These General Terms and Conditions of Sale apply, insofar as they concern them, to any person placing or wishing to place bids, either directly or through an intermediary, in the voluntary sale of furniture by public auction which is subject to them, as well as to any person winning the bids.
DEFINITIONS
Hereinafter, the following terms are defined as follows:
Sale: the voluntary sale of furniture by public auction organized by Millon subject to the present general conditions of sale;
Catalogue: list of Lots offered for Sale and information concerning them on any medium published by Millon;
Lot: an item or group of items offered for sale under a single number in the Catalogue;
Auctioneer: person appointed by Millon to receive bids during the Sale and to sell the Lots;
Vendor: a person who has commissioned Millon to sell his or her property at the Sale;
Reserve Price: price agreed between the Seller and Millon below which the Lot cannot be sold;
Purchase Order: power of attorney given to Millon by any interested party to bid on its behalf for a given Lot up to a given amount;
Irrevocable Purchase Order: firm, definitive, irrevocable and unconditional offer to purchase a Lot issued by any interested party, with instructions given to Millon to bid progressively on his behalf up to the amount of this offer, without the Lot being awarded to him at a price lower than this amount, and subject to specific financial conditions defined between the parties;
Adjudicataire : the person who, directly or through an intermediary, made the highest bid before the auctioneer closed the bidding, and who buys the lot;
Adjudication: moment of formation of the sales contract between the Seller and the Adjudicator, at the close of the auction by the Auctioneer, when the last bid is equal to or higher than the Reserve Price;
Prix d'Adjudication: price "at the hammer", the amount of which corresponds to that of the last bid made before the auctioneer closes the bidding and awards the Lot to the last bidder;
Commission d'Adjudication: fee payable by the successful bidder to Millon corresponding to a percentage of the Auction Price, plus applicable VAT;
Sale Price: sum of the Auction Price and the Auction Commission;
Digital Platforms: any online auction platform that may be authorized by Millon to receive bids during the Sale, and in particular "
www.interencheres.com" and "
www.drouot.com";
Telephone Auctions: bids placed in the auction room by a member of Millon's staff in telephone communication with the bidder;
Exclusively Online Auctions: bids made without the bidder being able to attend the Sale in person, in the absence of a dedicated room and the organization of a public exhibition of the Lots.
INFORMATION AND GUARANTEES
All Lots are sold in the condition in which they are found at the time of their Auction, with their potential defects and imperfections.
The fact that the description does not include specific information on the condition of a Lot does not mean that the Lot is free of defects or imperfections.
The information contained in the Catalogue is provided by Millon and the independent experts mentioned in the Catalogue, and may be modified by rectifications, notifications and/or declarations made before the Lots are auctioned, and recorded in the minutes of the Sale.
The information contained in the Catalogue, in particular the characteristics, dimensions, colors, condition of the Lot, incidents, accidents and/or restorations affecting the Lot, cannot be exhaustive, reflects the subjective assessment of the expert who provided it, and cannot therefore be sufficient to convince any interested party to bid without having personally inspected the Lot, once it has been the subject of a public exhibition.
For all Lots whose low estimate in the Catalogue is over 2,000 euros, a condition report on the state of conservation may be made available to any interested party on request. All information contained in this report is subject to the personal assessment of the interested party.
In accordance with article L.321-17 paragraph 3 of the French Commercial Code, civil liability claims arising from voluntary sales of furniture by public auction are subject to a limitation period of five years from the date of the Auction.
Lots marked with the symbol "°" contain elephant ivory or rhinoceros horn, the sale of which is free under the exemptions provided for in the Order of May 4, 2017 amending the Order of August 16, 2016 on the prohibition of trade in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn on national territory, and have been the subject of an intra-Community certificate required for their sale on the territory of the European Union issued by the Direction régionale et interdépartementale de l'environnement, de l'aménagement et des transports (DRIEAT).
Lots preceded by a letter "J" will be sold by the company [...], holder of an office of judicial commissioner, and will be subject to a legal sales report and legal sales costs of 12% exclusive of tax of the Auction Price (i.e. 14.40% inclusive of tax) to be borne by the successful bidder.
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.
BIDDER'S 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 items.
The unit value thresholds applied to this ban are as follows: Works of art, collectors' items and luxury goods: from €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.
MILLON is at your disposal for any further information:
service-client@millon.com
DEPOSIT
MILLON reserves the right to request a deposit from bidders at the time of registration.
The amount of this deposit will be automatically deducted by Millon from the Sale Price if the Bidder has not paid it within 15 days of the Sale.
PURCHASE ORDERS AND TELEPHONE AUCTIONS
Purchase Orders and Telephone Bidding requests are taken into account and executed by Millon free of charge.
Millon will endeavor to execute Telephone Bidding Orders and Telephone Bidding Requests received in writing up to two hours prior to the auction.
Millon assumes no responsibility if, in the case of Telephone Auctions, the telephone connection cannot be established or is interrupted.
Although Millon is prepared to accept Telephone Bidding requests up to the end of exhibition hours, it will not accept any responsibility for the non-fulfilment of requests made on the day of the sale.
Telephone exchanges during Telephone Auctions may be recorded.
Any interested party may send Millon an Irrevocable Purchase Order in return for which it may be agreed that the author will receive a fixed indemnity or one proportional to the Auction Price in the event that the Lot is sold to a third party at a price higher than the amount of the bid.
The Irrevocable Purchase Order will be indicated in the Catalogue if Millon receives it before the Catalogue is published in paper format, and will be mentioned before the Lot concerned is put up for auction.
Any bidder who receives advice from a third party for the purchase of a Lot which is the subject of an Irrevocable Purchase Order must ask this third party to disclose his financial interests in this Lot, and this third party is obliged to disclose them to Millon.
The act of bidding or attempting to bid on a Lot subject to an Irrevocable Purchase Order while holding a direct or indirect, permanent or occasional community of interest with the author of the Irrevocable Purchase Order, and of agreeing with the latter a financial arrangement of such a nature as to hinder the bidding, is punishable by 6 months' imprisonment and a fine of €22,500 pursuant to article 313-6 of the French penal code.
AUCTIONS ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS
Millon cannot be held responsible for the interruption of a Digital Platform service during the Sale or for any other malfunction likely to prevent the user from placing bids.
The interruption of a Digital Platform service during the Sale does not necessarily justify the Auctioneer's interruption of the Sale.
In the case of simultaneous sales in the sales room and online, in the event of concomitant bids, the bid placed in the sales room takes precedence over the bid placed on a Digital Platform.
AUCTION LEVELS AND ADJUDICATION
Bidding increments are defined at the discretion of the Auctioneer in charge of the Sale.
If the amount of a bid is deemed insufficient, inconsistent with the amount of the previous bid or likely to disrupt the proper conduct, fairness and pace of the sale, the Auctioneer may decide not to take it into account.
The Adjudication is materialized by the blow of the hammer and the pronouncement of the word "adjugé" by the Auctioneer and/or the display of the word "adjugé" in the context of auctions on Digital Platforms.
The pronouncement of the word "adjugé" takes precedence over the display of the word "adjugé".
If a bid is placed between the hammer blow and the word "adjugé", the auctioneer will resume the bidding.
In the event of a dispute over the Adjudication of a Lot, 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 reopened for bidding at the price proposed by the competing bidders, and all the public present will be admitted to bid again.
LIABILITY OF BIDDERS
By bidding on a Lot, either directly or through an intermediary, bidders assume personal responsibility for payment of the Sale Price plus any duties or taxes due.
Bidders are deemed to be acting in their own name and for their own account unless otherwise specified in writing to 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 Successful Bidder.
From the moment of the Auction, the Auctioneer takes full responsibility for the Lots sold.
COSTS TO BE BORNE BY THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER
The Successful Bidder will pay Millon, in addition to the Auction Price, an Auction Commission equal to a percentage of the Auction Price degressive by tranche defined as follows :
25% excl. VAT (i.e. 30% incl. VAT*) between €2,501 and €500,000;
Except for :
Less than €2,500: 27.5% excl. tax (i.e. 33% inc. VAT*);
Then degressive as follows:
20.83% excl. tax (i.e. 25% inc. VAT*) between €500,001 and €1,500,000;
16.66% excl. tax (i.e. 20% inc. VAT*) on the portion over €1,500,001.
In addition, the Auction Commission is increased as follows:
3% excl. VAT (i.e. 3.6% incl. VAT*) for Lots purchased via the "
www.interencheres.com" Live Digital Platform (see "
www.interencheres.com" Platform GTC);
1.5% plus VAT (i.e. 1.8% inc. VAT*) for lots purchased via the
www.drouot.com live digital platform (see
www.drouot.com platform's terms and conditions);
3% plus VAT (i.e. 3.6% inc. VAT*) for Lots purchased via the Live Digital Platform
"
www.invaluable.com" (see GTC of the "
www.invaluable.com" platform).
For completely dematerialized sales, Exclusively Online, carried out via the "Drouotonline.com" platform, the selling costs payable by the buyer are increased by 3% (excl. VAT) of the auction price (see GTC of the "Drouotonline.com" platform).
As an exception, for all sales taking place at Millon's storage facility at 116, boulevard Louis-Armand, Neuilly-sur-Marne (93330), the auction commission is 29.17% (35% incl. VAT*), plus delivery charges of €2.40 (incl. VAT) per lot.
*Current VAT rate: 20%.
APPLICABLE VAT REGIME
In accordance with article 297-A of the French General Tax Code, Millon is subject to VAT on the margin.
As pointed out by the Conseil des Maisons de Vente, the sector's regulatory authority, "VAT on the margin (the margin being in practice made up of the sum of buyers', sellers' and recovered costs) does not give the right to recovery by the buyer. The auctioneer must not show any VAT on the sales slip given to the buyer (no mention of VAT or details of the VAT portion of the acquisition costs)".
PAYMENT OF THE SALE PRICE
The sale by public auction is made in cash, and the Auctioneer must pay the Sale Price immediately after the Auction, regardless of whether he wishes to remove his Lot from French territory (see "Removal from French territory" below).
The Auctioneer must pay the Sale Price personally, and in particular, in the case of payment from a bank account, must hold this account.
Payment may be made as follows:
in cash, for debts (amount of the slip) of a total amount less than or equal to €1,000 when the debtor is domiciled for tax purposes in France or is acting for the purposes of a professional activity, and for debts of a total amount less than or equal to €15,000 when the debtor proves that he is not domiciled for tax purposes in the territory of the French Republic and is not acting for the purposes of a professional activity. Fractional payments in cash up to the ceiling, and by another means of payment for the balance, cannot be accepted.
by bank or post office cheque, with proof of identity (delivery deferred twenty days after payment; foreign cheques not accepted);
by Visa or Master Card;
by bank transfer in euros, to the following address:
DOMICILIATION: NEUFLIZE OBC
3, avenue Hoche - 75008 Paris
IBAN FR76 3078 8009 0002 0609 7000 469
BIC NSMBFRPPXXX
by online payment:
https://www.millon.com/a-propos/payer-en-ligne/paris ;
Bidders who have placed bids via the Live "
www.interencheres.com" platform will be debited on the credit card registered at the time of their registration for bids of less than €1,200 within 48 hours of the end of the Sale, unless otherwise notified.
In the event of the purchase of several lots, unless otherwise indicated by the buyer at the time of partial payment, the latter waives the benefit of article 1342-10 of the French Civil Code and leaves it to Millon to set off his partial payment against his various price debts, in the interests of the parties and seeking the efficiency of all sales contracted.
LATE PAYMENT
Beyond 30 days following the Sale, any delay in payment will entail late payment penalties equal to 3 times the legal interest rate, as well as a fixed indemnity for collection costs of €40.
Millon subscribes to the TEMIS service, which enables it to consult and update the file of restrictions on access to auction sales ("Fichier TEMIS") operated by Commissaires-Priseurs Multimédia (CPM), S.A., whose registered office is located at 37 rue de Châteaudun, 75009 Paris, France (RCS Paris 437 868 425).
Any Sales Price which remains unpaid to Millon or which has been the subject of a delay in payment is liable to be registered in the TEMIS file.
For further information, please consult the TEMIS data protection policy:
https://temis.auction/statics/politique-protection-dp-temis.pdf
PAYMENT DEFAULT
In the event of non-payment, when the sale is cancelled or the property is resold on the reopening of bids in application of the provisions of article L.321-14 of the French Commercial Code, the defaulting Auctioneer shall pay Millon a fixed indemnity equal to the amount of the Auction Commission for which it was liable, increased by late payment penalties equal to 3 times the legal interest rate beyond 30 days following the Sale, as well as a fixed indemnity for collection costs of €40.
In the event of non-payment, when the property is resold by reopening the bids in application of the provisions of article L.321-14 of the French Commercial Code, the defaulting Auctioneer must also pay Millon, acting on behalf of the Seller, the difference between the first Auction Price and the second Auction Price, if the latter is lower than the first, without prejudice to any damages that may be due to the Seller and Millon.
Millon also reserves the right to set off any sums owed by the defaulting Auctioneer or to cash any deposit cheques.
REMOVAL OF LOTS, INSURANCE, STORAGE AND TRANSPORT
Millon will only hand over the Lots sold to the Auctioneer once the full Sale Price has been received.
It is the Auctioneer's responsibility to insure the Lots from the moment of their Auction, as he bears the risks of loss, theft, damage or otherwise from that moment, in accordance with article 1196 of the French Civil Code. Millon declines all responsibility for the damage itself, including damage to frames and glass, and for the failure of the Auctioneer to cover these risks.
Auctioneers are advised to remove their lots promptly.
Display bases are not an integral part of the Lot.
DEFERRED COLLECTION AND STORAGE
Unless otherwise indicated, Lots may be collected from Millon's head office at 19, rue de la Grange-Batelière, Paris (75009).
Millon will provide free storage for 30 days after the Sale.
After this period, storage and transfer costs from our premises to Millon's furniture storage facility located at 116, boulevard Louis Armand in Neuilly-sur-Marne (93330) will be invoiced at the rate of :
€10 excl. VAT (i.e. €12 incl. VAT*) / Lot / completed week for a volume greater than 1 m3 ;
7 € excl. tax (i.e. 8.40 € incl. VAT*) / Batch / completed week for a volume of less than 1 m3 ;
5 € excl. tax (or 6 € incl. tax*) / lot / completed week for a volume that "fits in the palm of your hand".
For sales entitled "Les Aubaines", and all those taking place in Millon's storage facility at 116, boulevard Louis Armand, Neuilly-sur-Marne (93330), free admission will not exceed 7 days from the Sale.
For sales in Salle VV (3, rue Rossini, 75009 PARIS), furniture, carpets and bulky items will be transferred to Millon's furniture storage facility at 116, boulevard Louis Armand, Neuilly-sur-Marne (93330) and will be made available to the Auctioneers after payment of the Sale Price.
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 Sales and Storage at Drouot paragraph).
*Current VAT rate: 20%.
TRANSFER FOR REMOVAL FROM STORAGE
Any request to transfer Lots between the various Paris addresses and/or Millon's storage facility will be invoiced :
€15 excl. tax (i.e. €18 incl. tax*) per slip not exceeding 5 small items;
€40 ex. tax (i.e. incl. VAT*) per item not exceeding 5 items and up to 1 m3.
For larger volumes, transfer requests can only be made after acceptance of an estimate.
Furnishings are excluded from the so-called "shuttle transferable" lots, but may be subject to delivery estimates.
If the transferred Lots are not claimed within 7 days of their registration in the destination premises, they will be returned to Millon's furniture storage without possibility of reimbursement and the period of free storage will resume from the day of the Sale.
Long-term storage can be negotiated with Millon.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
116, Bd Louis Armand, 93330 Neuilly-sur-Marne
116@millon.com
Lots may not be delivered or collected without full payment of storage and delivery charges.
*Current VAT rate: 20%.
SALES AND STORAGE AT HOTEL DROUOT
For sales taking place at Hôtel Drouot, furniture, carpets and bulky or fragile items will be stored at the Magasinage de l'Hôtel Drouot department located at 6bis, rue Rossini in Paris (75009).
The Magasinage de l'Hôtel Drouot service is independent of Millon.
This service is subject to a fee, which is payable by the Auctioneer (for information and to make an appointment for collection:
magasinage@drouot.com).
SHIPMENT OF PURCHASES
Millon's logistics department offers delivery of Lots at the end of the Sale in Paris and within a 40 km radius of Paris.
Requests for quotes should be sent to:
livraison@millon.com
For shipments outside this perimeter, MILLON recommends using its partner carrier (THE PACKENGERS -
hello@thepackengers.com).
In any case, Millon is not responsible for the shipping, handling and storage of the Lot during transport by a third party.
If Millon agrees to handle the shipment of an item on an exceptional basis, it cannot be held liable in the event of loss, theft or accidents, the risks of which shall be borne by the successful bidder.
This shipment will only be carried out after receipt of a letter discharging Millon of its responsibility in this respect, and will be the sole financial responsibility of the successful bidder, who must take out insurance in this respect.
ONLINE SALES ONLY
The right of withdrawal applies to sales made at the end of Online-only Auctions between a professional Seller and a consumer Bidder within the meaning of the preliminary article of the French Consumer Code.
The consumer has a period of fourteen days from the day following the date of receipt of the Lot awarded to him to exercise his right of withdrawal, and this period is extended to the next working day if it expires on a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or non-working day, in accordance with article L.221-18 of the French Consumer Code.
The consumer exercises his right of withdrawal by informing Millon of his decision to withdraw by sending, before the expiry of the aforementioned period, the form annexed to article R.212-1 of the Consumer Code reproduced below:
MODEL RETRACTION FORM
(Please complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract).
For the attention of [insert name, address and e-mail address] :
I/We (*) hereby notify you (*) of my/our (*) withdrawal from the contract for the sale of the goods (*)/provision of the services (*) below:
Ordered on (*)/received on (*) :
Name of consumer(s) :
Address of consumer(s) :
Signature of consumer(s) (only in the case of notification of this form on paper) :
Date :
(*) Delete as appropriate.
This form should be sent to the following address:
MILLON, 19 rue de la Grange Batelière, 75009 Paris
Within fourteen days of being informed of their decision to withdraw, the consumer must return the Lot to the above address, at their own expense.
The returned Lot must be in the same condition as when it was sold.
The return of the Lot and the withdrawal from the sale will be refused if it is not returned within the aforementioned period of fourteen days or if it is in a condition different from that in which it was at the time of its Adjudication.
Millon will reimburse the Sales Price to the Auctioneer on the date of receipt of the goods, or on the date of receipt of proof of shipment of the goods, in accordance with article L.221-24 of the French Consumer Code.
From the date of payment, the Auctioneer has a period of forty-eight hours to come and take delivery of his Lot.
TEMPORARY IMPORTATION
In addition to the Auction Commission, the successful bidders of Lots marked with an "*" symbol will be required to pay import VAT (5.5% of the Auction Price in principle, and 20% of the Auction Price for jewelry and watches, automobiles, wines and spirits and multiples).
LEAVING FRENCH TERRITORY
Administrative authorization may be required before a lot can be taken out of France.
The sale of the Lot to the Auctioneer is completed irrespective of whether or not the administrative authorization required for its export has been obtained, and the delay or refusal to issue the administrative authorization will not justify the cancellation of the sale, nor the resolution of the sale, nor any deferred payment of the Sale Price.
The Auctioneer is solely responsible for requesting administrative authorization for his Lot to leave France.
If Millon is requested by the Auctioneer to initiate this request for administrative authorization, the costs incurred will be borne by the Auctioneer and this service will be provided by Millon without any guarantee of result. The Adjudicant is responsible for all export formalities (applications for certificates for cultural property, export licenses, export permits from the DRIEAT) for the Lots concerned.
EXPORT AFTER THE SALE
In accordance with the Bulletin officiel des Finances publiques BOI-TVA-SECT-90-50, "exports of goods sold at public auction are exempt from VAT under article 262-I of the CGI. The exemption is justified under the conditions of ordinary law set out in BOI-TVA-CHAMP-30 et seq.
The VAT collected on the Auction Commission or that collected on the temporary importation of the Lot may then be reimbursed to the Auctioneer within the legal time limits on presentation of the documents justifying the export of the Lot concerned.
In this case, the buyer must provide Millon with the "document administratif unique" (DAU) endorsed by the customs department or, where applicable, another document in lieu thereof.
Proof of export is provided by means of the export document duly stamped by the customs office of exit from the European Community (CGI, ann. IV, art. 24 ter).
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.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The sale of a Lot does not imply transfer of copyright, and in particular of the rights of reproduction or representation of the work, of which it may constitute the material support.
PERSONAL DATA
Millon undertakes to ensure the protection of personal data collected within the framework of the organization of Public Auctions, under the conditions defined by the confidentiality policy available for consultation on the Millon website at the following address:
https://www.millon.com/infos-legales/confidentialite
Anyone placing or wishing to place bids is invited to consult the privacy policy on the Millon website for any information relating to the processing, collection and storage of their personal data, and to find out about the extent of their rights.
In the context of its auction sales activities, Millon may collect personal data concerning persons placing or wishing to place bids, and persons winning such bids.
These persons have the right to access, rectify and object to their personal data by contacting Millon directly.
Millon may use this personal data to meet its legal obligations and, unless the persons concerned object, in the performance of its activities (in particular sales and marketing operations).
Such data may also be communicated to public authorities where required by law.
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
In the event of a dispute with Millon, any individual or legal entity may submit a claim to Mr Yves Micolet, commissaire du gouvernement près le Conseil des maisons de vente, by post to 19, avenue de l'Opéra, Paris (75009), or online via the Conseil des maisons de vente website (
www.conseilmaisonsdevente.fr).
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
The present General Terms and Conditions of Sale, the Sale and its aftermath, including the sales contract formed at the end of the auction, are governed by French law.
The bidders, the successful bidders, or their representatives, accept that any dispute relating to the Sale shall fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the French courts.
All the provisions of the present General Terms and Conditions of Sale are independent of each other, and the invalidity of one of these provisions will not affect the validity of the others.
