General Terms and Conditions

§ 1 Scope of Application

(1) Our offer is directed exclusively at businesses within the meaning of § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB). Consumers are excluded from entering into contracts with us.

(2) We are entitled to request proof of your status as a business by means of suitable and up-to-date documents, e.g. an extract from the commercial register or a business registration.

(3) These Terms and Conditions apply to all offers, deliveries and services, including where orders are placed by e-mail, telephone or outside the online shop. They also apply to future transactions with the customer without our having to refer to them again.

(4) We do not recognise any conflicting or deviating terms of the customer unless we have expressly agreed to their application in text form. This also applies if we carry out deliveries without reservation despite being aware of such terms.

(5) Individual agreements made in specific cases, e.g. in framework agreements or quotations, take precedence over these Terms and Conditions.

§ 2 Contracting Party and Conclusion of Contract

(1) The contracting party is Marcel Frey, trading as Europe Pack, Siedlungsstr. 3, 69517 Gorxheimertal, Germany (e-mail: info@europe-pack.eu, VAT ID DE252591413).

(2) The presentation of products in the online shop does not constitute a binding offer but a non-binding catalogue. You may place products in the shopping cart without obligation and correct your entries before submitting your order using the correction tools provided in the ordering process. By clicking the order button you submit a binding offer for the goods in the shopping cart. We will confirm receipt of your order by e-mail immediately after it has been submitted.

(3) We accept your offer within two working days by

• sending a declaration of acceptance in a separate e-mail,
• delivering the goods, or
• having the payment transaction carried out by the selected payment service provider (timing depends on the payment method, see § 6).

The event that occurs first is decisive.

(4) For orders placed outside the shop (e-mail, telephone), the contract is concluded only upon our order confirmation in text form. We send these Terms and Conditions together with the order confirmation.

§ 3 Contract Language and Storage of Contract Text

(1) The contract languages are German and English. In the event of discrepancies or questions of interpretation, the German version prevails.

(2) We store the contract text and send you the order details and these Terms and Conditions in text form. You can view the contract text in your customer account.

§ 4 Prices, Delivery and Shipping

(1) All prices are net, plus statutory value added tax and plus shipping costs. The amount of the shipping costs is stated in the shipping information in the shop or in the quotation.

(2) For deliveries to other EU member states, the customer is obliged to inform us of its valid VAT identification number before delivery. If it is missing or turns out to be invalid, we will charge German VAT. For deliveries outside the EU, the customer bears customs duties, import charges and fees.

(3) We deliver exclusively by shipment. Collection by the customer is not possible.

(4) Delivery dates and delivery periods are non-binding unless we have expressly designated them as binding in text form. Events of force majeure and unforeseeable obstacles for which we are not responsible (e.g. transport disruptions, raw material or energy shortages, official measures) extend delivery periods appropriately.

(5) For printed products and custom-made products, production-related overruns or underruns of up to 10 % are permissible. The quantity actually delivered is invoiced.

§ 5 Reservation of Self-Supply and Partial Deliveries

(1) Delivery is subject to correct and timely supply to us by our own suppliers. If part of an order cannot be delivered immediately because, through no fault of our own, our reliable supplier fails to supply us on time despite a congruent order, we will deliver the remaining goods later without charging shipping costs again, insofar as this is reasonable for the customer. Partial deliveries are permissible insofar as they are reasonable for the customer.

(2) If the ordered goods are unavailable for the reason stated, we will inform you without undue delay. We are thereby released from our obligation to perform and may withdraw from the contract. We will reimburse any payments already made without undue delay.

§ 6 Payment, Default, Set-off and Right of Retention

(1) You agree to the transmission of all invoices by e-mail. You may revoke this consent at any time.

(2) For purchases on invoice, the invoice amount is due without deduction 14 days after receipt of the invoice and the goods. We reserve the right to offer purchase on invoice only after a successful credit check.

(3) In the case of partial deliveries, we may issue partial invoices. Each partial invoice falls due independently of further deliveries.

(4) In the event of late payment, we charge default interest at nine percentage points above the base interest rate as well as the lump sum of EUR 40 pursuant to § 288 (5) BGB. Further claims remain unaffected.

(5) We describe the payment methods offered in the ordering process and their particularities (prepayment, credit card, SEPA direct debit, PayPal, invoice and others) in their current version under “Payment options” in the shop.

(6) The customer may only set off against undisputed counterclaims, counterclaims ready for decision, or counterclaims established by a final court judgment.

(7) The customer is entitled to a right of retention only insofar as its counterclaim is based on the same contractual relationship and is undisputed, ready for decision or established by a final court judgment. The statutory right to refuse performance on account of defects remains unaffected, but is limited to a portion of the remuneration that is appropriate in relation to the value of the defect and requires a proper notice of defects pursuant to § 10.

§ 7 Retention of Title

(1) We retain title to the goods until all claims arising from the ongoing business relationship have been paid in full.

(2) The customer may resell the goods subject to retention of title in the ordinary course of business. The customer hereby assigns to us in advance the resulting claims in the amount of the invoice value, irrespective of any combination, mixing or processing of the goods subject to retention of title. We accept the assignment. The customer remains authorised to collect the claims. We may collect the claims ourselves insofar as the customer fails to meet its payment obligations.

(3) If the customer combines, mixes or processes the goods subject to retention of title (e.g. by filling them), we acquire co-ownership of the new item in the proportion of the value of the goods subject to retention of title to the other items. If the customer’s item is to be regarded as the main item, the customer transfers co-ownership to us proportionately.

(4) The customer must inform us without undue delay of any access by third parties to the goods subject to retention of title, for example by seizure.

(5) Upon request we will release security insofar as its realisable value exceeds the claims to be secured by more than 10 %.

§ 8 Passing of Risk and Transport Damage

(1) The risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration passes to the customer as soon as we have handed the goods over to the forwarder, carrier or other person designated to carry out the shipment.

(2) Externally visible transport damage and shortages must be noted on the delivery note or the carrier’s proof of delivery upon delivery, and additionally notified to us in text form with photos within two working days. The obligations under § 10 remain unaffected.

§ 9 Quality, Suitability and Use of the Goods

(1) Only our own statements and the product descriptions and data sheets incorporated into the contract, in the version applicable at the time of the order, constitute the agreed quality of the goods. We assume no liability for public statements by manufacturers or other advertising statements.

(2) Information on barrier, sealing, material, temperature and shelf-life properties (e.g. oxygen and water vapour transmission rates, seal strength) are guide values determined under standard conditions. They are not an assurance or guarantee of any specific shelf life, minimum durability or product safety of the filling material.

(3) The customer is solely responsible for verifying whether the goods are suitable for its filling material, its filling, closing and sealing equipment and the intended shelf life. This includes in particular fat, moisture and acid content, water activity, filling temperature, and dust and product residues in the sealing area. The customer must verify suitability by its own tests before series use, including storage and shelf-life tests as well as leak tests. Our advice is non-binding and does not constitute an agreement on quality unless we expressly confirm it as binding in text form.

(4) Sealing parameters (temperature, pressure, dwell time) must be determined by the customer on its equipment and continuously monitored, even if we state guide values. Our recommendations are non-binding starting values.

(5) Insofar as the goods are intended for food contact, we provide declarations of conformity and certificate documents of our upstream suppliers upon request within the scope of what is available. We hold our own certifications only insofar as we expressly state them. Unless we expressly designate goods as own brand or own product, we are a distributor and not the manufacturer of the goods. For expressly designated own brands, our responsibility as manufacturer is governed by the statutory provisions; otherwise these Terms and Conditions also apply to them, to the extent permitted by law.

(6) Customary trade tolerances apply to dimensions, weight, material thickness, colour and printing. For printed products, colour deviations between screen display, proof and print are technically unavoidable.

(7) For custom-made products and printing, the customer is responsible for the print data, content and print approval. It warrants that the content does not infringe third-party rights and indemnifies us against corresponding claims. Return or refund is excluded for custom-made products insofar as the goods correspond to the approved sample or proof.

§ 10 Duty to Inspect and Give Notice of Defects, Cooperation in Complaints

(1) The duty to inspect and give notice of defects under § 377 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) applies. The customer must inspect the goods without undue delay after delivery, including by random sampling, for quantity, type, workmanship and leak-tightness of the seals as well as for suitability pursuant to § 9. Obvious defects must be notified in text form without undue delay and no later than within 7 days after delivery. Hidden defects must be notified in text form without undue delay and no later than within 5 working days after discovery. If the customer fails to give notice, the goods are deemed approved, unless the defect was not discernible upon inspection and is notified in good time. This does not apply if we fraudulently concealed a defect.

(2) The notice of defects must describe the defect precisely and include: article number, invoice or delivery note number, batch or lot number, affected quantity and photos. For complaints concerning leak-tightness, mould or shelf life, test reports, information on the filling material (including residual moisture or water activity, fat content, filling temperature) and the sealing parameters used must also be enclosed.

(3) The customer must retain the goods complained about, as well as unused goods from the same batch, as reserve samples and make them available to us or the manufacturer for examination upon request. Until the matter is clarified, goods complained about may be destroyed or further processed only in agreement with us, unless legal obligations (e.g. food-law withdrawal) prevent this.

(4) The customer documents the allocation of our batches to its filling and production batches so that affected deliveries can be traced.

§ 11 Liability for Defects and Limitation Period

(1) Unless otherwise agreed below, the statutory provisions on liability for defects apply.

(2) In the event of defects, we provide supplementary performance at our option by repair or replacement delivery. If supplementary performance fails, the customer may reduce the price or withdraw from the contract in accordance with the statutory provisions.

(3) Claims for defects, including claims for damages due to a defect, become time-barred for newly manufactured goods one year after delivery of the goods. This does not apply in the cases of § 12 (1) or to recourse claims under §§ 445a, 445b BGB, for which the statutory periods apply.

(4) Additional guarantees exist only if we have expressly designated them as a “guarantee” in text form and described their content. Product descriptions, data sheet values and advice are not guarantees.

§ 12 Liability

(1) We are liable without limitation for damage caused by us, our legal representatives or vicarious agents

• in the case of injury to life, body or health,
• in the case of intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty and in the case of fraudulent intent,
• in the case of expressly assumed guarantees, and
• insofar as the scope of application of the Product Liability Act is opened.

(2) In the case of slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations), our liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typically occurring at the time of conclusion of the contract, but to no more than EUR 5,000,000 per claim. Cardinal obligations are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the customer may regularly rely.

(3) We compensate indirect damage and consequential damage, in particular loss of profit, production downtime as well as recall, disposal and reputational damage, in the case of slight negligence only within the scope of paragraph 2.

(4) In all other respects, liability for damages in the case of slight negligence is excluded.

(5) Unless we distribute goods as an own brand, manufacturers and upstream suppliers are not our vicarious agents in the manufacture of the goods.

(6) The limitations of liability also apply in favour of our legal representatives, employees and vicarious agents.

§ 13 Recourse, Recalls and Insurance

(1) Statutory recourse claims of the customer under §§ 445a, 445b BGB remain unaffected. If a customer of the customer asserts claims that could entitle the customer to recourse against us, the customer will inform us without undue delay in text form and give us the opportunity to review and comment before it acknowledges any claims, insofar as this is reasonable for it.

(2) Before a voluntary recall or market withdrawal that could also affect goods supplied by us, the customer will coordinate its approach with us, insofar as legally and practically possible. The customer will notify us without undue delay of any measures ordered by the authorities. The customer is obliged to mitigate damage.

(3) The customer maintains adequate product liability insurance for its end product.

(4) We retain delivery documents (delivery notes, invoices and, insofar as available to us, batch or lot numbers) for the statutory retention periods.

§ 14 Voluntary Return Policy (Goodwill)

(1) There is no statutory right of withdrawal vis-à-vis businesses. As a voluntary goodwill gesture without legal entitlement, you may return undamaged goods free of defects to us for inspection within 14 days of receipt, provided they are in new, unused and resaleable condition in the original packaging.

(2) Excluded are custom-made products, printed or individually adapted goods, samples, goods in opened or broken packaging, and cut roll and metre goods.

(3) The return must be registered in advance in text form. The customer bears the cost of return shipping. We decide on acceptance of the return and any refund on a case-by-case basis after inspecting the goods.

(4) The goodwill policy does not constitute an acknowledgement of a defect. Claims under statutory liability for defects pursuant to § 11 and the obligations under § 10 remain unaffected.

§ 15 Final Provisions

(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

(2) If the customer is a merchant within the meaning of the German Commercial Code, a legal entity under public law, a special fund under public law or has its registered office abroad, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the business relationship is our place of business. For customers with their registered office in an EU member state, this agreement is deemed a choice-of-court agreement pursuant to Article 25 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012. We are also entitled to sue the customer at its general place of jurisdiction. The place of performance for all obligations is our place of business, to the extent permitted by law.

(3) Should individual provisions of these Terms and Conditions be or become invalid in whole or in part, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The statutory provision applies in place of the invalid provision.

(4) Status of these Terms and Conditions: October 2026.