Conditions of sale
NEW FARM CROPS CONDITIONS OF SALE
1. Interpretation
"Buyer" the person(s) or company whose order for the Goods is
accepted by the Company;
"Company" Syngenta Seeds Limited (trading as New Farm Crops) having
its registered office at 30 Priestly Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford GU2 7HY, England;
"Contract" the contract between the Company and the Buyer for the
sale and purchase of the Goods;
"Goods" seeds, goods, materials and other items which the Company is
to supply to the Buyer.
2. Orders
a) The Contract will be on these terms and conditions set out below
to the exclusion of all other terms and conditions.
b) No terms or conditions which the Buyer purports to apply under
any purchase order, specification or similar document will form part
of the Contract.
c) Any variation to these terms and conditions and any
representations about the Goods shall have no effect unless
expressly agreed in writing and signed on behalf of the Company.
d) Any quotation is given on the basis that no Contract will come
into existence until the Company dispatches an acceptance of order
to the Buyer. Any quotation is valid for a period of 30 days only
from its date provided the Company has not previously withdrawn it.
e) It is the sole responsibility of the Buyer to ensure that the
terms of its order and any applicable specification are complete and
accurate, and that the Goods ordered are of a species, variety and
performance which will meet the Buyer's requirements.
f) Subject to condition 6(f), no order which the Company has
accepted may be cancelled by the Buyer except with the written
agreement of the Company and on terms that the Buyer shall indemnify
the Company in full against all losses (including loss of profit),
costs, damages, charges and expenses suffered or incurred by the
Company as a result of such cancellation.
3. Description
a) The quantity and description of the Goods shall be those set out
in the Buyer's order where this is accepted by the Company.
b) All descriptions, illustrations, specifications, varieties,
varietal characteristics, periods of maturity, information relating
to fitness for any particular purpose, or otherwise relating to the
performance of any Goods, contained in the Company's catalogues,
brochures or advertisements are issued and published for the sole
purpose of giving an approximate idea of the Goods described in
them. They will not form part of the Contract.
c) In entering into the Contract, the Buyer acknowledges that it
does not rely on, and waives any claim for breach of, any
representations made by the Company's employees or agents which have
not been confirmed in writing and signed on behalf of the Company.
d) Where Goods ordered consist of seed mixtures the Seller reserves
the right to make reasonable variations or modifications to such
mixtures where this is necessary due to exhaustion of stock of any
item comprised in such mixtures and where this does not materially
affect the quality or performance of such mixtures. No such
variations or modifications will constitute a breach of the Contract
or impose liability on the Company.
e) Where, due to Force Majeure (condition 11(b)), the Seller is
unable to satisfy all the orders of its customers, the Seller may
allocate available supplies between its customers at its sole
discretion and the Buyer shall, in such circumstances, only be
deemed to have ordered and be liable to pay for such reduced
quantity of Goods as the Company allocates to the Buyer.
f) The Company may deliver to the Buyer Goods up to 5% more or less
than the quantity ordered without any adjustment in the price and,
within such limits, the quantity delivered shall be deemed to be the
quantity ordered.
4. Price
a) The price of the Goods shall be the Company's quoted price, or
where no price has been quoted (or a quoted price is no longer
valid), the price listed in the Company's published price list
current at the date of the Company's acceptance of the Buyer's
order.
b) The Company reserves the right, by giving notice in writing to
the Buyer at any time before delivery, to increase the price of the
Goods to reflect any increases in the cost to the Company which was
due to a factor beyond the control of the Company, including,
without limitation, (1) increases in the cost of materials, labour,
carriage, royalties (payable to the owners of any relevant plant
breeder's rights) or (2) increases in other costs of production or
delivery, or (3) the imposition or increase of duties, taxes and
other levies, or (4) any change in the delivery date, delivery
point, quantities or specifications for the Goods which is a request
by the Buyer.
c) The price for the Goods includes delivery in the UK in accordance
with condition 6(a), except if the Goods are supplied for export
from the UK in which case condition 4(d) applies.
d) If the Goods are supplied for export from the UK, the price for
the Goods is given on the basis of delivery Ex Works (Incoterms
2000) in accordance with condition 6(b) and where the Company agrees
in writing to deliver Goods other than at the Company's premises the
Buyer shall pay the Company's charges for transport, packaging,
loading, unloading and insurance in addition when it is due to pay
for the Goods.
e) The price for the Goods is exclusive of any value added tax or
any other applicable tax which the Buyer shall pay in addition when
it is due to pay for the Goods.
5. Payment
a) The Company may invoice the Buyer for the Goods at any time after
delivery.
b) Payment of the price for the Goods is due within 28 days
following the date of the Company's invoice.
c) The Buyer shall make all payments due under the Contract without
any deduction whether by way of set-off, counterclaim or otherwise
unless the Buyer has a valid court order requiring an amount equal
to such deduction to be paid by the Company to the Buyer.
d) If the Buyer fails to make any payment under the Contract on the
due date then (without prejudice to its other rights and remedies)
the Company may:
i) cancel the Contract or suspend any deliveries to the Buyer; and
ii) charge the Buyer interest (both before and after judgement) on
the amount unpaid at the rate of 2% per month, compounded monthly,
until payment is made in full (a part of a month being treated as a
full month for the purpose of calculating interest).
6. Delivery
a) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, if the Goods are not supplied
for export from the UK, the Goods will be delivered by the Company
to a nominated delivery point in the UK previously agreed in writing
by the Company.
b) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, if the Goods are supplied for
export from the UK, the Goods will be delivered Ex Works the
delivery point in the UK notified by the Company to the Buyer in
writing.
c) If the Company agrees to arrange carriage for the Goods, the
Goods shall be delivered by such means as the Company thinks fit.
d) Any dates specified by the Company for delivery of the Goods are
approximate only. If no dates for delivery are specified by the
Company, delivery will be within a reasonable time.
e) Subject to the other provisions of these terms and conditions the
Company will not be liable for any loss (including loss of profit),
costs, damages, charges or expenses caused directly or indirectly by
any delay in the delivery of the Goods (even if caused by the
Company's negligence) nor unless such delay exceeds 60 days will any
delay entitle the Buyer to terminate or rescind the Contract.
f) The Buyer must accept delivery of the Goods and pay for them in
full unless the delay in delivery exceeds 60 days. If delay in
delivery exceeds 60 days and is not due to Force Majeure (condition
11(b)), the Buyer may by notice in writing to the Company cancel the
Contract to the extent it relates to the Goods which were the
subject of such delivery, without further liability for such Goods.
g) If the Buyer fails to take delivery of the Goods when they are
ready for delivery or fails to provide any or adequate instructions,
documents, licences or authorisations required to enable the Goods
to be delivered on time (except because of the Company's fault), the
Goods will be deemed to have been delivered at the time, but for the
Buyer's failure, delivery would have taken place and (without
prejudice to its other rights) the Company may:
i) store or arrange for the storage of the Goods until actual
delivery or sale and charge the Buyer for all related costs and
expenses (including insurance) of storage; and/ or
ii) following written notice to the Buyer, sell any of the Goods at
the best price reasonably obtainable in the circumstances and charge
the Buyer for any shortfall below the price under the Contract.
7. Non-Delivery
a) The quantity of any consignment of Goods as recorded by the
Company upon despatch from the Company's place of business shall be
conclusive evidence of the quantity received by the Buyer on
delivery unless the Buyer can provide conclusive evidence proving
the contrary.
b) The Company shall not be liable if the delivery is less than the
quantity of Goods ordered by the Buyer (even if caused by the
Company's negligence) unless written notice is given to the carrier
and the Company within 14 days of the date they were received by or
on behalf of the Buyer.
c) Any liability of the Company for non-delivery of the Goods, or
delivery of less than the quantity of Goods ordered by the Buyer,
shall be limited to replacing the non-delivered Goods within a
reasonable time or issuing a credit note at the pro rata Contract
rate against any invoice raised for such Goods.
d) A signature of qualified acceptance on a carrier's delivery note
shall not be written notice to either the carrier or the Company for
the purpose of these terms and conditions.
e) The Company warrants that the Goods will be delivered undamaged.
f) The Company shall not be liable for a breach of the warranty in
condition 7(e) unless (i) the Buyer gives written notice of the
damage to the Company within 7 days of the date the Goods were
received by or on behalf of the Buyer and (ii) the Company is given
a reasonable opportunity after receiving the notice of examining
such Goods.
g) If the Goods have been delivered in a damaged condition, the
Company shall at its option replace such Goods (or the damaged part
as the case may be) or refund the price of such Goods (or the
damaged part as the case may be) at the pro-rata Contract rate. If
the Company complies with this condition 7(g) it shall have no
further liability for a breach of the warranty in condition 7(e) and
shall be entitled to recover such Goods as it has replaced or in
respect of which it has refunded the price at the pro-rata Contract
rate.
8. Property and Risk
a) Risk of damage to or loss of Goods shall pass to the Buyer upon
delivery.
b) The Goods shall not become the property of the Buyer until the
Company has received in full (in cash or cleared funds) all sums due
to it in respect of (i) the Goods and (ii) all other sums which are
or which become due to the Company from the Buyer on any account.
c) Until the Goods become the property of the Buyer, the Buyer must:
i) hold the Goods as the Company's bailee;
ii) store the Goods (at no cost to the Company) separately from all
other goods of the Buyer and any third party in such a way that they
remain readily identifiable as the Company's property;
iii) not destroy, deface or obscure any identifying mark or
packaging on or relating to the Goods;
iv) maintain the Goods in satisfactory condition insured on the
Company's behalf for their full price against all risks; and
v) hold any proceeds of such insurance on trust for the Company.
d) The Buyer may use the Goods or resell them in the ordinary course
of its business before ownership has passed to it solely on the
following conditions (in respect of resale):
i) any sale shall be effected at full market value; and
ii) any such sale shall be a sale of the Company's property on the
Buyer's own behalf and the Buyer shall deal as principal when making
such sale; and
iii) the Buyer shall hold the proceeds of any such subsale as
trustee for the Seller separate from its own monies and in a
separate designated bank account.
e) The Company shall be entitled to recover payment for the Goods
notwithstanding that ownership of any of the Goods has not passed
from the Company.
f) The Buyer grants the Company, its agents and employees an
irrevocable licence at any time to enter any premises where the
Goods are or may be stored in order to inspect them, or, where the
Buyer's right to possession has terminated, to recover them. This
licence will survive termination of the Contract for any reason.
9. EU and UK Legislation, Country of Origin, Germination and Purity
The following provisions apply in respect of Goods that are seeds.
a) The Company guarantees that such Goods shall comply at the time
of delivery with applicable UK and/or EU legislation then in force.
b) The origin of such Goods is the European Union unless otherwise
stated.
c) If the Buyer requests the Company to treat such Goods with a
liquid, powder or other substance to control pests or disease, or to
fumigate or pellet such Goods, using a treatment or substance
requested by the Buyer of which either the Company does not approve
at all or does not approve in relation to the Goods in question, the
Company will notify the Buyer in writing. If the Buyer nevertheless
instructs the Company to use such unapproved treatment or substance,
the Company shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever
which arises as a direct or indirect result of the use of such
unapproved treatment or substance.
d) Statutory purity and germination percentages given by the Company
are in all cases based on tests made before any chemical treatment,
fumigation or pelleting of the seeds, and the Company shall not be
liable for any variation of such Goods from such percentages where
this arises from any such treatment, fumigation or pelleting carried
out at the request of the Buyer.
e) Germination percentages may be reduced by storage in adverse
conditions. Goods should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated
building. The Company shall not be liable in respect of reduced
germination percentages if such storage requirements are not
complied with.
f) Diseases of plants can be transmitted by wind, by insects, by
animals or by humans, and may be seed borne or soil borne. Whilst
the Company has made every reasonable effort to satisfy itself that
such Goods are disease free, nothing in the Contract shall be
interpreted as a condition or warranty that such Goods are disease
free, and the Company shall not be liable to the Buyer if the Goods
are not disease free.
g) The Goods supplied shall be of conventional varieties bred from
parent plants which have not been genetically modified (GM). All
reasonable steps have been taken to prevent the adventitious
presence of GM material during breeding, production and handling of
the Goods (including complying with any separation distances as may
be recommended from time to time by relevant UK and/or EU bodies)
and appropriate batch samples have been tested to ensure compliance
with the applicable UK and/or EU seed legislation. The Goods have
been field?grown. However, nothing in the Contract shall be
interpreted as a condition or warranty that the Goods are free from
GM impurities, and the Company shall not be liable to the Buyer if
they are not free from GM impurities.
10. Limitation of liability
a) All warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or
common law (except for the conditions implied by section 12 of the
Sale of Goods Act 1979) are excluded from the Contract.
b) Nothing in these terms and conditions excludes or limits the
liability of the Company (1) for death or personal injury caused by
negligence or (2) for fraudulent misrepresentation.
c) Subject to conditions 10(a) and (b):
i) the Company's total liability in contract, tort (including
negligence or breach of statutory duty), misrepresentation or
otherwise, arising in connection with the performance or
contemplated performance of the Contract shall be limited to the
Contract price;
ii) the Company shall not be liable to the Buyer by reason of any
representation or any implied warranty, implied condition or other
implied term or any duty at law or under the express terms of this
Contract for any indirect or consequential loss or damage, loss of
profit, loss of business, loss of revenue, depletion of goodwill,
costs, expenses, or any claims for consequential compensation
whatsoever, (whether caused by negligence of the Company, its
employees, agents or sub-contractors) which arise out of or in
connection with the Contract.
d) Any provision of the Contract which is held by any competent
authority to be invalid, void, voidable, unenforceable or
unreasonable (in whole or in part) shall to the extent of such
invalidity, voidness, voidability, unenforceability or
unreasonableness be deemed severable and the other provisions of the
Contract and the remainder of such provision shall not be affected.
11. Force Majeure
a) The Company shall not be liable to the Buyer in any manner or be
deemed to be in breach of the Contract (subject to condition 10)
because of any delay in performing or any failure to perform any of
the Company's obligations under the Contract if the delay or failure
was due to any Force Majeure.
b) In these terms and conditions the term "Force Majeure" means any
cause beyond the Company's reasonable control, including, without
limitation, act of God, riot, labour disbutes, labour disturbance,
accident, drought, explosion, epidemic, accident, flood, fire, full
or partial crop failure (which shall include failure to achieve
anticipated certification grades) whether in the UK or elsewhere,
governmental actions, war or threat of war, national emergency,
civil disturbance, sabotage, import or export regulations or
embargoes, inability to obtain or delay in obtaining supplies of
adequate or suitable material, fuel, machinery, transport or labour.
12. Termination
a) The Company shall, without prejudice to any other right or
remedy, be entitled to terminate the Contract and the Buyers right
to possession of the Contract Goods immediately by giving the Buyer
written notice of termination if:
i) the Buyer fails to observe or perform any of its obligations or
duties under the Contract; or
ii) if an Insolvency Event has occurred in relation to the Buyer; or
iii) the Company reasonably believes that an Insolvent Event is
about to occur in relation to the Buyer.
b) In condition 12(a) "Insolvency Event" means any of the following
which relate to the Buyer:
i) if it is unable to pay its debts within the meaning of section
123(1) Insolvency Act 1986;
ii) if it ceases or threatens to cease carrying on all or
substantially all of its business, otherwise than for the purposes
of a solvent reconstruction or amalgamation;
iii) if it convenes a meeting of creditors (whether formal or
informal), or enters into liquidation (whether voluntary or
compulsory);
iv) if any encumbrancer takes possession of, or a receiver, manager,
administrator, administrative receiver or trustee is appointed over,
the whole or any material part of its undertaking, property or
assets;
v) if a resolution is passed for its winding up, otherwise than for
the purposes of a solvent reconstruction or amalgamation;
vi) if a petition presented to any court for the winding-up of the
Buyer or for the granting of an administration order in respect of
the Buyer; or
vii) if any event analogous to any of the foregoing occurs in any
jurisdiction in which any of the Buyer's assets are situated.
c) If the Contract is terminated by the Company pursuant to
condition 12(a) and Goods have been delivered but not paid for,
their price shall become immediately due and payable in spite of any
previous agreement or arrangement to the contrary.
d) The termination of the Contract howsoever arising shall be
without prejudice to the rights and duties of either the Buyer or
the Company accrued prior to termination
13. Licences and Consents
If any licence or consent of any Government or other authority shall
be required for the purchase, delivery or use of Goods by the Buyer,
the Buyer (not the Company) shall be solely responsible for
obtaining the same in a timely manner at its own expense and if
necessary, or requested by the Company, the Buyer shall produce
evidence of the same to the Company.
14. Reproduction of Seed
Unless otherwise agreed in writing and signed on behalf of the
Company, the Company does not supply seed for the purpose of
reproduction.
15.
General
a) Failure by the Company to enforce or partially enforce any
provision of the Contract will not be construed as a waiver of any
of its rights under the Contract.
b) The formation, construction, performance, validity and all
aspects of this Contract are governed by English law and, subject to
condition 15(c), the parties submit to exclusive jurisdiction of the
English courts.
c) The Company reserves the right to take action and commence
proceedings in any other jurisdiction as it considers appropriate in
all the circumstances.

