BIDDERS' CHARTER :
By participating in public auctions at MILLON, bidders, whatever their nationality, undertake to comply with article 3 nonies of European Council regulation 2022/428 of March 15, 2022 and its annex XVIII, namely :
A ban on the sale and direct or indirect transfer to Russia of works of art, antiques and collectors' items. This ban also applies to cars, wines and spirits, leather goods, clothing and textiles, precious stones, pearls and jewelry, coins and silverware, porcelain, glass and crystal, watches and musical instruments, as well as electronic and electrical goods.
The unit value thresholds applied to this ban are as follows:
- Works of art, collectors' items and luxury goods: starting at €300
- Land vehicles: from €50,000 (€5,000 for two-wheelers)
- Electronic items for domestic use: from €750
- Electronic sound and image recording devices: from €1,000
By participating in public auctions at MILLON, bidders accept responsibility for any failure to comply with the above obligations.
For further information, please contact MILLON:
Service-client@millon.com or +33 (0)1 48 00 99 44
Terms and Conditions of Sale :
The fact of participating in the present public auction implies that all bidders, buyers or their representatives, accept and adhere to all the conditions set out below. The sale is made in cash (art. 1650 of the French Civil Code) and conducted in euros. A currency conversion system may be set up at the time of the sale. The counter-values in foreign currencies of bids placed in the room in euros are provided for information only.
DEFINITIONS AND GUARANTEES
Catalogue-exhibition and condition report. The information given in the catalog is drawn up by MILLON and the independent experts mentioned in the catalog, subject to rectifications, notifications and declarations announced at the time of presentation of the lot and recorded in the minutes of the sale. We strongly recommend that you come to the exhibition to see the condition of the objects. All indications of any incident, accident, restoration or conservatory measure affecting a lot are communicated in order to facilitate its inspection by the potential buyer, and remain subject to the latter's entire appreciation. This means that all lots are sold in the condition in which they are at the precise moment of their adjudication, with all possible defects, accidents and imperfections. For lots with a low estimate in excess of 2,000 euros, as shown in the sale catalog, a condition report on the state of conservation of the lots may be provided free of charge on request.
Concurrent bids. In the event of a dispute at the time of the bids, i.e. if it is established that two or more bidders have simultaneously made an equivalent bid, either aloud or by sign, and claim the lot at the same time after the word "adjugé" has been pronounced, the said lot will be re-bid at the price proposed by the bidders and all the public present will be admitted to bid again.
Liability. According to article L321-17 of the French Commercial Code, civil liability claims arising from voluntary sales are subject to a five-year statute of limitations, starting from the auction date.
Ivory. Lots marked with " ° " include elephant ivory which is free to sell as it predates 3/03/1947.
Exportation. If the buyer wishes to export the item outside the EU, he must obtain an export permit in his name from the DRIEE. This is at the buyer's expense.
Judicial sale. Lots preceded by a "J" will be subject to a judicial report at the legal buyer's expense of 12% ex VAT, i.e. 14.40% inc VAT.
BUY ORDERS :
Irrevocable bid. Any bidder may send the auction house an irrevocable bid for the purchase of a lot listed in the sale catalog in order to give the auction house a firm, definitive, irrevocable and unconditional instruction to bid on his behalf for a certain sum (regardless of the amount of any other bids). In this case, it may be agreed that the bidder will receive an indemnity calculated either on the hammer price, or corresponding to a lump sum.
If an irrevocable bid for a lot is received by the auction house before the sale, it will be mentioned in the sale catalog that the lot is the subject of an irrevocable bid. If an irrevocable bid for a lot is received after the sale catalog has been printed, the auction house will announce in the auction room, when the lot is put up for auction, that the lot is the subject of an irrevocable bid. In all cases, this will be mentioned in the sale minutes.
Any third party advising you on the purchase of a lot that is the subject of an irrevocable bid is required to disclose to you the existence of any financial interest in the lot. If a third party advises you on the purchase of a lot subject to an irrevocable offer to purchase, you must require them to disclose whether or not they have a financial interest in the lot.
Any person preparing to bid on the lot subject to an irrevocable offer to purchase, who has a direct or indirect, permanent or occasional community of interest with the author of the Offer, and who has agreed with the latter on a financial arrangement likely to hinder the bidding, is liable to criminal sanction in accordance with the provisions of article 313-6 of the French Penal Code, which states that: "The act, in a public auction, by gifts, promises, agreements or any other fraudulent means, of excluding a bidder or limiting bids or tenders, is punishable by six months' imprisonment and a fine of 22,500 euros. Accepting such gifts or promises is punishable by the same penalties. The same penalties apply to: 1° Obstructing or disrupting free bidding or bidding at a public auction by violence, assault or threats; 2° Proceeding with or participating in a re-auction after a public auction without the assistance of the competent ministerial officer or sworn goods broker, or a declared operator of voluntary sales of furniture by public auction. Any attempt to commit an offence under this article shall be subject to the same penalties.
DEPOSIT
MILLON reserves the right to require a deposit from bidders when they register if this is necessary to take part in the auction. This deposit will be automatically withdrawn in the absence of payment by the successful bidder within 15 days of the sale (invoice date).
RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL FOR ONLINE SALES ONLY
The right of withdrawal applies to sales made between a professional seller and a consumer buyer within the meaning of the French Consumer Code.
When the seller is a professional, the non-professional buyer (or his agent) has a right of withdrawal which he may exercise within fourteen (14) days from the date of receipt of the goods sold, in accordance with the provisions of article L.221-18 of the French Consumer Code.
The aforementioned period begins on the day following receipt of the goods and may only expire on a working day, in accordance with the provisions of article L.221-19 of the French Consumer Code.
In order to exercise his/her right of withdrawal, the purchaser (or his/her representative) must expressly inform MILLON by sending the attached withdrawal form or a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, to the following address: MILLON, 19 rue de la Grange Batelière, 75009 Paris, within the aforementioned fourteen-day period, in accordance with the provisions of article L.221-1 of the French Consumer Code.
Within the same period, the buyer (or his representative) must return, at his own expense, the auctioned item to MILLON's head office, provided that the item returned is strictly in the same condition as it was on the day of the auction. Any item deposited at MILLON's head office after expiry of the above-mentioned withdrawal period, or in a condition different from that in which it was at the time of the auction, will be refused.
MILLON will reimburse the buyer (or the buyer's agent) of the purchase price on the date of receipt of the goods or, failing this, on the date of receipt of proof of shipment of the goods, in accordance with the provisions of article L.221-24 of the French Consumer Code, and the sale will be cancelled.
From the date of payment, the buyer has 48 hours to take delivery of the auctioned item.
AUCTION LEVELS
Bidding increments are left to the discretion of the auctioneer in charge of the sale.
COSTS TO BE BORNE BY THE BUYER
Costs payable by buyers (per lot in addition to the hammer price) are degressive as follows:
- Less than 1,500 euros: 27.5% excl. tax (33% inc. VAT*)
- 25 % excl. VAT (i.e. 30% incl. VAT*) from 1501 to 500,000 euros
- 20.83% excl. tax (i.e. 25% inc. VAT*) from 500,001 to 1,500,000 euros
- 16.66% excl. tax, i.e. 20% incl. VAT* from 1,500,001 euros upwards
* Current VAT rate: 20%.
In addition :
- for lots purchased via the Interencheres.com platform, the selling costs payable by the buyer are increased by 3% (excl. VAT) of the hammer price (see CGV of the Interencheres platform).
- for lots purchased via the Drouotlive.com platform, the buyer is charged an additional selling fee of 1.5% (excl. VAT) of the hammer price (see Drouotlive.com platform GTC).
- for lots purchased via the Invaluable.com platform, the buyer will be charged an additional 3% of the hammer price before tax (see Invaluable.com platform's General Terms and Conditions of Sale).
COLLECTION, INSURANCE, STORAGE AND TRANSPORT
MILLON will only hand over the lots sold to the buyer once the total price has been received. It is the purchaser's responsibility to insure the lots as soon as they are sold, since from that moment on, the risks of loss, theft, damage or other are the purchaser's sole responsibility. MILLON declines all responsibility for the damage itself or for the buyer's failure to insure against such damage. Buyers are advised to collect their lots on the day of the sale. No compensation will be due, in particular for damage to frames and glass covering the lots. Plinths are for presentation only and do not form an integral part of the work.
DEFERRED COLLECTION AND STORAGE
From the date of payment, the buyer has a period of 45 days after the sale to take delivery of the purchased item.
MILLON will provide free storage for 45 days after the sale. After this period, you will be billed for storage and transfer to a storage facility, in particular MILLON's storage facility at 116 bd Louis Armand - 93330 Neuilly sur Marne, at the rate of :
- 10 € excl. tax or 12 € incl. tax* / Lot / completed week for a volume greater than 1 M3
- 7 € HT or 8,40 € TTC* / Batch / completed week for a volume of less than 1 M3
- 5 € excl. VAT or 6 € incl. VAT* / lot / completed week for "hand-held" storage.
* Current VAT rate: 20%.
These conditions and charges do not apply to lots deposited at the Hôtel Drouot storage facility, the cost of which depends on the Hôtel Drouot itself (see paragraph "Sales and storage at Drouot").
Important reminders:
- In the case of "bargain" sales at the MILLON storage facility, free storage will not exceed 8 days.
- For sales at Salle VV, (3 rue Rossini 75009 PARIS), furniture, carpets and bulky items will be transferred to our storage facility in Neuilly sur Marne (address above) and made available to buyers after full payment of the consignment note.
- For online sales only (if the seller is a professional and the buyer is a consumer), the buyer has 48 hours from the date of payment to collect the item. MILLON will provide free storage for 48 hours after the sale. After this period, storage and transfer to a storage facility, in particular MILLON's storage facility at 116 bd Louis Armand - 93330 Neuilly sur Marne, will be invoiced at a rate of :
- 10 € excl. VAT (12 € incl. VAT*) / Lot / completed week for a volume greater than 1 M3
- 7 € excl. tax or 8.40 € incl. VAT*/ batch / completed week for a volume of less than 1 M3
- 5 € excl. VAT or 6 € incl. VAT* / lot / completed week for "hand-held" storage.
* Current VAT rate: 20%.
These conditions and charges do not apply to lots deposited in the Hôtel Drouot warehouse, the cost of which depends on the Hôtel Drouot itself (see paragraph "Sales and storage at Drouot"). If the successful bidder has not taken possession of the auctioned item within 30 days of the auction date, he will be charged an additional penalty of 300 euros per day of storage.
TRANSFER REQUESTS FOR COLLECTION OUTSIDE THE POST-SALE STORAGE AREA :
All requests to transfer lots between MILLON's Paris addresses and/or its storage facility will be invoiced in addition to the initial purchase slip:
- 15 € ex VAT (18 € incl. VAT*) per small lot not exceeding 5 items.
- 40 € excl. VAT or 48 € incl. VAT* per order not exceeding 5 purchases and up to 1 M3.
* Current VAT rate: 20%.
For a larger volume of purchases, any request for transfer can only be made after acceptance of an estimate.
Furniture is excluded from the so-called "shuttle transferable" lots, but may be subject to delivery estimates.
If the transferred lots are not claimed more than 7 days after their registration in the destination premises, they will be returned to the MILLON company's furniture storage facility without possibility of reimbursement and the free storage periods will resume from the day of the sale.
Long-term storage can be negotiated with the MILLON company teams (116@ millon.com):
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION :
Stéphane BOUSQUET
116, Bd Louis Armand, 93330 Neuilly-sur-Marne :
116@millon.com
Lots may not be delivered or collected without full payment of the storage and delivery charges.
TEMPORARY IMPORTATION
Purchasers of lots marked with an asterisk (*) must pay import VAT (5.5% of the hammer price, 20% for jewelry and watches, automobiles, wines and spirits, and multiples) in addition to the sale price.
LEAVING FRENCH TERRITORY
The departure of a lot from France may be subject to administrative authorization.
Obtaining this document is the sole responsibility of the buyer of the lot concerned. Delay or refusal by the authorities to issue exit documents will not justify cancellation of the sale, late payment or rescission. If MILLON is requested by the purchaser or his representative to make these requests to leave the country, all costs incurred will be borne entirely by the requesting party. This operation is merely a service provided by MILLON.
Export formalities (certificate applications for cultural objects, export licenses) are the responsibility of the buyer and may take 2 to 3 months, or even longer.
EXPORT AFTER THE SALE
VAT collected as part of the selling costs, or VAT collected as part of the temporary importation of the lot, may be refunded to the buyer within the legal timeframe, on presentation of the documents justifying the export of the lot purchased.
PRE-EMPTION BY THE FRENCH STATE
In certain cases defined by law, the French State has the right to pre-empt works sold at public auction. In such cases, the French State takes the place of the last bidder, provided that the declaration of pre-emption made by the State's representative in the auction room is confirmed within fifteen days of the sale. MILLON cannot be held responsible for any pre-emptive decisions made by the French State.
RESPONSIBILITY OF BIDDERS
By bidding on a lot by any of the means of transmission proposed by MILLON, bidders assume personal responsibility for paying the hammer price of the lot, plus the hammer commission and any duties or taxes due. Bidders are deemed to be acting in their own name and on their own behalf, unless otherwise agreed in writing with MILLON prior to the sale.
Subject to the decision of the authorized auctioneer, and provided that the final bid is greater than or equal to the reserve price, the last bidder will become the buyer, the blow of the hammer and the pronouncement of the word "adjugé" will materialize the acceptance of the last bid and the formation of the sales contract between the seller and the buyer. In the event of a dispute by a third party, MILLON may hold the bidder solely responsible for the bid in question and its settlement.
PAYMENT OF THE TOTAL PRICE
The sale by public auction is made in cash, and the successful bidder must immediately pay the full amount of his purchase, regardless of whether he wishes to remove his lot from French territory (see "Removal from French territory").
