QIMA Group Terms and Conditions

1.1 Unless otherwise specifically agreed in writing by QIMA Limited (hereinafter called "QIMA"), all services provided by QIMA Limited are governed by the following general conditions of service, which prevail any purchase terms and conditions. These conditions include and hereby incorporate by reference the Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy, as such agreement may be in effect and modified by us from time to time (hereinafter these general conditions of services, along with the mentioned incorporated documents, will collectively referred to as the “Terms of Services”). We reserve the right to change these Terms of Services at any time, such changes shall be binding once posted on the website www.qima.com in this section. We therefore recommend you access this section regularly in order to check the most recent and updated version of the Terms of Services. You can check the “effective date” posted at the top to see when the Terms of Services were last updated.

1.2 Services carried out by QIMA, on behalf of an entity or individual from whom the instructions to act have originated (hereinafter called the "Principal") will be carried out by using techniques and processes that permit an independent, impartial and objective approach. The end result of the Service will consist in a certificate or document (hereinafter called the "Report") communicating the collection of information QIMA has been requested to supply and will be delivered as an online report, fax or a written document.

1.3 No other party than the Principal shall be entitled to give instructions to QIMA, particularly on the scope of inspection or delivery of Report, unless so authorised by the Principal.

2.1 QIMA in the capacity of an independent third party, supplies information in the form of ascertainment or recommendations for the special purpose of contributing to the prevention of the risks to which the beneficiaries of its services are exposed, and of helping them assure the quality of their products. QIMA's services (hereinafter singularly and collectively referred to as the "Services") consist of work performed by QIMA, including but not limited to:

3.1 QIMA expressly reserves the right to act at its own discretion in accepting or declining a request for Services, and cannot be compelled to accept or be held liable for declining a request for Services or products:

3.2 QIMA undertakes to supply the Services it has accepted to carry out in a professional and timely manner, in accordance with proper professional practice and in compliance with:

3.3 QIMA shall exercise due care and skill in the selection and assignment of its personnel.

4.1 To take all reasonable steps to assure QIMA has access to the site and materials on which Services will be based;

4.2 To provide QIMA with all information and samples, as well as the documents necessary to complete requested Services, in a timely manner (and in any event not later than 48 hours prior to the desired intervention), except for generally available documents such as codes and standards, either directly or through suppliers or agents of the Principal;

4.3 To insure that adequate instructions and notice are given to QIMA in due time to facilitate proper performance for the Services requested;

4.4 To advise QIMA of the date on which the Services are to commence, or to be resumed, and also of essential dates affecting the item(s) for which Services are being rendered;

4.5 Generally to render all reasonable assistance to QIMA in providing necessary instructions, information, documents, safety and security information in connection with the working conditions, required equipment and access (as the case may be).

4.6 Documents reflecting engagements between the Principal and third parties or third parties' documents - if received by QIMA - are considered to be for information only and do not extend or restrict the scope of the Services or obligations accepted by QIMA.

5.1 Payment

Payment is expected online upon booking prior to the performance of the Services. Should payment occur after the performance of the Services (or more than 24 hours after booking for Testing), an extra 5% charge will be added to the order pricing.

All Inspections, Audits and Testing are billed together in one monthly invoice, issued at the month-end.

QIMA offers three payment solutions, accepting both online and offline payments:

5.2 Cancellation charges: we accept cancellation until 4 pm (China Time) the day before the projected Inspection date. After this limit, the Services booked will be charged in full.

QIMA advises its clients to then re-charge this cost to their factory when the factory is proven to have made a mistake.

In the case of an Order paid online and cancelled, QIMA will credit the buyer's Credit Card account with Paypal Refund solution.

For Laboratory Testing (LT) orders, cancellation is not possible once the Testing has been launched by the Laboratory.

5.3 In the event that QIMA is being prevented from performing or completing in full requested Services, for any reason beyond its control, such as but not limited to, wrong information given by Client or Factory (e.g. goods not ready for Inspection despite information given by Factory,...), the Principal agrees to:

5.4 In the event when the Inspection must be cancelled on the projected Inspection day, because of wrong information given by Client or Factory (e.g. goods not ready for Inspection despite information given by Factory,...), the man-day will be considered spent, and QIMA will charge full fee to Client as a 'missed Inspection' fee. QIMA advises its clients to then re-charge this cost to their factory when the factory is proven to have made a mistake.

5.5 Principal provided inspection sample(s): If an inspection sample is provided by the Principal and shipped to an QIMA office, and then must be re-forwarded by QIMA to the Principal's factory, and the shipping charge exceeds $10 USD, then the shipping fee will be automatically added to the final invoice amount.

5.6 For Laboratory Testing (LT) orders:

5.6.1 Should the quotation given online upon Order booking vary once the Product Samples are received and checked by QIMA, it is agreed that: - if the Test price increase is less than 25% or US$ 100, QIMA will inform the Client and launch the Test immediately for quicker processing - if the Test price increase is more than 25% and US$100, QIMA will seek Client's confirmation before launching the Test

5.6.2 The minimum charge for any Lab Test order is US$88 for standard delivery and US$108 for express.

5.7 For Inspection and Audit orders: "Man-day" prices communicated by QIMA are valid for the on-site execution of the service on the scheduled day(s). Additional services to be rendered, either before or after the actual service, such as but not limited to audit desktop reviews, consulting services, training, workshops, etc may not be included in the man-day price and will be quoted separately.

6.1 Limitation of Liability

6.1.1 QIMA is neither an insurer nor a guarantor and disclaims such capacity. Clients seeking a guarantee against loss or damage should obtain appropriate insurance.

6.1.2 Subject to the Principal's instructions as accepted by QIMA (as specified in the terms of reference), QIMA will issue the Report relating to the facts as recorded by it within the limits of the instructions received and on the basis of the documents and information provided by the Principal (refer to #4 above), but QIMA is under no obligation to report upon any facts or circumstances which are outside the specific scope of its assignment.

6.1.3 QIMA advice is given only in relation to documents and information provided by the Principal, and QIMA cannot be held liable if it has received incomplete or erroneous information.

6.1.4 In the event of false information being given to QIMA by a third party, QIMA accepts no liability.

6.1.5 QIMA undertakes to use its best efforts and to exercise due care and skill in the performance of its Services, and accepts liability only in case of negligence proven by the Principal.

6.1.6 QIMA does not repack goods following an inspection; this should be performed by the supplier. Should the client request QIMA repackage the goods, QIMA is not liable for any possible damages or losses incurred related to the repacking process.

6.1.7 Subject to a building structural audit order being placed by the Principal, QIMA will conduct a visual audit of the property’s appearance and will prepare a descriptive report. QIMA shall take no responsibility in the case of damage or loss of assets, injury or death arising from problems with the property construction, the materials or with the equipment and how it is operated.

6.2 Indemnification

6.2.1 In the event of QIMA being held liable in respect to any claim of loss, damage or expense of whatsoever nature and however arising, its liability to the Principal shall in no circumstances exceed five times the total aggregate sum of fees paid for the specific single service for which a claim is made if no approved reference sample was provided by the Principal, and ten times if an approved reference sample was provided and available for the inspector at the factory on the day of inspection, or an approved QIMA office two days prior to the scheduled inspection date subject to the inspection having been performed to an AQL minimum general inspection level II per product reference. See our AQL chart for details.

6.2.2 In addition, in case of Services of pre-shipment inspections:

6.2.3 The Principal shall guarantee and indemnify QIMA and its servants, agents or subcontractors against all claims made by third parties for loss, damage or expense of nature arising, relating to the performance or non-performance of any Services, to the extent that the total sum of such claims exceed the limitation of liability mentioned in Article 6.2.1.

6.3 In the event of any claim, notice must be given to QIMA headquarters (QIMA Limited located at 5/F,Dah Sing Life Building,99-105 Des Voeux Road Central HK. Tel.(852) 3165 8838 - Fax. (852) 2774 2053) within seven days following discovery of the facts, and no later than three months from the completion of the QIMA Services.

7.1 The Principal commits any material breach of its obligations under these terms and conditions and/or the terms of reference and (if such breach shall be capable of remedy) fails to make good such breach within ten (10) days of receipt of notice served by the Non-Defaulting Party (QIMA) requiring it so to do. Material breaches include, without limitation any wilful and deliberate breach by the Principal of its obligations under clause 4 hereabove;

7.2 The Principal is insolvent or unable to pay its debts, in suspension of payments, or convenes a meeting of or compounds with its creditors or has a receiving order made against it or (other than for the purposes of bona fide amalgamation or reconstruction) has an order made or a resolution passed for its winding up or for the appointment of an administrator to manage its affairs, business and property or has a receiver or administrative receiver appointed over any of its assets or undertaking or if QIMA takes or suffers any similar or analogous action in consequence of debt.

8.1 In performing the Services, QIMA collects, uses and protects personal data according to its Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, to be deemed as incorporated in these Terms of Services by reference.

8.2 QIMA shall be at liberty to disclose the order-related documents and/or files anytime to any third-party accreditation and/or recognition bodies for audit or other related purposes unless disagreed with by the Principal in writing at the time of them submitting the applications. No liabilities whatsoever shall attach to QIMA's act of disclosure.

8.3 QIMA will be responsible for the management of all confidential information of Principal obtained or created during the performance of services:

9.1 QIMA is and will remain the owner of all possible intellectual property rights and database producer rights relating in general to the provision of the Services, in particular with regard to the techniques and processes it uses to gather the information, the way to present the information, certificates or other documents and the raw information collected during the course of the Services. QIMA will be free to host, store and publish all its intellectual property rights and all information collected and to use it for example to offer new kinds of services or to compile data.

9.2 Clause 9.1. here above is stipulated without prejudice of the confidential nature of the Report(s) provided to the Principal and of the rights granted to the Principal to use, reproduce and represent the Report(s) in the normal course of its business and for personal use, worldwide and for the full duration of all intellectual property rights.

10.1 The Report will reflect findings of the Services at the time and place of Services. This Report does not discharge sellers and suppliers from their legal and/or commercial obligations towards the Principal.

11.1 Unless otherwise provided, these terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Hong Kong Law.

11.2 All disputes or differences of any kind whatsoever between the parties in connection with or arising out of the services shall be submitted to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Hong Kong.