GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF COOPERATION

§1. General Provisions

This document shall be applicable if the Parties do not conclude another contract establishing separate terms and conditions of cooperation.

1. These General Terms and Conditions of Cooperation define the terms on which the Contractor renders services to the Commissioning Party.
    
2. The subject of the order is the performance of a translation service ordered by the Commissioning Party to be performed by the Contractor.
    
3. The services are covered by a liability insurance policy (maximum guaranteed amount of insurance is PLN 300,000.00). 

§2.Quotation enquiry, order placement and acceptance.

1. A quotation enquiry/order must be submitted by means of an adequate form, unless individual contracts stipulate otherwise.
    
2. The performance of the translation service by the Contractor shall subject to the placing of the translation order by the Commissioning Party by means of an adequate form signed by a person authorized to represent the Commissioning Party. The order shall include a declaration of acknowledgement of these Terms and Conditions. The order may be placed by the Commissioning Party in person at our business office or in any branch of the Contractor’s company, sent by post, fax or e-mail. Upon the Contractor’s request, the Commissioning Party shall be obliged to provide the original source documents.
    
3. Should the source text itself be a translation and should the Commissioning Party possess such knowledge, the order must include relevant information.
    
4. The Contractor shall not be obliged to commence the performance of a translation service if the order has not been received. This provision does not apply to those Commissioning Parties who have signed a permanent cooperation agreement with the Contractor, in which case every act of sending a text for translation shall be considered an order. 
    
5. Upon the Commissioning Party’s request, prior to the performance of the order, the Contractor shall provide the Commissioning Party with information concerning the unit price of a translation service. The Contractor may make a preliminary estimate of the source text volume and make an approximate cost calculation, however, the basis for the calculation of the final amount due shall always be the number of pages of the performed translation or the real time of interpreting. 
    
6. The Commissioning Party who orders a specialized translation at the basic rate (i.e., with no additional charge for specialized texts) shall be obliged to provide the translator with a content-related expert advice or to perform an unassisted verification of the purchased translation.
    
7. In cases where the Commissioning Party provides the Contractor with any documents which are to be returned after the performance of the service, the date and method of such return shall be expressly determined at the moment of order placement.
    
8. The performance of the service for a foreign Commissioning Party shall be subject to a prepayment amounting to 55% of the estimated value of translation, payable on the basis of a pro forma invoice made out by the Contractor.
    
9. The Contractor reserves the right to refrain from perfoming any orders placed in any other form than in person or in writing. 
    

§3. Regulations applicable to translations

1. The Commissioning Party delivers the source text in the form of a computer file, print or scan. In cases where the source text is a hard-to-read handwriting or a low-quality fax or scan, the Contractor reserves the right to increase the translation price by 20-50%.
    
2. The Contractor delivers to the Commissioning Party a translated text in the Word for Windows format. Should the translation be required in a different format, the Contractor reserves the right to increase the service price depending on how time-consuming such service may result. In case of certified translation, the translated document is delivered exclusively as a print-out.
    
3. A certified translation may only be collected by the Commissioning Party in person at the business office of the Contractor. Upon the Commissioning Party’s request, the Contractor may send the translation by post or courier services. In case of sending the documents by courier services, the expenses so incurred shall be covered by the Commissioning Party.
    
4. The basis for the calculation of a translation volume is the number of standard pages of the target text. In case of non-certified translation, one standard page equals 1800 typographical marks.
    
5. The basis for the calculation of a certified translation volume is the number of standard pages of the target text. One standard page equals 1125 typographical marks.
    
6. Translation volume shall be rounded up to 1 whole page.
    
7. After receiving a source text for translation, upon the Commissioning Party’s request, the Contractor may make a preliminary estimate of the document volume which constitutes the basis for determining the translation mode. 
   
   Three translation modes are distinguished:
   
   a) standard mode - translation of up to 5 standard pages per day;
   The following are not included when determining the deadline for translation in the standard mode: day of acceptance and collection of the order, Saturdays, Sundays and other statutory days off.
   
   b) express mode - translation of over 5 pages per working day (additional charge of 30-100% of the standard mode price);
   The express mode is applicable to translations made on the day of order acceptance, the day after, and to translation of over 5 pages per one working day;
   
   c) special mode – translations ordered or collected on statutory days off.
   This mode and the price of the order shall be subject to separate agreements with the Commissioning Party.
    
8. Unless agreed otherwise, orders performed in the standard mode without specifying the collection time shall be delivered to the Commissioning Party until 4.30 p.m. of the day of order collection. Orders to be collected on the following day shall only be accepted until 3.00 p.m.
    
9. In cases of express and special mode translations, the Contractor reserves the right to distribute the text between two or more translators, which may result in inconsistency of terminology applied in the target text.
    
10. In cases where source texts for translation contain pictures, diagrams, graphs, etc., which the Commissioning Party failed to deliver as a file of any of the Microsoft Office programs, the Contractor shall not be obliged to include such elements in the target text. Such elements shall be included in the target text upon consultation with the Commissioning Party. However, by mutual agreement between the parties, the Contractor shall arrange such form of translation which will enable their straightforward matching with the relevant fragments of translation.
     
11. In case of certified translation, a single copy of the target text is delivered to the Commissioning Party as a print-out. Upon the Commissioning Party’s request, the Contractor may deliver additional copies of the translated text at an additional charge, which constitutes 20% of the cost of translation. Should the Commissioning Party order an additional copy of a certified translation after the period of seven days of the first original translation, then:
    - The Commissioning Party is obliged to provide the source text,
    - The Contractor is entitled to consider such additional copy as a duplicate (in which case the price amounts to 50% of the translation price).
     
12. Source texts for certified translation shall be delivered to the translator as originals if the client is in the possession of such original. Otherwise, the translator shall place an inscription in the target text stating that the translation was based on a copy of a document. If agreeed between the Parties, the Contractor may allow for producing the original at the moment of order collection.
     
13. An order is considered performed when the Contractor delivers the service within the term agreed and in the agreed way (by e-mail, post, courier services, fax or in person).
     
14. The following shall be considered a proof of order delivery to the Commissioning Party:
    - Confirmation of receipt, submitted by the Commissioning Party,
    - Confirmation of dispatch (by post or courier services),
    - Sending a target file by e-mail.
     
15. The Contractor does not store or archivise any certified translations.
     

§4. Regulations applicable to interpreting

1. In case of interpreting, the service price is based on time units, where one unit equals 4 or 8 hours. Individual arrangements are possible if the interpreting service is a telephone conversation.
    
2. Acceptance of an interpreting order shall be based on the Commissioning Party’s precise order stating: subject of interpreting, time required, place of interpreting, and all other information which the Commissioning Party shall consider relevant. In case of specialized interpreting, the Commissioning Party shall provide any materials which may be considered helpful to the interpreter, three working days before the date of the event, at the latest. In case of conference interpreting, prior to the commencement of interpreting, the Commissioning Party shall deliver the conference schedule and, if possible, a list of participants and texts of any presented papers. 
    
3. Should the interpreting time exceed eight hours per day, 50% additional charge shall be added to the basic interpreting rate. In case of interpreting performed at nighttime (after 8.00 p.m.), and on Saturdays, Sundays, and other statutory days off, the interpreting rate shall be increased by 50-100%. The working time of an interpreter shall be calculated from the time of their arrival at the place of interpreting until the moment they are released from their duty by the Commissioning Party.
    
4. In case of interpreting services performed outside of the given interpreter’s place of residence, the Commissioning Party shall cover any additional costs, i.e., interpreter’s travel expenses, accommodation and the interpreter’s availability costs (which shall be construed as costs related to the time of the interpreter’s journey to the required location, in which case one hour rate equals 50% of the interpreting rate). Should the interpreting service time exceed two days, each day comprising guaranteed eight hours of interpreting, the Commissioning Party shall not cover the interpreter’s availability costs, provided that the time of the interpreter’s journey to the required location and back does not exceed eight hours.
    

§5. Complaints Procedure

1. Any defects discovered in the service rendered must be reported to the Contractor within seven calendar days of service performance.
    
2. Any complaints filed are investigated by the Contractor in consultation with the Commissioning Party.
    
3. The Contractor shall not accept complaints relating to target texts which are themselves based on incorrect translation.
    
4. Any complaints shall be accepted on the condition that the Commissioning Party indicates precisely the incorrect fragments of translation. Allegations of a general nature shall not be considered.
    
5. In case of lack of consultation provided for in item 2 above, any disputes between the parties shall be settled by the Regional Court in Częstochowa.
    

§6. Payment Procedure

1. Payment for the services shall be made on the basis of an invoice made out by the Contractor. The Commissioning Party shall effectuate the payment in cash at the business place of the Contarctor or by transfer into the account stated on the invoice. The payment shall be made within fourteen days of the invoice date.
    
2. In case of payment by bank transfer, the description space shall include the appropriate invoice number.
    
3. Any performed translation shall remain the property of the Contractor until the Commissioning Party settles the amount due. Upon receipt of the amount due, the copyrights to given translation shall be transferred to the Commissioning Party.
    
4. In cases where the invoice is sent to the Commissioning Party by post, the Commissioning Party is obliged to return a legibly signed copy of the invoice.
    
5. Should there be any delay in payment, the Contractor shall be entitled to charge statutory interest for every day of delay.
    
6. The Contractor reserves the right to request down payment/prepayment prior to the commencement of the service.
    
7. Any orders placed by foreign clients or clients who are not our regulars shall be settled on a pro-forma basis. An invoice shall be made out upon receiving the amount due.
    
8. Should the Commissioning Party be a client who is not our regular, the Contractor reserves the right to request prepayment prior to the commencement of the service.
    

§7. Order cancellation

1. Should the Commissioning Party cancel its order, it shall be obliged to pay the Contractor the amount due for the part of translation which had been performed up to the moment of order cancellation. In such case, the Contractor shall return to the Commissioning Party its order in its current form and shall make out an invoice for the actual work performed.
    
2. Should the Contractor discover that the source text for translation is itself an incorrect translation or that its contents may be commonly considered offensive, racist, etc., it shall be entitled to cancel the order on the day of its correct placement by the Commissioning Party or at any stage of the its performance. 
    

§8. Confidentiality

1. The Contractor hereby undertakes to keep confidential any and all materials and information provided by the Commissioning Party in the course of order performance.
    
2. Such information may by forwarded solely to the Contractor’s direct employees, i.e., translators/ interpreters, proof-readers and consultants working on the given text, to an extent which shall be deemed necessary for a correct performance of the service.
    

§9. Final Provisions

1. Unless allowed by the Contractor, during the period of 12 months of the date of the last translation/interpreting service, the Commissioning Parties who use our services shall refrain from any form of contact with the translators/interpreters who worked on translations ordered by the Commissioning Party.
    
2. The provisions contained in these General Terms and Conditions shall be binding and applicable to both parties, unless the parties concluded separate covenants in the form of a permanent cooperation agreement or in the form of an agreement concerning the performance of a given order.
    
3. Any Commissioning Party who wishes to conclude a separate agreement establishing the rules of cooperation may be granted basic price discounts, increased number of typographical marks per page, discounts for the express mode and for other difficulties which may render the translator’s work more time-consuming, delivery of the performed service to the Commissioning Party’s business place free of charge.
    
4. In cases not regulated hereby, the provisions of the Polish Civil Code and Polish Copyright Law Act of 4 February, 1994 (Journal of Laws No. 24, item 83, as amended) shall apply.
    

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to use our online ORDER/ENQUIRY form or zlecenie@tlumaczegruca.pl.

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