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Sales conditions & Insurance

Where does the sale take place?

The sale is held exclusively on-line in www.theauction.online

When does the sale take place?

The Auction starts on February 14 at 8PM and ends at February 15 at 8PM CET.

Extra Time rule

The end of the sale is set from 08:00PM CET. The \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"extra time\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" rule is applied to this sale. Each bid placed 5 minutes before the end allows all other bidders 15 extra minutes to place a final bid. The end of the sale is therefore postponed to 8:15pm (8:00pm + 15 minutes). This rule applies as many times as necessary.

Where and how can I bid?

To register as a bidder, please click on the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"register to bid\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" button in the top right hand corner of the home page.

After processing your request, The Auction will send you a personal password allowing you to log on to the secure bidding platform.

What commission and taxes apply?

Buyer’s commission is 10% +VAT, applicable to the amount of the final bid.
VAT applies on buyer’s commission at a 21% rate.
VAT applies on the hammer price at the VAT rate of the seller\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s country, except in the case of horses sold without VAT – this mention is carried on each lot’s presentation page

How do I pay?

Auction sales are considered to be paid cash. As a result, each purchaser must contact The Auction accounts department immediately after the end of the sale and proceed to payment by wire transfer .

Terms and conditions of sale

The Auction sale "THE AUCTION – FLASH SALE" is organised by The Auction – Les Ecuries d'Ecaussinnes, a limited liability company under Belgian law, registered in the RC of Mons under the

number: 135212, whose VAT number is BE 0458.153.962 and whose registered office is located: Rue Blavier 3 - 7190 Ecaussinnes - Belgium, hereinafter referred to as "The Auction". The Auction will be held from 14 February 2025 at 08.00 p.m. (CET) to 15 February 2025 at 8.00 p.m. (CET) exclusively online on the sales platform: www.theauction.online.

The Auction acts as the organiser of the sale and as a joint agent between the buyer and the seller.

The Auction cannot be held liable by the Seller or the successful Buyer outside the limits of liability defined and contractually agreed between the Seller and the Buyer.

The Auction is not liable to the buyer in the event of incorrect information provided by the seller about the horse or its condition.

 

Article 1 - Definitions

Sale: all transactions subject to these Terms and Conditions of Sale and resulting from bids entered on the www.theauction.online website, placed directly on the online platform after logging into a personal account.

 

Lot: any embryo put up for auction in the context of the Sale and described in the best possible way by means of written information and visuals. This description has the sole purpose of providing a representation of the potential qualities of the horse, without claiming to be exhaustive or constituting guarantees.

 

Seller: the adult natural person or legal entity, owner of a Lot or duly mandated by the said owner, who has instructed The Auction to proceed with the sale of his Lot within the framework of the Sale by returning a duly completed and signed registration contract.

 

Adjudication: express designation by The Auction, on behalf of the Seller, of the last Bidder as the Buyer of the Lot. This designation is recorded in the Minutes.

 

Auction: intermediary by which the Seller appoints The Auction to organise the conclusion of an

Agreement concerning the Lot(s) belonging to him with the highest bidder at the end of a bottom-up auction process.

 

Selling costs: the amount that the Buyer or Seller is deemed to owe to The Auction following the Auction of a Lot.

 

Bidder: adult natural person or legal entity duly registered with The Auction to participate in the Sale.

Bid: the amount offered by a Bidder for a Lot, plus applicable Fees and Taxes. Bids are taken in Euros. All conversion costs are the responsibility of the Buyer.

 

Buyer: the Bidder to whom a Lot has been Awarded.

 

Purchase: contract signed by the Purchaser immediately after a Lot has been Awarded to him, under

which the transfer of ownership takes place instantaneously.

 

Article 2 - Application of the conditions of sale.

Participation in this auction is accompanied by compulsory registration via the www.theauction.online

website and implies express and unreserved knowledge and acceptance of these terms and conditions of sale.

These Terms and Conditions of Sale are deemed to be known and accepted by the Sellers and the Buyers. They are applicable to all transactions carried out within the framework of “The Auction – FLASH SALE”

.

The Auction acts as the Seller's agent and gives full subrogation to The Auction with regard to invoicing and collection. These terms and conditions of sale are applicable in their entirety, unless they conflict with the terms and conditions of sale set out in the minutes of the Sale.

The Seller and the Buyer shall not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by The Auction outside the limits of liability defined and contractually agreed between the Seller and the Buyer. In general, The Auction cannot be held liable to the Buyer or third parties for any breach of the Terms and Conditions of Sale.

The Auction reserves the right to modify the Terms and Conditions of Sale and Bidding without prior notice.

If one or more of the provisions mentioned in these terms and conditions are or become legally invalid, the other provisions will remain legally valid. In this case, a new provision will replace the invalid provision mentioned, which corresponds as far as possible to the old invalid provision mentioned in terms of content, scope and purpose.

 

1Article 3 - Auctions.

In accordance with the law, Auctions are indicated and taken in legal Euros, simultaneous translation in foreign currencies is given for information purposes only.

 

a. REGISTRATION FOR SALE

The buyer who wishes to bid must register via the website www.theauction.online in the manner prescribed by THE SITE before being able to participate in the auction. This registration constitutes unconditional acceptance of the auction conditions.

Furthermore, by participating in an auction, the buyer declares to be authorised to perform legal acts and the buyer declares to be authorised to conclude a purchase contract concerning the horse offered for sale. The Auction reserves the right to refuse or unilaterally terminate the registration and participation in an auction at any time.

At The Auction's first request, the buyer will have to prove his valid identity, failing which the buyer will not be able to participate in the auction.

The buyer is obliged to provide all information in a complete, correct and truthful manner at the time of

registration and to guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information provided by him.

If this information changes at any time, the buyer is obliged to inform the Auction immediately of the

change(s).

The user name and password used by the buyer for an auction are strictly personal and may not be

transferred by a buyer to third parties.

The buyer is aware of this and explicitly accepts that the services available on the website are limited to making it technically possible to monitor the auction via the Internet and to participate in the auction as a bidder.

The Auction makes every effort to secure its systems against loss of data and/or any form of unlawful use and takes the appropriate technical and organisational measures to this end.

The buyer is obliged to adequately secure the computer and/or any other device he uses to access the auction site, and as usual to protect himself against viruses or other illegal programs or files that may be distributed over the Internet.

 

b. BIDDING

For a given Lot, Auctions can only be placed on the www.theauction.online website after logging into the customer account, following the procedure described. Each Bid validated on ww.theauction.online is confirmed by email to the Bidder's address, in the same way, each higher Bid is the subject of information to the Bidder.

All bids made in the last 15 minutes on a lot extend the duration of the bidding on this lot by 15 minutes, this extension is renewable until the bids are exhausted.

 

c. OUTCOME OF THE SALE

Embryos

The holder of the Final Auction is deemed to be the Successful Bidder of the Lot and will become the

owner of the Lot upon payment of the Lot. He is obliged to inform The Auction immediately of the method of payment of his purchase. The purchaser has the option of having the Lot or his purchases insured immediately after the hammer has fallen from the hammer with the insurance partner of the sale or with the insurer of his choice.

Pending receipt of payment by The Auction, the Lot will remain in the Seller's custody.

Following payment, the Buyer will have two options:

- Either he will take back the broodmare or surrogate mother of the embryo. It will be up to the Buyer to take delivery of the broodmare or surrogate mother, at his own expense and under his responsibility. The Buyer undertakes to take care of the broodmare or surrogate mother as a good father. All costs inherent to the maintenance of the broodmare or surrogate mother shall be borne by the Buyer. In this option, the Buyer will give the Owner a deposit of 2,000 € for the broodmare or surrogate. This deposit will be returned to him when the broodmare or surrogate is returned.

- Either he will leave the broodmare or surrogate mother at the stud where she is stationed and will recover her foal after weaning. The payment of the costs arising from this period will be defined by mutual agreement between the breeder and the Buyer.

In the absence of cash payment, any unpaid Lot may be put up for sale again by "mad bidding" during the Sale or at its end, without formal notice or legal formality, at the risk and peril of the successful bidder. He will be required to pay the difference between his Adjudication price and the resale price on irresponsible bidding without being able to claim to keep the surplus, if any, this surplus being the Seller's.

The Auction will be the sole judge of cases, whatever they may be, of irresponsible bidding.

In the event of default by the Successful Bidder, The Auction will put the Lot back on sale without being able to claim the difference in price from the Seller.

 

Article 4 - Information and documents to be provided by the seller.

The Seller must have returned in writing prior to the Sale the registration contract for each Lot that they wish to offer for Sale and all the related documents. In the absence of these documents, the Lot may be withdrawn from the Sale without any compensation being claimed by the Seller from The Auction.

The Seller must provide The Auction with a veterinary file in accordance with the protocol established by The Auction, which can be consulted in the appendix to these Terms and Conditions of Sale, no later than 7 February 2025. In the absence of such documentation, the Lot may be withdrawn from the Sale without the Seller being entitled to claim any compensation from The Auction.

The Auction is only responsible for the accuracy of the statements made by the Seller and those made to the public, but is not responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of the statements made by the Seller, in particular with regard to the VAT regime, the designation of the Lots, their performance, their origins, the performance of their ascendants, etc. The Auction is not responsible for the accuracy or truthfulness of the statements made by the Seller.

The Seller is therefore required to report in writing prior to the Sale any errors or omissions appearing in the catalogue and/or on the website www.theauction.online so that these errors or omissions can be reported to the public by means of an announcement on the stand prior to the Sale and recorded in the minutes.

Any Seller who has not made a written correction to the information in the catalogue and/or on the website www.theauction.online concerning the Lots presented by him prior to the start of the Sale will be deemed to have approved this information and therefore the responsibility for its accuracy is fully incumbent on him.

 

Article 5 - Absence.

In the event of the withdrawal of a Lot from the Sale by the Seller, a penalty of 20% exclusive of tax on the estimated price mentioned in the registration contract will be applied by The Auction to the Seller, except in the event of injury to the horse as established by a veterinary certificate drawn up by a veterinarian appointed by The Auction, which will be given to them before the start of the Sale.

 

Article 6 - Guarantees by the Seller.

The Auction not acting as a seller is not responsible for apparent and/or hidden defects of the horses sold.

In all cases, the liability of The Auction is a maximum of the purchase price excluding the costs of the horse and no other costs.

 

Veterinary file and arbitration

The individual veterinary file of a Lot is constituted by the Seller with the assistance of his veterinarian. The Seller is solely and entirely responsible for compiling the veterinary file.

The veterinary file will be made available to the Buyers and their veterinarians in dematerialised form. Any request for consultation must be addressed to The Auction, which will open the consultation exclusively to the applicant(s).

The Auction cannot be held liable for any error in the conformity or identification of the veterinary files, or for any lack of legibility of the files or for any malfunctioning of the equipment used in the reading rooms. Any Buyer who, by himself or through the intermediary of his veterinarian appointed for this purpose, has had or could have had access to the information available in the veterinary file will be presumed to be aware of the contents and will not be able to use it to obtain the resolution of the sale.

3In the absence of having had access to this information or in the absence of a file, if within 30 days following the day of the sale, the Buyer considers that a defect affects the horse, the Buyer must inform the Seller that he intends to have recourse to an amicable expertise in order to assess the merits of his claim.

This expertise will be carried out immediately by a veterinary expert approved by both parties or, failing this, appointed by The Auction. The duration of the operations may not be used by the Seller as a reason for inadmissibility of any subsequent action. The parties may agree to accept the conclusions of the said expert, except in the case of a formal defect.

In all circumstances, the action for rescission of the sale brought by the Buyer must be brought directly against the Seller, whose name will be provided by The Auction at its request. It must be brought within 30 days of receipt of the amicable expert's report. The Auction cannot be held responsible for any such action.

No complaint, even in the case of a critical defect, will be accepted if the purchaser has not paid the total

amount of his purchase. In the event of a critical defect or dispute, the funds will be blocked at The Auction.

 

Identification of lot

The Sellers will have to make sure that each embryo presented carries the number assigned to it in the catalogue. In case of error or confusion, the responsibility will be entirely theirs and cannot be attributed to The Auction.

In the event of an investigation, the Seller undertakes to authorise, at his own expense, the taking of the necessary blood sample or any other operations required to search for the identity of the horse.

The Sellers undertake to ensure that the animals presented for sale have undergone the compulsory

vaccinations required.

The information on the horses offered for sale is solely intended to give an impression of their qualities, without claiming to be complete and without giving any guarantee.

The Auction is not responsible for printing errors and/or material errors in the catalogue or incorrect entries on its website.

If the buyer is a private consumer within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, he has a 14-day right of withdrawal.

 

Article 7 - Liability for damage caused by the animal or caused to the animal.

Until they are sold, i.e. until the Auction is pronounced and the price is paid in full, the Lots for sale

remaining the property of the Seller, The Auction cannot be held liable for accidents, illnesses or any damage whatsoever occurring to the animals or caused by them to third parties, whether inside or outside the place of Sale.

The Sellers are also entirely responsible for fire risks and loss or damage.

Each potential Buyer will consult the veterinary file and, if necessary, carry out additional examinations, within the limits of the protocol established by the Equine Veterinary Association, under his own responsibility. In the event of an accident caused to a horse or by a horse examined by a potential Buyer or his veterinarian, the latter will be solely responsible and will have to bear all the direct and indirect consequences. Sellers and Buyers undertake not to seek the responsibility of The Auction for any reason whatsoever.

Immediately after the auction, the Buyer shall take the place of the Seller for these responsibilities.

 

Article 8 - Sale without reservation.

As the Sale is voluntary, the Seller or his representative may always buy back the Lot presented by him if he considers the Bids insufficient for the Sale, provided that the declaration is made by the Seller himself or his representative with a written power of attorney.

The declaration must be made by email to the following address: info@theauction.online, before the end of the Sale.

The Seller shall then bear the repurchase costs, the amounts of which are indicated in Article 13.

 

Article 9 - Payment to the Seller.

The Auction will proceed with the payment of the Adjudication price within 72 hours of receipt of payment by the Buyer. The Lot will only be delivered to the Buyer after receipt of payment by The Auction.

In the event of default by the Successful Bidder, the Seller shall, after having given notice to The Auction that the notice of default has not been complied with, authorise The Auction to decide whether or not to put the Lot back on sale within a period of 2 months following the Adjudication.

If the Lot is not put up for sale again within the aforementioned period for any reason whatsoever, the Sale is automatically cancelled without prejudice to any damages due by the defaulting Successful Bidder.

The Seller subject to VAT is solely responsible for the declaration and payment of the VAT to the competent tax authorities.

 

Article 10 - Irresponsible bidding opposable to the seller.

At the end of the Sale, The Auction may inform and notify the Seller of the default of the Bidder or the lack of sufficient credit guarantees.

After a formal notice has been unsuccessful, with the agreement of the Seller, the Lot may then be put up for sale again on an irresponsible bid, without the difference in price being able to be claimed by the Seller from

The Auction.

If the Buyer withdraws, for any reason whatsoever, The Auction may resell the horse that was sold at an unsuccessful auction.

The original Buyer will be obliged to pay The Auction the costs associated with this resale, as well as the difference in purchase price that has not been realised at the time of the resale. In the event that the Seller does not wish to put the Lot back up for resale on the grounds of an irresponsible

bidding, and after having informed The Auction by registered letter, the sale will be cancelled by right and the Lot will be returned to the Seller, without prejudice to any damages owed by the defaulting Bidder to the Seller.

 

Article 11 – Payment by the buyer

a. PAYMENT OF THE LOT

Payments are made in EURO. Payment of the Lot will be made in cash, for the full price, costs and taxes. The Auction is supervised by an auctioneer appointed by The Auction, who will draw up an official attribution report. By submitting a bid, the buyer undertakes to pay the settlement amount after attribution. Any person who places a Bid is deemed to be placing the Bids for himself and the Auctioneer, whose name will be mentioned in the minutes, will be personally liable for his purchase.

If the Successful Bidder declares that he is acting on behalf of a third party, he must be the bearer of a written power of attorney from that person and expressly undertake to act as joint and several guarantor for the said third party, for the full amount of the auction. The Successful Bidder whose name will be mentioned in the minutes will be responsible for his purchase in the event of default by his principal. In the event that the Successful Bidder does not have an express power of attorney, The Auction may consider as co-debtor the person who proves to be the tacit principal of the Successful Bidder.

The Auction may not withhold any amount from invoices issued by The Auction for any reason whatsoever.

These invoices must therefore be paid in full by the Purchasers or their agents. All payments must be made through The Auction by bank transfer (no cash or cheques will be accepted).

The payment will include the price of the Award and will be increased by the costs of the Award.

No claim will be admissible if the Purchaser has not paid the total amount of his purchase.

If full payment by the buyer within 5 working days of the auction is not made, the buyer shall be liable by operation of law and without notice of default to pay interest of 1% per month on the total amount of the payment due, to be calculated from the day of the auction until the day of full payment. In addition, the buyer shall be liable to pay compensation of 10% of the purchase price.

In addition, if the buyer fails to pay in full within 5 working days of the auction, The Auction may consider the sale to have been resolved to the detriment of the buyer and may claim a fixed compensation of 20% of the purchase price to compensate for its loss.

The Auction reserves the right to pass on the file to its lawyer, who will take care of the collection.

All costs and fees incurred by The Auction for the collection of the debt will be for the account of the debtor or his representative, who will be obliged to do so; however, these costs will not be less than 10% of this amount.

In the event of a dispute over the sale of a Lot, the relevant funds will be blocked at The Auction.

If the buyer is a consumer, the clause is reciprocal in favour of the buyer in the event of default by The

 

b. TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP

Ownership of the horse is transferred upon receipt by The Auction of full payment by the buyer. The risks and any liability are however transferred to the buyer upon the auction.

The buyer has the option of having the lot or his purchases insured immediately after the hammer has

fallen from the hammer with the insurance partner of the sale or with the insurer of his choice.

 

c. DELIVERY

After payment the buyer and The Auction will arrange delivery by mutual agreement. Any transport costs are at the expense of the Buyer.

 

Article 12 - Election of domicile.

The Auction may ask a foreign Buyer to elect domicile in Belgium at a breeder or intermediary, in the

common interest of the parties and in particular to speed up the transmission of all information and documents between them.

 

Article 13 - Costs to be borne by the Sellers.

The Sale does not provide for any buy-back fees up to the estimated price agreed between the Auction and the Seller, mentioned in the contract for the registration of the Lot at the Sale. An 8% fee will apply for redemptions above this amount.

The Seller's fees are 10% exclusive of tax, payable in cash at the end of the Sale.

A penalty of 20% excl. VAT on the estimated price agreed between The Auction and the Seller will be

applied by The Auction to the Seller in the event of withdrawal of the Lot from the Sale by the Seller, except in the event of injury as provided for in Article 5 of these Terms and Conditions of Sale.

Any reminder of taxes or duties that may be made by a State or Municipal Administration in excess of the current taxes and duties will be at the Seller's expense.

The slips sent to the Sellers must be paid on receipt. In the event of non-payment, The Auction will send the Seller a formal notice to pay within 8 days. After this period, an interest of 0.75% per month (excluding VAT) will be charged from the date of the reminder.

 

Article 14 - Costs to be borne by the Buyers.

The sale is carried out in accordance with Belgian law by means of an auction and attributed to the highest bidder after payment of the settlement amount, increased or not by the VAT and the costs of the sale, i.e. 10% plus VAT.

The Purchase costs are 10% exclusive of VAT, payable in cash at the end of the Sale.

VAT is applied (Calculation basis = auction price + purchase costs) when the Seller is liable for VAT. It is only applied to the purchase costs when the Seller is not liable for VAT.

The applicable VAT rate for “The Auction – FLASH SALE” is 21%.

The Auction declines all responsibility for the legal and fiscal consequences of a false declaration by the Buyer.

It is the responsibility of the Successful Bidder to insure the Lot at the time of the Auction.

If the Lot is awarded to a professional intermediary (trader, rider) who has been duly appointed by a third party and who has declared himself to The Auction prior to the sale, The Auction will pay the intermediary a commission of 8% (excl. VAT) of the auction price on the intermediary's invoice.

 

Article 15 - Resolution of sale.

Any Seller will be obliged, in the event of a sale being cancelled for any reason whatsoever, to reimburse the Buyer for the costs of the Sale as well as all expenses incurred by the Buyer for the conservation of the object in dispute in Belgium.

In the event of export, the costs of the stay abroad and the repatriation of the Lot in Belgium shall be borne by the Buyer. The Auction cannot be held liable for any costs incurred by the Buyer in the case of export.

 

Article 16 - Applicable law - Jurisdiction.

In the event of a dispute, only the French text of the terms and conditions shall apply. The translation of these auction conditions into another language is purely informative.

Any dispute arising from this auction and its consequences shall be governed exclusively by Belgian law, to the exclusion of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on International Sales and Purchases. The company court of Liège division Liège is exclusively and solely competent to hear any dispute.