■ Agent The Company, as the auctioning party, shall act as the agent of the Seller. Except otherwise provided, items successfully sold in the auction held by the Company shall be bound by the agreement made and between the Seller, through the agency of the Company, and the Buyer.
■ Before the auction A. Authentication
We strongly recommend that the prospective buyers conduct their own authentication for the items they are interested in bidding prior to the auction. While we usually offer authentication opinions for review, we provide no guarantees to the buyer (with the exception of the guarantee with regard to counterfeits as defined of the Agreement).
B. Important Notice
The descriptions of auction items will mention obvious defects of the items as much as possible; however, they do not necessarily include all flaws, defects, or incomplete aspects.
C. Catalogue Explanations
Any statement of the author, history, date, year, size, material, ownership, authenticity, origin, condition of preservation or estimated selling price of any of the Lots shown in the catalogue or the authentication opinion made by the Company, or any other verbal or written statements made separately shall be solely statements of opinions and shall not be deemed the basis for the statements of actual fact. The photographs shown in the catalogue shall serve as reference only and shall not be deemed as the basis for determining the color or tone of any Lot or disclosure of the defects of such item. The estimates of the auction price shall not be deemed the price at which such item will be successfully sold or the statement of the value of the item for other purposes. Many auction items fail to maintain their perfect condition because of time and other environmental factors. Some of the explanations in the catalogue or the authentication opinions will state defects and/or the repair background of the Lots. Such information is meant for reference only. Missing information in the statements does not mean the Lot has no defects or has not been repaired. Any statement of one particular defect does not mean there is no any other defect.
D. Responsibility of the Buyer
The Buyer is responsible for clarifying and satisfying himself about the condition of the items and any related matters stated in the catalogue descriptions.
■ At the auction A. Sales Tax Payable by the Buyer
The Buyer shall pay (value added) sales tax in the amount of 5% of the Hammer Price with respect to imported works of art collected by the Buyer in Taiwan pursuant to the laws of the R.O.C. The Buyer is not required to pay sales tax if such imported works of art (with * marks by the number in the catalogue) are delivered to the buyer outside the R.O.C. and are handled by Zhong Cheng for the relevant shipments. The buyer shall notify Zhong Cheng in writing within two business days following the auction day if he desires to collect the items auctioned outside the R.O.C.
B. Estimates
The prices in US dollars or other currencies reproduced in the auction and this catalogue are for reference only. The Buyer is requested to pay by New Taiwan dollars or other foreign currencies in its equivalency based on the exchange rate of the payment day.
C. Refusal of admission
The Company has the right, at our own discretion, to refuse admission to the premises or participation in any auction and to reject any bid.
D. Registration before bidding
A Prospective buyer must fill in and sign the registration forms prior to the bidding and provide personal identification. Prospective buyers should also note that the Company may be requested to conduct credit checks against buyers.
E. The bidder is the Buyer
Unless a written agreement has been made upon registration that the bidder will be the agent who acts on behalf of a third person and such third person is accepted by the Company, the bidder will be deemed as the Buyer who will bear individual legal responsibilities.
F. Absentee bids
The Company will make reasonable effort to bid for the prospective buyers who instruct us to bid on their behalf by using the form attached the catalogue. Written bids form should be delivered to the Company prior to the auction. If we receive written bids on a particular lot for identical amounts, and the auction these are the highest bids on the lot, it will be sold to the person whose written bid was received and accepted first. Execution of written bids is a free service undertaken subject to other commitments at the time of the sale and we do not accept liability for failing to execute a written bid or for errors and omissions in connection with it.
G. Telephone bids
The Company will make reasonable efforts to contact the bidder to participate in the auction by phone. The prospective buyer should request such arrangements prior to the auction. However, the Company will bear no responsibilities to the Seller or any prospective buyer if no contact is made under any circumstances.
H. Currency converter
The currency converter will be utilized at the auction. The exchange rate is calculated at the exchange rate of the one-month future goods reported to the Company from the bank when starting business on the day of the auction. Nonetheless, the auction will still be conducted in NT dollars. Errors may occur in the operation of the currency converter and we do not accept liability to bidders who follow the currency converter rather than the actual bidding in the saleroom.
I. Video or digital images
The image projection will be made at the auctions; however, errors may occur during the operation. The Company is not liable for the color accuracy of the reproduced image and whether the projected image corresponds to the item being auctioned.
J. Auctioneer's discretion
The auctioneer reserve the absolute right to reject any bid, push for bids at his own discretion, withdraw any auction items, separate or combine two or more auction items, and if there is any error or dispute, re-auction the items.
K. Successful bids and risk transfer
Under the discretion of the auctioneer, the highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer will be the buyer and the striking of his hammer means the acceptance of the highest bid and the conclusion of a contract for sale between the seller and the buyer. Risk and responsibility for the lot but not its title (including frames or glass where relevant) passed to the buyer at the expiration of seven working days from the date of the sale or on collection by the buyer if earlier.
■ After the auction A. Buyer's premium
The Buyer shall pay the hammer price plus the buyer's premium to the Company and any applicable taxes. For hammer price below NT$20,000,000 (included), the buyer's premium shall be calculated at 20% of the hammer price. For hammer price higher than NT$20,000,000, the first NT$20,000,000 should be calculated at 20%, and the rest of amount shall be 12%.
B. Taxes
All the payments payable by the Buyer to the Company do not include any commodity or service taxes or any other value added taxes (whether imposed by the R.O.C. government or elsewhere). The Buyer shall be responsible for paying any applicable taxes as required by the law.
C. Payment
a.The Buyer should provide his name and permanent address to the Company upon the successful bid. Relevant bank information should also be provided upon request. All payments due (including the hammer price, buyer's premium and any applicable taxes) shall be paid within 7 days after the auction.
b.If the Buyer fails to pay to the Company all the payments due, the Buyer will not acquire the ownership of the Lot even if the Company has delivered such item to the Buyer. If the payment is made other than NT dollars, the buyer shall pay the related expense incurred, including bank charges and foreign exchange service fees. The exchange rate of the payments to the Company in any currency other than NT dollars should be the exchange rate reported by the Bank of Taiwan to the Company on the auction date and should be based on the certificates issued by the Company according to such exchange rate.
c.It is Zhong Cheng's policy to request any new clients or purchasers preferring to make a cash payment to provide proof of identity (by providing some form of government issued identification containing a photograph, such as a passport, identity card or driver's licence) and confirmation of permanent address. Thank you for your cooperation.
d.Cheques and drafts should be made payable to Zhong Cheng's. Although personal and company cheques drawn in NT dollars on Taiwan Cooperative Bank is accepted, you are advised that property will not be released until such cheques have cleared unless you have a pre-arranged Cheque Acceptance Facility. Forms to facilitate this are available from the Finance Department in Zhong Cheng.
Bank transfers should be made to:
TAIWAN COOPERATIVE BANK. FU HSIN BRANCH
Swift No. : TACBTWTP091
Beneficiary name: ZHONG CHENG AUCTIONS CO., LTD.
Beneficiary account number (13 digits):
0914 665 003801
* Please include your name and invoice number with your instructions to your bank.
D. Storage
Storage and handling charge may apply.
E. Collection, packing and shipping
Unless otherwise agreed by the Company, the Company will hold temporarily the successfully sold Lots until all payments to the Company are made in full. The Lot will be covered by the insurance of the Company from the auction date for 7 days during the temporary holding period. The insurance coverage will terminate upon collection of such item. The Buyer should be responsible for all risks following expiration of the said 7-day period or the collection (whichever is the earlier). The Company will provide shipping company upon the buyer's request and do not accept any liability if any damage occurred by the shipping company.
F. Remedies for non-payment or non-collection of purchases
The Company is entitled to exercise one or more of the following rights or remedies if the Buyer fails to make payment within 7 days:
a.An interest at the annual rate of no higher than 10% plus the base interest rate of Bank of Taiwan will be imposed on all of the payment due if payment is not made within 7 days following the auction date. Besides, we have the right of charging also 1% selling price (including of hammer price and the commission) multiplied by the number of delayed days as fine for the default. The payment to be made by the Buyer should offset any payment owed by the Company or its subsidiaries to the Buyer for any other transactions.
b.The Company reserves the right to refuse the Buyer to make on behalf of others, bids in any future auctions and/or to require a deposit from the Buyer before accepting any future bids made by the Buyer. If the Buyer fails to make payment within 35 days, the Company is entitled to exercise the following rights in addition to the aforementioned:
c.To take legal action to the Buyer on behalf of the Seller to claim the entire payment due and the legal fees resulting from such legal action based on a total claim.
d.To cancel the transaction of Lots bid by the Buyer or any other auction items sold to the Buyer at the same or any other auctions.
e.To arrange a public or private re-sale of the Lot. If the reselling price is lower than the payment, the differences and other expenses incurred shall be responsible by the Buyer.
G. No collection of the purchases
The Company will arrange for the storage of the Lot if such item sold is not collected within 7 days of the item, regardless payment is made or not. Such storage cost will be borne by the Buyer.
H. Export permit
Unless otherwise agreed by the Company in written, the process of applying the export permit does not affect the Buyer's responsibility to make the payments within 7 days. If the Buyer requests the Company to apply the export permit on his or her behalf, the Company is entitled to charge the related expenses.
■ The legal responsibility of the Company The Company is responsible for returning payment to the Buyer pursuant to Article 6. Otherwise, whether the Buyer, the Company, any employees or agents of the Company will not be held liable for any statements of the author, history, date, year, ownership, authenticity or origin of any auction item or any errors with respect to any explanations and any flaws or defects of any auction item. The Buyer, the Company the employees or the agents of the Company make no guarantee with respect to any auction items. Any warrantee of any kind shall not be included herein.
■ Return of payments for forgery
If the Lot is considered as a forgery by the Buyer, the Buyer should inform the Company in written notice within 14 days. The written comment should under the following condition and the transaction will be cancelled and payments made will be returned to the Buyer. It is unnecessary for the Company to pay the Buyer an amount more than what the Buyer pays in connection with the Lot and the Buyer does not reserve the right to claim interests under any circumstances.
a.The written report should be provided by two individual experts and agreed by the Company.
b.The Buyer must return the Lot to the Company within the following 21 days and the condition of the item must be the same as on the auction day.
c.The Buyer has absolute right to the Lot and the Lot is free from the third party rights of claims.
d.The Company will refund to the Buyer any amount paid to the Company after receiving the amount returned by the Seller.