Conditions
4. Users
Users must be over 18 years of age and have legal capacity.
In order to access the services (Catalogued and/or Web Auctions), Users must first register.
Users must provide full and accurate details of their identity. They shall provide Millon Belgique with their name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and valid identity card or passport, as well as any other information, in particular of a banking nature, which might be requested by Millon Belgique.
Registration for a Catalogued or Web Auction automatically generates a data sheet, which is held in Millon Belgique's database.
Users undertake to keep their data up to date. To that end they may modify their data via the Website. Failure to do so absolves Millon Belgique from liability for the smooth running of its services.
Users' usernames and passwords are strictly personal and the responsibility of the Users alone. Consequently, Bidders are solely responsible, even in cases of abuse by third parties, for all operations carried out on the Website.
If Users have reason to believe that their username and password are being used by a third party, they must inform Millon Belgique as soon as they suspect that this either has occurred or might potentially occur.
If there is any doubt about a User's identity or the accuracy of his/her personal details, Millon Belgique may unilaterally and temporarily suspend or remove the account and registration, with no obligation to explain why or give prior warning to the User concerned.
The act of registration is deemed to constitute acceptance by Users of the Terms and Conditions.
5. Bidders
In order to place a bid Users must first have a validated user account.
Millon Belgique has absolute discretion to decide whether or not to validate user accounts and to remove existing user accounts.
Bidders may bid in several different ways: by placing bids, submitting bidding instructions and by placing telephone bids (the latter only for Catalogued Auctions).
Bidders may not cancel their bids or bidding instructions.
Millon Belgique may decide at its own discretion not to accept a bid or to exclude a Bidder, either before or during the auction.
The act of registration and participation in the auction is deemed to constitute acceptance by Bidders of the Terms and Conditions.
6. Buyers
The Buyer is the Bidder to whom the Lot is awarded.
All Buyers are deemed to be acting on their own behalf vis-à-vis Millon Belgique, even for Lots which they may have acquired as a proxy or by another means. Buyers shall provide Millon Belgique with their name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and identity card or passport, as well as any other information, in particular of a banking nature, which might be requested by Millon Belgique.
The act of registration and/or participation in the auction is deemed to constitute acceptance by Buyers of the Terms and Conditions.
7. Sale price and resale royalties (droit de suite)
The sale is made directly between the Seller and the Buyer for the hammer price, plus:
• For Catalogued Auctions, a 26% premium (including taxes) and an administrative fee of €2 per Lot
In accordance with the legal provisions requiring royalties to be paid to the authors of original works of art when they are resold at public auction, Buyers shall pay a resale royalty in addition to the sale price, net of tax, provided that the hammer price is greater than or equal to €2,000. The resale royalty is degressive; for example, it is 4% of the sale price for sales prices up to €50,000. The amount of the royalty is set by the legislator and announced by the Legal Supervisor at each Catalogued Auction. For Web Auctions, Bidders are responsible for ensuring they are properly informed and for seeking advice and information on the subject (for example at https://www.resaleright.be/).
If it emerges that a resale royalty has not been paid despite being due to the author, the Buyer shall pay the royalty on first demand through Millon Belgique, and shall discharge Millon Belgique from all liability and claims in this regard.
8. Payment, invoicing and VAT
As soon as a Lot is awarded to a Buyer, the risks are transferred to the Buyer, who is bound to pay the hammer price, plus the premium, administrative fee and resale royalty indicated above.
Millon Belgique accepts payments in cash in accordance with the regulations in force, bank transfers, cheques drawn on a Belgian bank account and some modes of electronic payment.
Millon Belgique bears no liability whatsoever for payments settled by electronic means. Millon Belgique is not liable for any loss, whether direct or indirect, incurred as a result of a payment being made on the Internet. Buyers therefore remain responsible for the successful completion of payments for Lots acquired at Millon Belgique's auctions, and may not invoke a mistake, a problem or "IT" fraud of any kind.
Requests for invoices must be made no later than eight working days after the date when the Lot is auctioned.
Since Millon Belgique uses a VAT margin scheme, which applies to second-hand goods, works of art, antiques and collectors' items, VAT, which is included in the sale price of the items, may not be deducted by the Buyer.
9. Collection of Lots
Lots must be collected by the Buyer, having been paid for in full, either during the auction or by appointment no later than five working days after they are auctioned. At the express written request of the Buyer, purchased Lots may be dispatched by an approved haulier at the Buyer's own risk and expense.
10. Lots not paid for or not collected
Should the Lot not be paid for in full and/or not collected within the period stipulated, the Buyer is liable, ipso jure and without prior notification, for late payment interest of 1% per month, starting on the fifth day after the Lot was auctioned, and the total invoice amount is increased by 15% (with a minimum of €150) as a fixed penalty.
Furthermore, Lots which are not collected within the period stipulated are stored at the expense (€2 per day/per Lot) and risk of the Buyer. Millon Belgique cannot be held liable for any loss and/or damage, howsoever caused. In the period between Lots being sold and collected, Millon Belgique undertakes only to store the Lots with reasonable care. Lots are transported at the Buyer's expense and Millon Belgique is not liable for any damage which might occur during the storage, packaging, handling or transport of purchased Lots.
Furthermore, Millon Belgique is authorised to take, entirely at its own discretion, without prejudice to all other rights and actions, after official notification, any one of the following measures:
- forced execution of the sale, with all costs, in particular storage costs, being borne by the Buyer;
- cancellation of the sale to the detriment of the Buyer, with all costs, damages and interest being borne by the defaulting Buyer;
- resale, whether by auction or not, with the defaulting Buyer being exclusively liable to compensate for any shortfall in relation to the first sale, and to pay all the costs involved in the resale.
