Conditions of purchase

§ 1. Bidding

The buyer shall be the highest bidder at the “hammer price”. Any person bidding on behalf of a third party shall be liable in surety for completion of the sale.

At the request of Bruun Rasmussen Kunstauktioner (hereinafter called Bruun Rasmussen), all bidders, whether they wish to make bids in person at the place of auction or commission bids by letter, fax or the homepage direct telephone bids or the homepage, should be able to document their ability to pay and be able to provide proof of identity at any time. Bruun Rasmussen is entitled to refuse to accept a bid if, when requested, adequate security or adequate payment on account has not been rendered.

Bids should be made by the bidder in person at the place of auction or by written commission by letter, fax or the homepage. For online auctions alle bids are submitted via the homepage. Telephone bidding is possible within certain conditions made out by Bruun Rasmussen. Bruun Rasmussen is not to be held responsible for any errors that may occur using this service. The auctioneer shall have absolute discretion as to the increment of the bids. The auctioneer will also make decisions in all cases of doubt regarding the bidding.

Credit/debit card information must be registered with Bruun Rasmussen before bids can be submitted at our online auctions.

§ 2. Payment

Purchases made at all Bruun Rasmussen online auctions are subject to a 25% fee, which covers 20% buyer’s premium and VAT of the premium.

Purchases made at all Bruun Rasmussen traditional salesroom auctions are subject to a 30% fee (for wines, coins and stamps 25%), which covers 24% buyer’s premium plus VAT of the premium.

Certain lots are sold in accordance with specific rules on normal VAT arrangement (hereinafter called normal VAT), so that the purchase price is the hammer price plus an additional 24% (for wines, coins and stamps 20%) in buyer’s premium and VAT of 25% levied on both the hammer price and the buyer’s premium. The lots subject to Full VAT are indicated as such in the catalogue and on the homepage with an asterisk (*).

Danish VAT registered buyers shall provide Bruun Rasmussen with documentation of their SE-/CVR -number (VAT No.) as this has to be quoted on the invoice for goods bought at full VAT.

For some foreign buyers, specific VAT-exemption rules apply (cf. Article 3). VAT-exemption does not apply to private buyers from the EU who are considered as Danish buyers (cf. current Danish legislation on Special VAT Scheme for Sales of Works of Art, Collectors’items and Antiques by Public Auction).

The purchase price falls due for payment when the goods have been knocked down. Payment may be made in cash up to DKK 100,000, by Dankort, banker’s cheque, traveller’s cheque, Visa-, Master-, Diners Club- or Eurocard. Personal foreign cheques may only be used for payment by prior arrangement.

Payment can also be made by bank transfer. See payment details here

Payment may be made during or immediately after the auction. Under all circumstances payment must be made no later than eight days from the date of the invoice. With online auctions, payment takes place when the items are prepared for dispatch (circa 12 hours after the purchase has been made) using the banking details (credit/debit card and bank account) submitted by the purchaser. At the same time an invoice and dispatch information will be sent to the purchaser.

Should the purchase price not be paid by the due date, interest at 1.5 % per new month will be charged.

If the purchase price and interest are not paid within eight days after Bruun Rasmussen has sent its demand to the buyer, Bruun Rasmussen shall be entitled to rescind the sale and resell the goods at a Bruun Rasmussen auction or privately, and to demand reimbursement of any related losses from the defaulting buyer. Any further profit on the sale shall be payable to the person who had deposited the goods for sale by auction.

If the defaulting buyer is entitled to proceeds from a sale of goods by Bruun Rasmussen, Bruun Rasmussen shall be entitled to set off its receivables against its payables to the defaulting buyer.

If the defaulting buyer has deposited other goods for sale, Bruun Rasmussen shall be entitled to sell such goods at a Bruun

Rasmussen auction without being bound by the reserve stipulated by the defaulting buyer. The defautling buyer shall not be entitled to demand the surrender of goods deposited for sale as long as the debt payable to Bruun Rasmussen has not been discharged, regardless of whether the value of such goods may be deemed to exceed the debt payable.

Bruun Rasmussen shall be entitled to refuse a bid made by a buyer who is in default in respect to his payment obligations to Bruun Rasmussen, as well as a bid made by a third party on behalf of such a defaulting buyer. Bruun Rasmussen shall further be entitled to demand a deposit as a condition of accepting any future bids from such a purchaser.

§ 3. Return rights

Online purchase of items by private individuals is subject to Danish consumer law, which extends 14 days of money-back guarantee. The purchaser is liable for any costs related to the transport of returned items.

Should a purchaser seek to avail himself or herself of the money-back guarantee, Bruun Rasmussen will refund the payment on receiving the returned items. Please note that the date on which accounts are debited is subject to the policy of the purchaser’s bank/credit card company.

§ 4. Exemption from VAT

International purchasers, who fulfill the conditions stipulated below, must pay a fee of 24% of the auction price at traditional salesroom auctions and a 20% fee of auction prices for items purchased online. They are exempt from the payment of Danish VAT.:

1. Buyers residing in another EU Member State:
   
   Buyers are exempt from paying Danish VAT as long as they have provided Bruun Rasmussen with documentation of their VAT registration. The VAT number will then be quoted on Bruun Rasmussen’s invoice.
   
   

2. Buyers residing outside the EU:

   1. Dispatch through forwarding agent:
      Lots exported through a forwarding agent approved by Bruun Rasmussen are exempt from VAT.

   2. Export as personal luggage:
      Goods may be exempt from Danish VAT when the buyer personally takes the goods out of the country as luggage, provided the following conditions have been met:
      
      The invoice must have been paid and the Danish duty of 25% of the invoice amount must have been deposited with Bruun Rasmussen.

      1. Buyers residing in Norway will be refunded the Danish VAT as soon as the invoice of sale has been returned to Bruun Rasmussen endorsed by the customs authorities of the country in question or by any other authority with jurisdiction over matters of purchase tax with respect to official imports of goods into the country in question if the purchase price exceeds DKK 1,200.

      2. Buyers residing in other countries outside the EU will be refunded the Danish VAT after the goods have been presented for customs clearance in connection with the departure of the buyer from the EU. The exporter’s form should be returned to Bruun Rasmussen after being endorsed with the customs authorities’export certificate if the purchase price exceeds DKK 300 This also applies to the Faroe Islands and Greenland

§ 5. Payment of taxes and duties

1. Buyers with VAT-registration in other EU member states who do not wish to make use of Article 3 may instead choose to purchase items subject to Special VAT/Normal VAT in the same manner as private buyers. Bruun Rasmussen must be notified of this before 10 a.m. on the following auction day.

2. Buyers with VAT-registration in Denmark may choose to purchase subject to Normal VAT at 25% of the hammer price plus premium. Bruun Rasmussen must be notified of this before 10 a.m. on the following auction day.

§ 6. Collection of purchases

The purchase price must be paid in full before the purchased lot can be passed over to the buyer. From the time of the lot being knocked down to the buyer, until its collection, the purchased lot will be held at the buyer’s own expense and risk.

A storage fee will be charged for lots which have not been collected according to agreement. Lots which have been paid for but not collected will be storaged at buyers expense. Lots not collected within 1 year will be resold at auction or privately at the buyer's expense.

§ 7. Dispatch

Should Bruun Rasmussen undertake the packaging and forwarding of purchased goods, this shall be done at the buyer’s own expense and risk. Bruun Rasmussen shall thus not be held liable neither for any damage caused to purchased goods during dispatch nor for any missing consignments.

§ 8. Droit de Suite

In accordance with Danish copyright law, an additional royalty fee is to be paid for the purchase of works by contemporary Danish artist and some international artists who are either still alive or who have been dead for less than 70 years. The additional royalty fee will be collected by Bruun Rasmussen on behalf of Copydan, which is a Danish-based joint collecting society. Such works are marked with (CD) for Copydan next to the lot number.

The Copydan royalty fee is added to the auction price including the buyer’s premium when the total exceeds €300.

Copydan royalty fees:

• 5% of the auction price and buyer’s premium (excluding VAT) totalling up to €50,000.

• 3% of the auction price and buyer’s premium (excluding VAT) of totals between €50,000 and €200,000.

• 1% of the auction price and buyer’s premium (excluding VAT) of totals between €200,000 and €350,000.

• 0.5% of the auction price and buyer’s premium (excluding VAT) of totals between €350,000 and €500,000.

• 0.25% of the auction price and buyer’s premium (excluding VAT) of totals above €500,000.

Copydan royalties must not exceed €12,500 for an individual artwork.

The euro exchange rate has been set by Copydan for 2012 at DKK 743.30 per €100.

§ 9. Export licence

Applications for an export licence must be made to the Danish Cultural Assets Committee when required in accordance with current Danish legislation on the protection and preservation of cultural assets in Denmark. Where such a licence has not been obtained, the foreign buyer will be informed thereof immediately after the lot has been knocked down to the buyer. Another application will subsequently be sent to the Danish Cultural Assets Committee by Bruun Rasmussen on behalf of the buyer, now that the price is known. Should an export licence not be granted, the Danish Cultural Assets Committee would be obliged to acquire the purchased lot at the purchase price, and the buyer would thus not be bound to the purchase.

§ 10. Description of lots

All lots are sold in the condition in which they are found when knocked down and as described in the catalogue and on the homepage with subsequently published changes and modifications. Description is done according to the best of Bruun Rasmussen’s knowledge and on the cataloguing principles stated.

The lots auctioned are often of some age or of a kind which makes it possible that they may contain defects, deficiencies, or may have been subject to restoration or damage not necessarily stated in the catalogue and on the homepage. Pictures are for identification only and cannot be used for an evaluation of the condition of the goods.

Any person who wishes to bid at an auction should therefore satisfy himself of the condition of the lots for which he intends to bid by personal inspection at the preview held prior to the auction. The description is an indication of the prevailing opinion of scholars and expert at the time of the sale. If any doubts should arise after the purchase regarding the genuineness of the purchased lot or its conformance with the description, Bruun Rasmussen should immediately be informed thereof.

Should the purchased lot be proved to be a forgery, or if the description contains material errors which lead to a considerably higher hammer price than that which a correct description would presumably result in, the buyer shall be entitled to cancel the purchase, after which the buyer shall be reimbursed for the total purchase price paid plus buyer's premium and VAT, when applicable.

For material errors in the description in respect to measurements or weight, compensation shall only be paid on a percentage basis in proportion to the difference.

The right of cancellation of a purchase in pursuance of the present conditions can only be exercised by the party who has bought the lot in question at Bruun Rasmussen and shall be subject to the presentation of a claim for cancellation in writing to Bruun Rasmussen within 2 years of the purchase date and to the purchased lot being returned to Bruun Rasmussen in the same condition in any and all respects which the purchased lot was in at the time of the lot being knocked down to the buyer.

In the event of cancellation the buyer shall not be entitled to claim payment of interest on the purchase price nor shall the buyer be entitled to claim compensation for any other expenses or loss incurred, including any possible loss of profit in connection with reselling.

It shall not be possible to state cancellation of a purchase in pursuance of the above provisions if:

1. the description on the day the lot was knocked down to the buyer was in accordance with the then generally accepted opinion of scholars and experts;

2. the only way of establishing whether the lot was a forgery at the time of the sale was the implementation of scientific processes, the validity of which was only acknowledged after the time of the sale, or which would have required a disproportionate amount of cost, or which would have been impossible to carry out without damaging the lot in question.

In addition to the time-limits stated above, all purchases are subject to the Statute of Limitations stipulated by danish law by which Bruun Rasmussen is under no circumstance liable for purchases after 5 years from the date of purchase.

Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers
Jesper Bruun Rasmussen, auctioneer
Jørgen Byriel, officially external supervisor

Commission

Bruun Rasmussen undertakes to execute commission bids for bidders who are unable to be present at the auction. It is a prerequisite that Bruun Rasmussen receives the commissions by letter, fax or telephone 24 hours before the start of the auction for the bidders’ credit to be checked, if necessary. Bids by the homepage are to be recieved a minimum of 3 hours before the start of the auction. Bruun Rasmussen is not to be held responsible for any errors that may occur using this service.

Condition reports

Bruun Rasmussen undertakes to provide further information about the state and condition of the lots if possible. This is regarded as a service for customers who are unable to make a personal inspection of the lots at the preview. Bruun Rasmussen stresses that the information given cannot be used as the basis for complaints; complaints can only be based on the description.

Exemption from VAT

Buyers shall, according to § 2, pay full VAT on lots marked with an asterisk (*).

No Danish VAT is to be paid when VAT registered companies from other EU countries buy at Bruun Rasmussen and resell to private buyers, The private buyer then only has to pay VAT according to the rules in force in the country where the foreign company is VAT registered. For further information please consult your local authorities.

The above is an English translation of the Danish version of the Conditions of Purchase. In case of dispute, only the Danish version of the present Conditions of Purchase of Bruun Rasmussen is valid.