1. Definitions
"Affiliates" means Saffronart Art Private Limited, Planet Saffronart Inc., Planet Saffronart Management, LLC and their holding or subsidiary companies as on the date of the Auction.
"Auction" means a charity auction of Property to be conducted by Saffronart on the Website on the date indicated on the Website.
"Bid" means the price offered by a Bidder to purchase a particular Property offered for sale at an Auction.
"Bidder" means a person making a Bid for the purchase of one or more Properties offered for sale at an Auction in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Conditions for Sale.
"Bid Closing Schedule" shall be the schedule specifying the closing times for bids for each Lot to be sold through the Auction as specified on the Website.
"Buyer" means the Bidder making the Winning Bid in respect of a Property and who has agreed to pay/ has paid both the Sale Price and the Buyers Premium payable in respect of such Property(s).
"Buyers Premium" means the amount charged by Saffronart from a Buyer for services rendered by it, in accordance with the Conditions of Sale, in connection with the purchase of Property by the Buyer. The Buyer's Premium shall be donated by Saffronart to the Charity.
"Charity" shall mean, the charitable organization(s) named in the online "Sale Guide" which will be the recipient(s) of all proceeds of this Auction.
"Closing Date" means the date specified in the Bid Closing Schedule on which the Auction closes.
"Closing Time" means the time at which the Auction for any Property/Lot Group listed in the Bid Closing Schedule closes.
"Conditions for Sale" means these Terms and Conditions published on the Website which shall be applicable to every Bid and every sale of Property made through an Auction
"Description" means all the details of a Property as set out on the Website and shall include, without limitation, the name of the artist, the title of the Property, the signature of the artist/ date of the Property (if any), the surface, medium and dimensions of the Property.
"Lot Groups" shall mean the Properties grouped together for the Auction for closing together at a particular time as set out in the Bid Closing Schedule.
"Property/Lot" shall mean the artwork offered by Saffronart for sale through the Auction.
"Reserve Price" means the minimum price that the Seller has communicated to Saffronart as being acceptable for the sale of the Property through an Auction.
"Saffronart" means Saffronart Art Private Limited acting either on its own behalf or as a representative of any of its Affiliates.
"Saffronart Sever" means the computer(s) that provides other computers with access to resources shared on computer networks including Saffronart data, application files and printers.
"Seller" means the party consigning the Property to Saffronart as its agent for sale through Auction.
"Technical Downtime" means the time period during which the Saffronart Server or the Website is not in operation due to a malfunction.
"Terms of Business" means the terms of business executed between Saffronart and the Seller.
"Website" means the collection of HTML and/or internet data and media located at the URL www.Saffronart.com and/or any other URL linked to the Website.
"Winning Bid / Sale Price" means the highest Bid offered in respect of a Property at the Closing Time, which Bid shall be either be equal to or higher than the Reserve Price .
"Winning Bidder" means the Bidder who has put in the Winning Bid.
2. General Terms
By participating in this Auction, you acknowledge that you are bound by the Conditions for Sale as listed below and on the Website.
2.1. Saffronart’s role as the agent of the Seller: Saffronart undertakes to sell the Properties through the Auction as the agent of and on behalf of the Seller. Saffronart has no ownership interest in any of the Properties.
2.2. Making a Bid constitutes an irrevocable offer to purchase the Property and the acceptance of a Bid as the Winning Bid by Saffronart shall result in an enforceable contract of sale between Saffronart, acting solely as the agent of the Seller, and the Winning Bidder.
2.3 Saffronart is authorised by the Seller to exercise its complete discretion in: (i) determining the form and content of the Descriptions on the Website, (ii) granting bidding access to a Bidder, (iii) recording, rejecting or accepting Bids, and (iv) deciding which Bid constitutes the Winning Bid, if any.
Employees of Saffronart and its Affiliates are normally forbidden from bidding in Saffronart auctions other than placing written bids in advance of the auction. They may however fully participate in this charity Auction.
Bidding access shall be given at Saffronart’s discretion and Saffronart may set limits on the number of Bids that may be made by a Bidder and/or require payment guarantees or deposits as a condition precedent to giving bidding access to a Bidder. Bidders will be informed of the limits on the number of Bids they may make, if any, and will not be allowed to bid further if their bidding limit has been exhausted. Bid updates and time extensions, if any, shall be updated on the Website and Bidders may refresh their bidding pages to view latest bid updates and time extensions, if any. Saffronart shall evaluate the bid histories of the Properties periodically to preserve the efficacy of the Auction process. This exercise may be conducted by Saffronart internally or through third parties solely at the discretion of Saffronart.
2.4. Saffronart reserves the right to withdraw any Property before, during or after the Auction, if it has reason to believe that the authenticity of the Property or the accuracy of the Description is in doubt, or if there is a breach of the Terms of Business, or if Saffronart otherwise believes, in its sole discretion, that it would be improper to include the Property in the Auction.
2.5. Saffronart will raise invoices on the Buyer for the Sale Price and Buyers Premium, applicable taxes on sale of Properties and other additional charges that may be incurred by Saffronart, if any, including shipping and handling of the Property.
2.6. In respect of each sale at the Auction, Saffronart shall charge a Buyers Premium calculated at the rate of 15% of the Winning Bid up to and including USD 500,000/- plus 10% of the Winning Bid in excess of USD 500,000/-. Service tax applicable on the Buyers Premium for deliveries, if within India, shall be to the account of the Buyer. The Buyers Premium charged by Saffronart shall, in its entirety, be donated by Saffronart to the Charity.
2.7. The foreign currency exchange rate used during the Auction is a constant of 1:49 (USD:INR). The estimates for individual Properties have been 'rounded off' for ease of reference and may not reflect the exact exchange rate used for Bid calculations.
2.8. All Bidders are required to provide complete and accurate invoicing details to Saffronart at the time of registration for the Auction and invoicing details once registered will not be changed. The Bidder shall be invoiced based on details provided at the time for registering for the Auction.
2.9. The Winning Bidder shall pay the Sale Price and Buyers Premium in full (including the applicable taxes and other charges, if any) within seven business days from the Closing Date. No shipment or delivery of the Property will be made to the Winning Bidder if the Sale Price and Buyers Premium (including the applicable taxes and other service charges, if any) are not received by Saffronart and until all proper documentation in connection with the sale of the Property has been completed. Payments will not be accepted from any parties other than the Winning Bidder as recorded on the invoice.
2.10. Non payment: The Winning Bidder shall ensure that invoices raised by Saffronart are paid in full and all remittance of amounts due under the invoice is made within seven business days from the date of the invoice. In case payments are not received within such period, this shall be treated as a breach of contract of sale by the Buyer and the Seller may, in such an event, authorize Saffronart to take any steps (including the institution of legal proceedings), as it may deem to be appropriate to enforce payment by the Buyer. In addition, the Buyer will be charged demurrage @ 1% of the total value (Winning Bid plus Buyers Premium) per month till the date of actual payment.
2.11. Failure to collect: If a Winning Bidder informs Saffronart that he wishes to collect the Property from Saffronart in person and such Property is not collected by the Winning Bidder within 30 days of the payment formalities being completed, Saffronart shall arrange for storage of the Property at the Winning Bidder's expense, and shall only release the Property after payment has been made, in full, of the Sale Price and Buyers Premium including demurrage @ 1% of the total value (Winning Bid plus Buyers Premium) per month (if applicable) and the charges for storage of the Property, if any.
2.12. Saffronart reserves the right not to award the Winning Bid to the Bidder with the highest Bid at the Closing Date if it deems it necessary to do so.
2.14. Non payment: The Winning Bidder shall ensure that invoices raised by Saffron are paid in full and all remittance of amounts due under the invoice is made within seven business days from the date of the invoice. In case payments are not received within such period, this shall be treated as a breach of contract of sale by the Buyer and the Seller may, in such an event, authorize Saffron to take any steps (including the institution of legal proceedings), as it may deem to be appropriate to enforce payment by the Buyer. In addition, the Buyer will be charged demurrage @ 1% of the total value (Winning Bid plus Buyers’ Premium) per month till the date of actual payment.
2.15. Failure to collect: If a Winning Bidder informs Saffron that he wishes to collect the Property from Saffron in person and such Property is not collected by the Winning Bidder within 30 days of the payment formalities being completed, Saffron shall arrange for storage of the Property at the Winning Bidder's expense, and shall only release the Property after payment has been made, in full, of the Sale Price and Buyers’ Premium including demurrage @ 1% of the total value (Winning Bid plus Buyers’ Premium) per month (if applicable) and the charges for storage of the Property, if any.
2.16. Saffron reserves the right not to award the Winning Bid to the Bidder with the highest Bid at the Closing Date if it deems it necessary to do so.
2.13 Technical Downtime
i. In the unlikely event that the Website is inaccessible to Bidders worldwide due to Technical Downtime at any time during the half an hour prior to the scheduled Closing Time of the Auction, the Closing Time of the Auction will be extended by the duration of the Technical Downtime.
ii. In case the Technical Downtime extends beyond the Closing Time, the Website shall, after the Technical Downtime, show the Auction for the particular Lot Group as closed. However, the Closing Time for such Lot Group and subsequent Lot Groups shall be extended by the duration of the Technical Downtime and appropriate details of the extension shall be published on the Website shortly after recovery from the Technical Downtime.
2.14. Bids recorded prior to any Technical Downtime will be treated as valid according to the Conditions for Sale. Saffronart shall not be liable for any loss of information due to the Technical Downtime. The data logs of the Saffronart Server will determine the duration of the Technical Downtime and any determination made by Saffronart in respect of extension of the Closing Time shall be final.
2.15. The Sale Price and Buyers Premium shall, in their entirety, be donated to the Charity. Saffronart shall donate the Buyers Premium to the Charity and it shall donate the Sale Price to the Charity on behalf of the Seller. It is hereby clarified that the amount charged from the Buyer by Saffronart for the purpose of insuring the Property, the charges for shipping and handling the Property, service tax and any other amounts charged by Saffronart in accordance with these Conditions for Sale shall not be donated by Saffronart to charity.
2.16. Saffronart represents and warrants that it has been duly authorized by the Seller to donate the Sale Price to the Charity. Neither Saffronart, nor the Seller shall make any claim in relation to the Sale Price once such amount has been duly donated.
2.17. Saffronart shall be entitled to exercise a lien on the Property for payment of any sums due to it from the Buyer, including the Sale Price, Buyer's Premium and costs relating to storage and insurance where they are to be borne by the Buyer.
2.18. Saffronart reserves the right not to award the Winning Bid to the Bidder with the highest Bid at the Closing Date if it deems it necessary to do so.
2.19. The Buyer shall be responsible to ensure that the Property(s) is freely importable into his country or to the country where the destination for delivery (as specified by the Buyer) is located. In the event of the Buyer or Saffronart becoming aware of any restrictions to such import subsequent to the completion of the Auction the Buyer may provide an alternate delivery destination to Saffronart. All costs associated with the process of delivery and storage (when required) of the Property shall be borne by the Buyer. The Property(s) shall be handed over to the Buyer or his nominee only upon full payment of all such costs.
2.20. Saffronart has the right to exercise reasonable discretion in refusing any bid, advancing the bidding, withdrawing or dividing any lot, combining any two or more lots; and in the case of error or dispute, during or after the sale, determining the successful bidder, continuing the bidding, cancelling the sale or reoffering and reselling the item in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, then, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary the sale record maintained by the auctioneer will be conclusive.
3. Catalogue Descriptions and Disclaimer
3.1. Saffronart offers all Properties for sale at the Auction "as is", meaning that Property is sold with all existing faults and imperfections. Saffronart encourages all potential Buyers to inspect each item carefully before bidding.
3.2. Saffronart is merely facilitating the auction of the Property consigned to Saffronart by the Seller and is relying on the representations of the Seller as regards the authenticity of the Property and the accuracy of the Description. Therefore, Saffronart shall not, in any way, be liable in any way for the Property being inauthentic or the Description being inaccurate and any claims in this connection shall have to be brought by the Buyer directly against the Seller.
3.3. Any statements made by Saffronart about any Property, whether orally or in writing concerning attribution to, for example, any school of art or craftsmanship, country or origin, history or provenance, are only expressions of our opinion or belief. Such opinions or beliefs have been formed honestly in accordance with the standard of care expected of an auction house, having due regard to the estimate value of the Property. However, Saffronart does not in anyway represent that it has carried out exhaustive research or analysis, and it is therefore recommended, especially in cases of Properties of high value, that potential Buyers seek advice on such matters from their own professional advisors.
3.4. Neither Saffronart's suppliers nor Saffronart, nor any of Saffronart's employees or agents, shall be responsible, either for the correctness of any statements in relation to the Property, or for any mistakes in the Description, or for any faults or defects in the Properties, or for the non-authenticity of the Property, or for any other act or omission, whatsoever. Saffronart offers no guarantee or warranty in relation to the Property.
4. Authenticity Guarantee
4.1. Saffronart guarantees the authenticity of the Property for a period of one year. Authenticity in relation to artworks shall mean compliance of the artwork with Description provided on the Website, particularly with reference to the name of the Artist, title (if any) of the artwork itself, date, the school of art (if mentioned), dimensions, medium, etc.
4.2. In the unlikely event that within one year from the sale of the Property through Auction, it is proved by the Buyer, to the reasonable satisfaction of Saffron that the Property was not authentic and if, in Saffronart’s opinion, Bidders being aware of such error or omission would have bid significantly less than the actual Sale Price Saffronart shall be entitled to rescind the sale and the Seller will be liable to refund to the Buyer the Sale Price paid for the Property. The Buyer shall return the Property to Saffronart and Saffronart shall hand over the Property to the Seller upon refund of the Sale Price paid to him for the Property. Once Saffron obtains the refunded amount from the Seller, it shall forward the same along with the amount charged by Saffron as the Buyer's Premium to the Buyer.
4.3. All such claims will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and in the case of an authenticity claim will require that examinable proof, which clearly demonstrates that the Property is not authentic, is provided by an established and acknowledged authority. The decision of Saffronart in respect of such claims shall be final and binding.
4.4. However, in the unlikely event that, within one year of the sale of the Property, it is proved, to the reasonable satisfaction of Saffron that,
The claim is made by the Buyer as registered with Saffronart (the benefit of the claim is not assignable to any subsequent owners or others who may acquire or have an interest in any of the Properties)
The Property is returned in the same condition that it was in at the time of delivery of the Property to the Buyer.
The Property was indisputably purchased through the Auction.
5. Extent of Saffron's Liability
5.1. Saffronart has an obligation to refund the Sale Price and Buyers’ premium to the Buyer only in the circumstances covered under Clause 4 above (authenticity guarantee). All damages and losses incurred during shipping and transit are covered under the insurance policy taken by Saffronart and the insurance charges as applicable shall be charged on the invoice unless specified by the Buyer. In case the Buyer does not opt for insurance coverage arranged for by Saffronart, Saffronart shall not be liable for any damage or loss during shipping and transit. Subject to the authenticity guarantee above, neither Saffronart's suppliers nor Saffronart, nor any of Saffronart's employees or agents, shall be responsible, either for the correctness of any statements as to the authorship, origin, date, age, attributes or genuineness of any Property in the sale, or for any mistakes in the Description, or for any faults or defects in the Properties, or for any other act or omission, whatsoever. Saffronart offers no guarantee or warranty other than the limited assurance contained in the authenticity guarantee above.
5.2. All damages and losses incurred during shipping and transit are covered under the insurance policy taken by Saffronart and the insurance charges as applicable shall be charged on the invoice unless specified by the Buyer. In case the Buyer does not opt for insurance coverage arranged for by Saffronart
5.3. Saffronart shall not be liable for any incidental or consequential damages incurred or claimed.
6. Copyright
All content on the Website are copyright protected in favor of Saffronart and the Seller. All trademarks, names, brand names, etc. used on the Website are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Saffronart or the Seller. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. No image, illustration or written material maybe used or required without the prior written permission of Saffronart. Saffronart and the Seller(s) make no representation or warranty that the Buyer of a Property will acquire any copyright or other reproduction rights in it.
7. Notices
7.1. Saffronart may validly serve the Bidder/ Buyer with notice, if required, under these Conditions of sale by
(i) Sending an email to the email address disclosed by the Bidder/ Buyer to Saffronart; or
(ii) Sending a courier to the address disclosed by the Bidder/ Buyer to Saffronart.
7.2. Such Notice shall be deemed to have been properly served:
(i) In the case of email transmission - on the date of the transmission; or
(ii) In case of transmission by courier - 2 business days after the dispatch of the notice by courier.
8. Severability
If any part of the Conditions for Sale between the Buyer and Saffronart is found by any court of law to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that part may be discounted and the rest of the conditions shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permissible by law.
9. Law and Jurisdiction
The Conditions of Sale are subject to the laws of India, which shall apply to the construction of the Conditions of Sale and to the effect of the provisions thereof. All parties are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.