General Terms and Conditions

In submitting a text for translation, any individual or corporate body (hereinafter referred to as "Client") enters, as the case may be, into a binding agreement with - Steffen Syhré - (hereinafter referred to as the "Translator"), said agreement being covered by the following terms and conditions:

1.1 Source documents to be translated.
1.2 Intended use and purpose of the translation. The translator shall be informed of any changes regarding use and purpose.
1.3 Word count and file format of the source document(s).
1.4 Deadline for the translation.
1.5 Structure and names of desired target files.
1.6 If possible, dictionaries, glossaries or other sources of information owned by the Client and required by the Translator for ensuring consistent use of terminology and for other purposes regarding the work order.
1.7 Contact person for enquiries.
1.8 Details of submission and delivery of documents.

2 Further information may be required in the process of translation and it shall be provided by the Client upon request of the Translator.

3 A free and non-binding estimate is given as soon as possible upon receipt of these details, if requested by the Client. Otherwise a binding quotation is given by the Translator based on the provided information and subject to the correctness of the provided information. The quotation given by the Translator shall only be binding, if the source documents have been submitted by the Client for review prior to giving the quotation.

4 Any submitted documents for translation will be regarded as being in their final version. Any amendments and/or changes to work already started or completed may be subject to additional fees and are not included in the given quotation and/or estimate.

5 The Translator is committed to translating texts with the greatest care, without reducing or adding, omitting or modifying anything in the original text. However, in translations, minimum inaccuracies of language or insignificant imperfections remain inevitable.

6 Services: The services provided by the translator include the complete rendering of the submitted documents from the source language to target language, including all translatable text. Layouting and formatting may be subject to additional fees. Proofreading is provided by the translator, as well, upon request.

7 Invoicing and payment: Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing in advance, all invoices shall be in EURO (€). Payment is due 30 days from date of the invoice. Delayed payment will be subject to interest rates commonly applied in this case in the Translator's place of residence. The money shall be transferred to a bank account given by the Translator. Any banking fees applicable in this case shall be taken care of by the client. Other modalities of payment need to be agreed upon in writing in advance.

8 Any agreement between the Client and the Translator regarding the work order, including but not limited to deadline, terms of payment, special requests by the Client, agreed upon by e-mail shall be considered binding.

9 The Translator reserves the right to sub-contract all or part of the documents to a contractor of his choice to meet Client's requirements, unless expressly stipulated otherwise by the Client, and Client shall pay any reasonable additional charges incurred by the Translator as a result.

10 Confidentiality: All documents and information submitted to the Translator by the Client shall be treated as confidential and shall not be disclosed to third parties. For the purpose of terminology research, parts of the submitted documents may be quoted by the Translator, unless otherwise stated by the Client. Sub-contractors employed by the Translator shall be bound by this paragraph, as well.

11 Force Majeure: In the event of a Force Majeure, the Translator shall notify Client without delay, indicating the circumstances. Force Majeure shall entitle both the Translator and Client to withdraw from the commission, but in any event, Client undertakes to pay the Translator for work already completed. The Translator will assist Client to the best of his ability to place his commission elsewhere. Force Majeure shall be Strike, Lockout, Industrial Dispute, Civil Commotion, Natural Disaster, Acts of War, computer failure, and any other situation which can be shown to have materially affected the Translator's ability to deal with the commission as agreed.

12 Complaints and Disputes: Any complaint in connection with work carried out shall be made by the Client to the Translator within two weeks of date of delivery of the translation. The Translator shall be given the opportunity to make good any defects deemed justified in work provided by the Translator. After this period of two weeks, the translated documents will entirely be considered accepted.

13 Copyright in all work provided by the Translator remains with the Translator unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing. The Translator asserts all moral rights relating to copyright.

14 Delivery: The submission of the translated documents by the Translator shall be subject to the stated requirements of the Client. If possible, all documents shall be submitted by e-mail or FTP. The Translator will do everything to meet the Client's demands regarding method of delivery, but may deviate from the stated requirements, if necessary (e.g. for meeting the deadline).

15 Rates: The total price for a translation project is based on the total number of words in the source documents provided by the client. In case of proofreading or other service / work order types (e.g. transcreation, copywriting), the price is based on the total time actually spent on the project. The price is quoted by the translator either as a rate per word, a rate per hour or, in case of small projects, as a fixed minimum rate / flat fee. All rates are net prices which may be subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) at the rate applicable in Germany or in the country of the customer/client/recipient of the according service(s) at the time of invoicing pursuant to section 16 of these General Terms and Conditions. The rates quoted in advance by the translator shall be considered as binding for both the client and the translator as soon as the client commissions the translator with the according work order for the respective translation, transcreation, copywriting, or proofreading project.

16 Value Added Tax ("Umsatzsteuer" / VAT / TVA): The translator will always state his German VAT ID number in each of his invoices. For business customers, the invoice will also contain the VAT ID number of the according client / service recipient. In invoices to private and business customers domiciled in Germany as well as to private customers domiciled in an EU country, the translator will, in addition to the net rate(s) agreed upon in accordance with section 15 of these General Terms and Conditions, state VAT for his services in accordance with the percentage amount applicable in Germany at the time of invoicing (e.g. 19 %). In invoices to business customers domiciled in an EU country who, at the time of invoicing, have a valid VAT ID number for the relevant EU country that can be verified against VIES, the translator will not state VAT in his invoice in accordance with the reverse charge procedure, and will accordingly also state the reference "REVERSE CHARGE" and/or add an according explicit note in his invoice. As a result, the liability to pay VAT is transferred to the client/recipient of the transnational service(s), i.e. the customer/recipient will owe the VAT amount due on the net price which is stated in the respective invoice of the translator according to the percentage amount applicable in the relevant EU country at the time of invoicing, and he or she must also pay this VAT amount to the tax authorities in his / her country. In invoices to private and business customers domiciled in a so-called "third country" outside of the European Union (EU), the translator will also not state VAT in his invoices as this is considered either as a "non-taxable other service pursuant to section 3a (5) UStG" (for private customers) or as a "non-taxable other service pursuant to section 3a (2) UStG" (for business customers). However, also in this case, the client/recipient of my services in the respective non-EU third country may be liable for paying VAT on the net amount stated in the respective invoice in accordance with the local VAT laws which are applicable in his / her country – for example, this currently holds for business customers domiciled in Switzerland. In this case, the service recipient/client is responsible and liable to check whether he or she owes VAT in his country on the net amount stated in the according invoice and - if applicable - also for paying it to the tax authorities in his or her country based on the current local VAT laws. These regulations and obligations are automatically part of each work order and invoice, and the client/recipient of my services automatically acknowledges them by placing the respective order and paying my according invoice.

17 The Translator is obliged to execute the order to the best of his knowledge and ability. He shall take into consideration any indications given by the Client (for instance use of certain terminology in a text that is to be translated), insofar as he considers this sensible.

18 The Translator's liability for damages in case of failure suffered by the Client is, if any, even if this failure also implies a tort, restricted to the damage that is provable and a direct result of that failure, with the principal sum of the order as a maximum. Each order assigned will automatically be governed by European (German) law unless otherwise agreed in writing.

19 The Client indemnifies the Translator against claims of third parties.

20 Ambiguity of texts that are to be translated exonerates the Translator of any liability. Nor is he liable for damage that the buyer of oral or written translation work suffers as a result of errors, defaults, wrong use of idioms or other mistakes, unless he can be seriously blamed.

21 The Translator is not liable for losses of profit and turnover ensuing from his possible defaults suffered by the Client.

22 The Translator shall treat materials entrusted to him (written documents, etc.) with the greatest possible care. However, he shall never be liable for damage arising from loss, destruction or damage, except in case of intent or gross negligence. In cases when he has to work with costly or unreplaceable uniques, the Client must therefore see to an insurance.

23 Unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing, any disputes shall be settled according to the law and in the courts of the Translator's place of residence. Each order assigned and executed by translator will automatically be governed by European (German) law unless otherwise agreed in writing.