contract - Each agreement for the sale of Products, as referred to in clause 2;
Customer - The person purchasing the Products under the Contract;
Customer Branding - any branding or design provided by the Customer to SMI in connection with the Contract including without limitation any logos provided by the Customer;
Customer Materials - any materials provided by the Customer to SMI in connection with the Contract including without limitation any Customer Branding;
Delivery - has the meaning given to that term in clause 4.1;
Insolvency Event - any event referred to in clause 10.1.2;
Intellectual Property Rights - means all patents, know-how, copyrights, trade or service marks, design rights, and all other intellectual property rights of any kind;
Price Proposal - has the meaning given to that term in clause 2.1;
Products - the products described in the Contract; and
SMI - SMI Int Group Limited (registered no 07644080) whose registered office is at Vision House, Bedford Road, Petersfield, Hampshire, GU32 3QB.
1.2 References to regulations, statutes or other statutory provisions shall be construed to include references to those regulations, statutes or provisions as amended, re-enacted or modified from time to time and shall include any subordinate legislation under the relevant statute or statutory provision.
1.3 The headings in these terms and conditions are for ease of reference only and shall not in any way affect their construction or interpretation.
1.4 Words denoting the singular include the plural and vice versa; words denoting any one gender include all genders and vice versa, and reference to a person shall include an individual, partnership, body corporate and unincorporated association.
1.5 References to any party shall include its personal representatives lawful successor in title and permitted, assigns.
1.6 The words and phrases “other”, “including” and “in particular” shall not limit the generality of any preceding words or be construed as being limited to the same class as the preceding words where a wider construction is possible.
2. PRICE PROPOSALS
2.1 On receipt of a request to purchase Products, SMI may submit to the Customer a price proposal for the sale of the requested Products (“Price Proposal”). The Customer must provide SMI with all information reasonably required in order to prepare the Price Proposal. SMI shall not be obliged to fulfil any request to purchase Products.
2.2 The Customer shall notify SMI if it accepts the Price Proposal. On receipt by SMI of such acceptance, a binding contract for the sale and purchase of the Products shall be entered into between the parties (“Contract”). SMI may amend or withdraw a Price Proposal at any time until it receives notice of the Customer’s acceptance.
2.3 These terms and conditions, together with the relevant Price Proposal and any others agreed in writing as applicable, shall apply to each Contract for the sale and purchase of the Products to the exclusion of any other terms and conditions (including without limitation any purchase terms and conditions of the Customer). In the event of an inconsistency or conflict between these terms and conditions and any other terms and conditions which the parties have agreed in writing are applicable, these terms and conditions shall prevail unless otherwise agreed by the parties in writing.
2.4 SMI may amend these terms and conditions from time to time.
3. PRICE AND PAYMENT
3.1 The price of the Products shall be as set out in the Price Proposal.
3.2 SMI reserves the right to increase the price prior to Delivery in its sole discretion.
3.3 The price and other sums payable shall be exclusive of any applicable VAT or other taxes and duties, which shall be payable in addition.
3.4 Unless otherwise stated in a Price Proposal, delivery charges shall be levied in addition
to the price.
3.5 Payment shall be due without any set off, withholding, deduction, abatement or counter-claim no later than 30 days from the end of the month stated on the invoice.
3.6 Not withstanding clause 3.5 or any other arrangements for provision of credit which SMI may have agreed with the Customer in respect of the Contract, the whole price of all Products bought or agreed to be bought by the Customer shall be immediately payable without demand upon the occurrence of an Insolvency Event.
3.7 In the event that any sums owed to a SMI under a Contract remains outstanding after the due date for payment, SMI shall be entitled to charge interest on the overdue amount at the statutory rate and otherwise in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (as amended).
4. DELIVERY OF PRODUCTS
4.1 Delivery of the Products shall take place when they are received by or on behalf of the Customer at the Customer’s nominated delivery address (as agreed between the parties in writing) (“Delivery”).
4.2 Times for delivery or performance by SMI are estimates only and time shall not be of the essence.
4.3 Delivery may take place by way of instalments in such quantities as SMI may reasonably decide. Instalments shall be separate obligations and no breach in respect of one or more of them shall entitle the Customer to cancel any subsequent instalment or repudiate the Contract as a whole.
4.4 Not withstanding any other provision of the Contract, in the event of non-availability of any Products ordered, SMI may deliver a reasonable substitute. Such substitution may affect the price payable by the Customer. SMI shall notify the Customer of any change in price payable by the Customer
4.5 SMI shall be deemed to have accepted Products 2 Business Days after Delivery. After acceptance the Customer shall not be entitled to reject Products which are not in accordance with the Contract.
5. RISK AND PROPERTY
5.1 Risk of loss or damage to the Products shall pass to the Customer at the time of Delivery of the Products.
5.2 SMI will still own the Products, regardless of Delivery, until the Customer has paid SMI in full for those Products and VAT thereon, and all other sums due from the Customer to SMI at that time. SMI may attribute money received from the Customer as being payment for any Products as SMI thinks fit, regardless of the circumstances.
5.3 Until such time as the title in the Products has passed to the Customer under Clause 5.2, the Customer shall:
5.3.1 hold the Products on a fiduciary basis as SMI’s bailee and shall store and mark it in such a way that it is readily identifiable as SMI’s property, and shall not mix it with any other goods or equipment;
5.3.2 not pledge or allow any encumbrance, lien, charge or other interest to arise or be created over the Products; and
5.3.3 not dispose of or deal with the Products or any documents of title relating to it or any interest in it, except that the Customer may on its own account use the Products in the ordinary course of its business operations, provided that the Customer’s right to use the Products shall automatically cease if the Customer is subject to an Insolvency Event.
5.4 If any of the following occur:
5.4.1 payment becomes overdue;
the Customer is in breach of any of its obligations under a Contract or any other agreement between SMI and the Customer;
5.4.2 the Customer exercises any right to terminate a Contract or any other agreement between SMI and the Customer; or
5.4.3 if the Customer is subject to an Insolvency Event or SMI reasonably expects that the Customer will be subject to an Insolvency Event, then in any such case:
5.4.4 SMI may by written notice terminate the Customer’s right (if still subsisting) to use the Products; and/or
5.5.5 SMI shall be entitled upon demand to the immediate return of all the Products which remains in the ownership of SMI, and the Customer irrevocably authorises SMI to recover such Products and any documentation relating to it and for that purpose, to enter any place. The Customer shall take all reasonable steps to help SMI recover the Products. Recovery by SMI of the Products shall not of itself cancel the Customer’s liability to pay the whole or balance of the price for the Products or any other rights of SMI under the Contract.
6. QUALITY
6.1 SMI warrants that the Products will materially conform to the description of the Products in the Contract or otherwise provided in writing by SMI to the Customer.
6.2 If any of the Products do not conform to the warranty in clause 6.1 SMI will, at its option, repair or replace those Products or make, so far as is fair, a refund of all or a part of the price. If SMI complies with this obligation, it shall have no further liability in respect of, or arising from, such non-conformity.
6.3 Except as expressly stated in the Contract, all warranties, conditions and terms, whether express or implied by statute, common law or otherwise relating to satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and suitability) are hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
7. CUSTOMER OBLIGATIONS
7.1 The Customer warrants that, in respect of any personal data (as defined in the Data Protection Act 2018) contained in any Customer Materials, it has obtained all authority and consents necessary to enable SMI to process such personal data in accordance with all applicable data protection legislation for the purposes of the Contract.
7.2 The Customer is responsible for using the Products in accordance with instructions supplied by SMI and/or the manufacturer of the Products and SMI shall not be responsible for any damage, loss or claims arising from any failure to comply with such instructions.
7.3 If the Customer becomes aware that any third party has made or is likely to make any claim in respect of any Products (including, without limitation, as to defects in them or rights infringed by them) it shall immediately inform SMI and shall afford to SMI reasonable assistance (including, without limitation, permitting SMI to have conduct of any proceedings) which SMI may reasonably require to enforce its rights and defend such claim.
7.4 Without prejudice to any duty of the Customer at common law, SMI shall be entitled to require the Customer to take such steps as SMI may reasonably require to mitigate or reduce any losses or claims that may arise in relation to the Contract.
8. CUSTOMER BRANDING AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
8.1 If the Customer requires that the Products incorporate any Customer Branding, SMI shall provide the Customer with a sample of the Products incorporating such Customer Branding and the Customer shall notify SMI of its approval of such samples. The Customer’s approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed and shall be irrevocable.
8.2 The Customer hereby grants SMI a non-exclusive royalty free right to use the Customer Materials for the purpose of providing the Products and as otherwise required by SMI to comply with its other obligations under the Contract. The Customer warrants that the use of Customer Materials by SMI shall not infringe the rights of any third party including without limitation any third party Intellectual Property Rights.
8.3 Except for any Intellectual Property Rights arising in the Customer Materials, all Intellectual Property Rights in the Products and their specification, design, packaging, labelling and other materials supplied with or in connection with any of the Products shall as between the parties remain at all times vested in SMI. No Intellectual Property Rights of SMI are transferred to the Customer and no licences to use any Intellectual Property Rights of SMI are granted to the Customer except as may be necessary for the usual use of the Products supplied.
8.4 The Customer shall not remove, obscure or otherwise alter or interfere with any of the logos, marks or branding appearing on any of the Products or their packaging.
9. INDEMNITY
The Customer hereby indemnifies and shall keep SMI indemnified against all sums suffered or incurred by SMI in respect of all and any demands, liabilities, expenses, claims (including but not limited to any settlements of claims whether before or after the issue of proceedings), judgment sums (including but not limited to sums arising from consent orders or judgments), damages, direct, indirect or consequential losses, costs (including but not limited to legal and other professional costs) suffered or incurred by SMI arising out of or in connection with any breach of any of the provisions of clause 7.1 or 8.2.
10. TERMINATION
10.1 Without affecting any other rights and remedies it might have, SMI shall be entitled to terminate the Contract and/or suspend its performance at any time without liability to the Customer by giving written notice to the Customer at any time if the Customer:
10.1.1 is in material breach of the Contract;
10.1.2 has any corporate action, application, order,proceeding or appointment or other step taken or made by or in respect of it for any composition or arrangement with creditors generally, winding-up (other than for the purpose of a bona fide scheme of solvent reconstruction or amalgamation), dissolution, administration, receivership (administrative or otherwise) or bankruptcy, or if it is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, or if it ceases to trade or if a distress, execution or other legal process is levied against any of its assets which is not discharged or paid out in full within three Business Days or if any event analogous to any of the foregoing shall occur in any jurisdiction in which the relevant party is incorporated, resident or carries on business; or
10.1.3 if any sums due from the Customer to SMI remain outstanding after the due date for payment.
10.2 Any termination however caused shall not affect any right or liabilities which have accrued prior to the time of termination and the continuance in force of any provision of the Contract which expressly or by implication is intended to come into or continue in force after termination.
11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
11.1 Subject to clause 11.5, SMI’s liability to the Customer however arising out of or in connection with a Contract and/or the sale of the Products shall be limited in respect of all claims in aggregate to a sum equal to the total sums paid (exclusive of VAT) by the Customer for the Products under the Contract giving rise to the claims.
11.2 Not withstanding any other provision of the Contract, but subject to clause 11.5, SMI shall have no liability however arising out of or in connection with the Contract and/or the sale of the Products for any:
11.2.1 direct or indirect loss of or damage to:
profit;
revenue;
business;
contract;
opportunities;
anticipated savings;
data;
goodwill;
reputation;
use;
11.2.2 indirect or consequential loss or damage; or
11.2.3 claim arising out of a claim against the Customer by a third party.
11.3 The parties agree that each of the sub-clauses in clause 11.2 and each of the sub-paragraphs 11.2.1(a) to 11.2.1(j) in sub-clause 11.2.1 constitute separate terms and the introductory wording of clause 11.2 shall be applied to each of them separately. If there is any claim or finding that any such individual sub-clause or sub-paragraph is unenforceable for any reason, such unenforceability shall not affect any other provision within clause 11.2 or otherwise.
11.4 The term “however arising” when used or referred to in clause 11 covers all causes and actions giving rise to the liability of SMI arising out of or in connection with the Contract and/or the Products including (i) whether arising by reason of any misrepresentation (whether made prior to and/or in the Contract) negligence, breach of statutory duty, other tort, repudiation, renunciation or other breach of contract, restitution or otherwise; (ii) whether arising under any indemnity; or (iii) whether caused by any total or partial failure or delay in supply of SMI or defective Products.
11.5 The exclusions and limitations of liability contained in these terms and conditions and in the Contract shall apply regardless of whether the loss or damage was foreseeable or whether the Customer notifies SMI of the possibility of any greater loss or damage, but shall not apply to the extent prohibited or limited by law and, in particular, nothing in the Contract shall affect liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence or for fraudulent misrepresentation or other fraud.
11.6 SMI shall not be liable to the Customer for any claim unless made with reasonable details in writing to SMI without unreasonable delay and in any event no later than 3 months, or such longer period as may be reasonable in the circumstances, after the date the claimable event first came (or ought reasonably to have come) to the Customer’s notice.
12. CONFIDENTIALITY
Neither party shall without the prior written consent of the other party (during and after termination of any Contract) use (other than in the performance of this Contract) or disclose to any other person any Confidential Information of the other party, except that any obligations contained in this clause shall not prevent any disclosure of Confidential Information which is required by law, court order or any legal or regulatory authority, which is required to comply with the rules of any relevant stock exchange, or disclosure to a party’s professional advisors, acting in their capacity as such.