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Bell Global Limited and Bell Global NZ Limited Terms and Conditions of Trade - Updated March 2023

  1. General Conditions
    All Goods sold by the Seller are sold subject to the Terms and Conditions of Contract.
  2. Definitions
    "Buyer" means the purchaser under any contract for the purchase of any Goods from the Seller (and if more than one Buyer, jointly and severally);

    "Document" includes any message sent by facsimile or electronic transmission including attachments to any electronic transmission and all such documents shall be deemed to be ‘in writing";

    "Electronic Transmission" includes any form of electronic transmission through the internet, telephone network and or world wide web of written messages and documents;

    "Goods" means any products sold by the Seller;

    "Price" means the total sum payable, without deduction or set-off to the Seller by the Buyer for Goods supplied pursuant to the Terms and Conditions of Contract;

    "Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice" means a document or documents directed by the Seller to the Buyer confirming:
    (a) in any case in which the Buyer offers to buy Goods from the Seller, that the Buyer’s offer has been accepted by the Seller; or
    (b) in any case in which the Seller has offered to sell Goods to the Buyer; that any Buyer’s acceptance has been approved by the Seller; AND may contain additional terms and conditions of the sale (e.g. price, quantity, type of Goods, method of payment, contract type, Port of discharge and expected dates of sailing and discharge).

    "Seller" means either Bell Global Limited or Bell Global NZ Limited as issuer of the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice;

    "Terms and Conditions of Contract" means:
    (a) the terms and conditions herein set out ("the Standard Terms"); together with
    (b) any applicable terms and conditions set out in:
    a. The client account application form; and/or
    b. The Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice; and/or
  3. Communications between the parties
    3.1 Communication between the parties may be conducted by letter, facsimile or electronic transmission (email / text / instant messaging).
    3.2 Subject to proof to the contrary, communications sent by facsimile or electronic transmission shall be deemed to have been received by the other party on the next business day after sending provided that the sending party can produce a transmission report showing successful transmission without error.
    3.3 Execution of a facsimile or electronic copy of a document and transmission from one party by facsimile or electronic transmission to the other or their representative is intended to bind the first party and will constitute a binding offer and or acceptance and satisfy the requirements of Sections 9 to 27 of the Property Law Act 2007 and of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002.
  4. Formation of Contract
    4.1 For international trade transactions, a contract for the supply of Goods shall not be formed until the Seller has sent to the Buyer a Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice and the Buyer has acknowledged receipt (which may be either by a Document or by an act, such as payment of a deposit).
    4.2 For sales to other New Zealand based businesses, a contract for the supply of Goods may be formed during a written or verbal exchange whereby the Buyer requests, and agrees to purchase, certain items at an agreed price and the Seller has sent to the Buyer an Invoice and the Buyer has acknowledged receipt (which may be either by a Document or by an act, such as payment of a deposit, making delivery arrangements, etc).
    4.3 Any Document sent by the Seller or any agent of the Seller to the Buyer prior to the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice shall not be binding on the Seller.
    4.4 Where the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice specifies a delivery date or dates, this is an estimate only. Time is not of the essence unless expressly stated in the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice.
    4.5 The Buyer acknowledges that any reference to terms of trade other than these terms of trade (e.g. reference on a Buyer’s order to its own terms of trade) shall not be binding on the Seller and shall not form a part of the contract of sale, which instead shall be under the Terms and Conditions of Contract unless such other terms or any part of them are expressly acknowledged to apply by explicit reference to such other terms in the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice.
  5. Variation
    No instruction, stipulation, condition or variation to the Terms and Conditions of Contract shall have any force or effect unless agreed to in writing by the Seller and the Buyer.
  6. Conflicting Terms
    Where any conflict exists between the Standard Terms and or terms and conditions in the client account application form and or in the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice:
    6.1 The terms and conditions in the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice shall prevail over any other conflicting terms and conditions but only in respect of the order to which it relates;
    6.2 The terms and conditions in the client account application form shall prevail over any other conflicting terms and conditions in the Standard Terms.
  7. Basis of Sale
    Goods may be sold free on board (“FOB”); costs, insurance and freight (“CIF”); costs and freight (“CFR”), each as defined in Incoterms 2000 edition or on any other terms defined in Incoterms; or on such other basis, as may be agreed between the Seller and the Buyer at time of formation of the contract for the supply of Goods.
  8. Price
    Unless otherwise stated in the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice or implied by the Basis of Sale, the price does not include any applicable taxes, duties, freight and insurance, nor does it include any additional freight/shipping charges that result from shipment being delayed at the request of the buyer, or through fault of the buyer. In such cases, the Seller reserves the right to add any additional storage, power, monitoring, container detention or demurrage charges, to the final invoice.
  9. Payment
    9.1 Payment of the Price will be made in accordance with agreed payment terms as noted on the client account application form signed by the Buyer and/or the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice sent to the Buyer.
    9.2 The Buyer shall not, for any reason, withhold payment nor make any deduction or set off.
    9.3 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all payments are to be by wire /SWIFT transfer in cleared funds to the Seller’s nominated account and are not deemed to have been made until the Seller has received confirmation notice of receipt from its Bank.
    9.4 All bank charges for wire / SWIFT transfer payments shall be for the account of the buyer.
    9.5 Where terms stated on the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice require a Deposit payment or issue of Letter of Credit the respective Deposit payment or Letter of Credit shall be due within 7 calendar days from the issue date of the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice. If the respective Deposit payment or Letter of Credit is not received by the Seller within 7 days, the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice may be deemed by the seller to be void, and the goods offered may either be sold elsewhere without notice to the buyer, or the terms and prices stated in the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice may be renegotiated or accepted solely at the discretion of the seller.
    9.6 Where terms stated on the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice require a balance payment at a stated interval the Buyer shall make the balance payment as agreed on, or before, the timeframe or date stipulated.
    9.7 Where a Buyer fails to make the balance payment in accordance with 9.6, the Buyer shall be in Default as per clause 15.
  10. Installment shipments
    Goods may be shipped in installments on separate vessels, and in any such case each such shipment shall be regarded as a separate contract and payment made accordingly. The failure to make any shipments shall not vitiate any contract as to other shipments. If the Buyer fails to pay for any one or more of the said installments of deliveries of the Goods, the Seller may, at its sole option, be entitled to suspend without notice to the Buyer further deliveries of the Goods pending payment by the Buyer and/or to treat the Contract/s as repudiated by the Buyer.
  11. Regulatory compliance
    Goods shall as at the date of shipment have been manufactured, processed and packed to the standard notified to the Seller as required by the health and agriculture authorities in the country at which the Goods are to be discharged from the vessel shipping the same.
  12. Samples and quantity
    Notwithstanding the prior submission of samples by the Seller to the Buyer, Goods are supplied solely as described in the Seller’s invoice, and the bill of lading or airway bill shall be conclusive evidence as at the date of shipment of the weight or quantity of the Goods.
  13. Title
    No property in the Goods shall pass to the Buyer until payment in full is made to the Seller. The Seller reserves all rights and remedies it may have under applicable law to recover the Goods sold and or delivered to the Buyer if the Buyer does not pay for such Goods by the payment due date. This includes the right to divert Goods on the water, or to enter upon the Buyer’s or other premises and remove such Goods. Such rights are cumulative and not in substitution for any other rights that the Buyer may have in the circumstances.
  14. Limits of Seller’s liability
    The Seller shall not be liable for any act or omissions whether by reason of negligence or otherwise in breach of the Terms and Conditions of Contract unless such breach is notified by the Buyer to the Seller in accordance with the Seller’s claims procedure and the Seller’s liability including but not limited to consequential, special or aggravated loss shall not in any event whatsoever exceed the invoiced price for the Goods in respect of which the breach is notified.
  15. Default by Buyer
    15.1 Should the Buyer, fail to tender due and punctual payment of the Price, or advise the Seller that the Buyer is unable or unlikely to be able to make due and punctual payment of the Price by the due date, or advise the Seller that the Buyer does not intend to tender due and punctual payment of the Price, the Seller may forthwith, and without prejudice to any other rights and remedies it may have, exercise any one or more of the following rights. The Seller may:
    (a) retain any documents of title to the Goods, and for avoidance of doubt it is agreed that the Seller shall not be required to release documents of title to the Goods until such time as payment in full of the Price has been made;
    (b) give the Buyer notice in writing terminating the contract and claim damages from the Buyer for all losses suffered by and costs incurred by the Seller as a result of the termination including, without limitation, packaging and re-packaging costs, storage and or demurrage costs, export or other taxes and duties, freight costs, financing costs, debt collection costs, loss of profits and any diminution in the value of the Goods due to price movements;
    (c) re-sell the Goods;
    (d) divert the Goods (at sea or on shore);
    (e) enter upon the premises where the Goods or any part thereof are situated and take possession and remove the same without being responsible for any damage caused thereby;
    (f) lodge any payment default with credit reporting agencies, and commence debt collection action, either directly or via an associated company or appointed agent. All legal costs and collection costs and/or fees will be for the account of the buyer.
    (g) The Seller may charge interest on any overdue amounts at a rate equal to the then prevailing unarranged overdraft interest rate charged by its bankers until such time as the total debt is cleared.
    (h) The Seller may also sell, or assign any overdue debt, upon giving seven (7) days written notice of its intention to do so, and provide the Buyer the opportunity to repay the debt in full within that time. In the event an outstanding debt is assigned to another party all rights and remedies available to the Seller under these terms shall pass to the assignee.
    15.2 If the Buyer commits any act of bankruptcy or, being an incorporated company, passes a resolution for winding up (except for the purposes of reconstruction), or a court makes a winding up order or a petition is filed in any court for winding up the Buyer, or the Buyer enters into any compromise or arrangement with creditors, the Seller shall have the right to cancel the contract in whole or in part without liability on the part of the Seller, and to claim in the bankruptcy or liquidation for costs and expenses incurred in any loss of resale.
    15.3 If the event that the Seller is eligible to exercise any remedy pursuant to this clause in respect of any contract between the Seller and the Buyer then the Seller shall be able to exercise the same remedies in respect of any other uncompleted contract then in existence between the Seller and the Buyer.
  16. Claims
    16.1 In the event that the Buyer considers that there has been or may have been a breach of the Terms and Conditions of Contract in respect of quality or quantity of the Goods, or other pre-shipment obligations on the part of the Seller, the Buyer shall:
    (a) Notify the Seller by email of the claim and all details known to the Buyer relevant to the claim as soon as is reasonably practicable and not later than 48 hours following it becoming aware of the issue matter or thing giving rise to the claim; the obligation to provide relevant information as soon as is reasonably practicable shall be ongoing and continuing in respect of later receipt of information relevant to the claim;
    (b) Take all reasonable steps to preserve the Goods and any other evidence relevant to the claim;
    (c) Allow the Seller and or a nominated independent testing agency access to the Goods the subject of the claim and the ability to take samples of such Goods for the purposes of testing;
    (d) Co-operate with the Seller in the Seller’s investigation of the claim;
    (e) Allow the Seller the opportunity, where the Seller considers the same practicable, to remedy the claim through provision of replacement Goods or where the issue is a labelling issue with provision of replacement labels and a reasonable sum to cover the cost of relabelling;
    (f) Take all reasonable steps to minimise any losses.
    (g) Any false claim, or exaggerated claim, in whole, or in part will void the entire claim, and the Seller shall not be liable for any part.
    16.2 The Seller shall act with reasonable promptness in reviewing and considering any claim but acceptance of any claim is at its absolute discretion.
    16.3 Where all or part of a shipment of Goods to a Buyer in the United States of America is rejected at port of entry by United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) subsequent to the payment by the Buyer to the Seller of the Price, the Seller on receipt of the USDA rejection certificate (and, where the Buyer already has the documents of title to the Goods, such Documents) shall refund to the Buyer the Price, or part thereof, in respect of the Goods rejected, and such payment shall be a full and final settlement of any liability the Seller has to the Buyer, provided however that the Seller shall not be obliged to make such a payment where the Goods have been used by the Buyer or where the Goods have not been kept at the Seller’s recommended temperature. Property and risk in the Goods shall revert to the Seller on refund of the price.
  17. Credit Limits
    If the Buyer’s account in respect of Goods ordered from the Seller exceeds the credit limit set solely at the discretion of the Seller, the Seller shall have the right as its option to cancel the contract in whole or in part without liability on the part of the Seller.
  18. Force Majeure
    Not withstanding any agreement as to the date of shipment, it is agreed that shipment may be suspended in whole or in part from time to time in case of fire, accident, earthquake, flood, drought, crime, war, blockade, civil commotion, epidemic, strike, lockout or labour dispute (whether or not at the Seller’s works), shortage of fuel, power or raw material, inability to procure the source product for the Goods, inability to obtain transport, rejection by regulatory authorities in country of destination, or any other event beyond the control of the Seller, and such suspension shall not entitle the Buyer to cancel shipments under the Conditions of Contract. If shipment is delayed by anything or any event as aforesaid for more than 30 days, the Seller may at its option by notice to the Buyer rescind the contract in which case the Buyer shall have no claim of any nature or kind against the Seller.
  19. Waiver
    19.1 No failure by the Seller to insist upon strict performance of the contract, including any of the Terms and Conditions of Contract, or any delay in exercising any of its rights or remedies, constitutes a waiver or variation unless expressly agreed to in writing by the Seller.
    19.2 Any written waiver or variation agreed to by the Seller shall apply only to the specific contract to which it relates, shall apply strictly in accordance with its terms, and shall not give rise to any other implied waiver or variation or expectation of other waiver or variation.
  20. Assignment
    20.1 Any assignment of the Buyer’s rights and obligations under any contract between the Buyer and the Seller shall not release the Buyer from its obligations under the contract, the Buyer remaining personally liable to perform the same, unless the Seller has consented in writing to the assignment; there being no obligation to give such consent.
    20.2 In the event of changes to Bell Global Limited by way of re-structuring, sale, merger, acquisition, re-branding or other commercial reason the seller may assign it’s rights and obligations under the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice providing that all agreed terms and conditions of the Sale Contract/Proforma Invoice shall remain intact and binding upon both the assignee, as they become the Seller, and upon the Buyer.
  21. Applicable law
    This contract shall be construed and take effect according to the laws of New Zealand and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of New Zealand Courts and of Arbitrators acting within New Zealand.
  22. Exclusion of Vienna convention
    The parties agree that notwithstanding the domicile of the Seller and or the Buyer and or the applicable laws applying to the contract the Buyer and the Seller expressly agree that the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1980) (“the Vienna Convention”) shall not apply and no terms or conditions shall be implied into the contract by virtue of the Vienna Convention.
  23. Consumer Guarantees Act
    The Buyer represents that it is acquiring the Goods for the purposes of a business and accordingly the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 shall not apply.
  24. Arbitration
    All differences which may arise between the parties arising out of or in relation to this contract or its performance shall be referred to arbitration in Auckland, New Zealand, unless the parties otherwise agree in writing to a different location. The appointment of arbitrators and process of arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration Act 1996 or any amendments thereof.
  25. Validity
    In the event that any clause of the Terms and Conditions of Contract is invalid or unenforceable under the laws of the relevant jurisdiction, that clause will be amended, but only to the extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable under those laws. If amendment is not possible, that clause will be stricken from the Terms and Conditions of Contract, however the balance of the Terms and Conditions of Contract will continue in full force and effects.
  26. Variation of Standard Terms
    The Seller reserves the right to change any of these Standard Terms. Any change shall be notified through display of the amended terms on the Seller’s website and shall take effect in respect of all orders placed after such notification has been effected. The Buyer agrees that it is its obligation to check the currency of Terms through the Seller’s website and that the Buyer shall be deemed to have read and agreed to the amended Standard Terms in respect of any subsequent contract entered into between the parties.