dena’s General Terms and Conditions of Business

As of 07/2023

1.   Scope
1.1 These General Terms and Conditions of Business apply to all contracts entered into by German Energy Agency (dena), Chausseestr. 128a, 10115 Berlin (hereinafter referred to as "dena") and contractors (hereinafter referred to as “Contractor”).
1.2 The Contractor’s general terms and conditions shall not apply, unless dena has expressly agreed to their validity in advance. This applies even if the Contractor’s terms and conditions are attached to or referred to in contractual documents, and if dena unconditionally accepts or pays for services, supplies and invoices in full knowledge of the Contractor’s conflicting or deviating terms and conditions.
1.3 The rules set out in the order will take priority over those of the offer and these General Terms and Conditions.

2.   Provision of services and acceptance
2.1 The Contractor shall perform the services in accordance with the order, including the annexes and these General Terms and Conditions.
2.2 The Contractor  shall  provide  the  services  with  the required competence and expertise in compliance with the applicable legal provisions, the generally accepted commercial principles, state of the art based on the recognised rules.
2.3 The acceptance or partial acceptance of a service under a contract for works and services by dena shall be issued in text form.
2.4 If dena has entered into a main contract with a main client and has subcontracted the contractual services to the contractor(s), then  dena  shall  be  entitled  to  wait  for  the  corresponding acceptance by the main client prior to acceptance of the services of the contractor(s).

3.   Warranty for defects and default
3.1 In the case of services provided under a contract for work or services, the contractor(s) shall be obliged to provide dena with their services free of material defects and defects of title.
3.2 Where the statutory conditions are met, the right to supplementary performance self-remedy of defects and reduction exists even before the approval.
3.3 Should dena be legally obliged to give notice of defects, the parties agree that notice of defects given within 10 working days to be timely.
3.4 For the rest, the statutory warranty provisions shall apply.
3.5 The Contractor shall be in default if the services are not delivered to dena in accordance with the contractually agreed schedule. If there are any delays in the provision of the service,  dena must  be  informed  about  this  in  text   form without delay. The Contractor may only cite postponements if dena has confirmed them in text form. Claims that have already arisen due to failure to provide services in time shall remain unaffected by this.

4.  Rights of use and exploitation, indemnity
4.1  Insofar as copyrightable works are created or used during the performance of contractually agreed services (e.g. images, graphics), the Contractor shall grant dena the simple, transferable and irrevocable rights of use to these works, which shall be unrestricted in terms of content, time and place (publishing rights, right of public access, editing rights, translation  rights, right of alteration, right of storage on any available medium (multimedia rights) as well as database rights, etc.). The Contractor shall agree to the
processing and adaptation as well as the publication and exploitation, including revised and adapted works, by dena or third parties commissioned by dena. The Contractor shall be named as the originator/source, unless the naming as originator is waived in writing in the individual case.
4.2 The Contractor warrants that it has acquired all rights of the authors and other entitled parties which are necessary for the fulfilment of the order and the transfer of the rights of use in accordance with Clause 4.1 and shall advise dena of any required names of originators or sources.
4.3 The Contractor shall release dena, upon first request, from all claims by third parties which the latter derive from the violation of any existing copyrights or related property rights in connection with the services provided by the Contractor. This also includes the costs of appropriate legal defence by dena against third parties.
4.4 If the Contractor is obliged by the order to grant the exclusive rights to dena, then upon request, dena shall in writing grant the Contractor simple rights to use, if and to the extent that the Contractor is able to demonstrate a legitimate interest and the interests of dena do not preclude this.
4.5 The granting of usage rights is a primary contractual obligation.

5.   Travel expenses, terms of payment
5.1 Unless otherwise agreed in the order, the Contractor’s travel expenses shall not be reimbursed.
5.2 dena shall pay the remuneration in one sum after the services (and acceptance) have been completed in full within 30 days of receipt of a correct invoice. The Contractor shall draw up the invoice in accordance with Section 14 of the VAT Act (UStG) and provide evidence of the type and scope of the services in the form of generally accepted receipts. When issuing the invoice, the Contractor shall quote the order number and project number supplied by dena.

6.   Subcontracts
6.1 The Contractor may only assign the performance of its services or of  essential parts  thereof  to  third  parties  with dena’s prior approval (text form) if such parties are bound to comply with the obligations existing under these General Terms and Conditions. dena shall only refuse consent if its justified interests are prejudiced. dena's interests are prejudiced, in particular, if the third parties contracted by the Contractor do not possess the necessary qualifications and professional experience required for the efficient and successful performance of the contractual services.
6.2 All employed staff and all third parties enlisted by the Contractor within the scope of this Contract, whether subject to instructions or not, are vicarious agents of the Contractor, as defined in Section 278 of the German Civil Code (BGB).

7.   General Duties
7.1 The contractor shall provide its services in compliance with the legal regulations and in accordance with accepted commercial principles and with the required state of the art technical and professional expertise.
7.2 In the case that the contract is performed in Germany, the Contractor is obligated to comply with the provisions of the Act Regulating a General Minimum Wage (Mindestlohngesetz MiLoG) and ensure that the contractor’s employees are paid legal minimum wage (standard wages that may have been negotiated via collective bargaining agreements). In fulfilment of this contract, the contractor is obliged to comply with the International Labour Organization  (ILO)  Declaration  on  Fundamental  Principles and Rights at Work of 18 June 1998 (freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of all forms of forced labour, the abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimination in respect to employment and occupation).
7.3 When performing the contract abroad, the Contractor shall be obliged to comply with the provisions implementing the relevant ILO core labour standards (Conventions numbers 29, 87, 98, 100,
105, 111, 138, 182, 155 and 187) into the law of the country of assignment when fulfilling the contract. If the country of assignment has not ratified one or more core labour standards or has not implemented them into national law, the contractor is obliged to comply with those regulations of the country of assignment, which pursue the same objective as the core labour standards.
7.4 In accordance with Principles 1 and 2 of the UN Global Compact, the contractor is obligated to respect fundamental human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations dated December 10, 1948. Furthermore, the contractor commits himself to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to him which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, sexual identity or political opinion.
7.5 If a contracting party determines that the violation of a human rights-related obligation in its own business sphere in connection with this contractual relationship has already occurred or is imminent, it shall immediately take appropriate remedial measures to prevent or end this violation or to minimize the extent of the violation. If the contracting party cannot end the violation in the foreseeable future, it must draw up and implement a concept for ending or minimizing it.

8.   Confidentiality, Data protection
8.1 The Contractor is obliged to observe secrecy with regard to confidential information received in connection with the provision of the above services to dena, and to ensure that third parties cannot access dena’s documents. This particularly concerns, although is not limited to circumstances or procedures that relate to the business processes, commercial results, expertise, business partners or personal data of dena. This obligation shall continue to exist even after the end of the contractual relationship.
8.2 Documents or data made available by dena must be destroyed or erased upon request or after the end of the order. Any right of retention is hereby excluded.
8.3 The Contractor is obliged to observe the data protection rules and take appropriate precautions with regard to the personal data received from dena. Should the Contractor gather, process or use personal data for dena within the scope of this contract and if no joint controllership as defined in Art. 26 GDPR exists, then the Contractor is obliged to enter into an order (data) processing agreement.
8.4 The Contractor is forbidden to pass on, sell, process or use the personal data which is collected, processed or used within the scope of this contract for purposes other than to perform its contractual duties.
8.5 The Contractor shall ensure that the personal data is protected from being accessed by unauthorised third parties and that assigned staff or third parties are obliged to comply with the data protection rules.
8.6 The Contractor shall erase the data irretrievably upon request immediately, but at the latest at the end of the Contract and shall confirm such erasure to dena upon request, unless there is a legal duty of retention.

9.    Term of the agreement, termination, and  withdrawal
9.1 Any agreements on the term of the contract can be derived from the order. dena shall also be entitled to early termination if an  agreement on  the  term  of  the contract is concluded. There is no need for a period of notice.
9.2 Should dena terminate the contract without giving a reason, the contractor shall be entitled to claim remuneration for the services that have been provided up to that point and which are ready for acceptance as well as five per cent of the agreed upon remuneration attributable to the part of the service which has not yet been provided.
9.3 However, if dena terminates the contract for reasonable cause for which the contractor is responsible, the contractor shall only be entitled to pro-rata remuneration for the services provided up to that point, provided dena is able to use these services. In particular, such a cause s exists if the contractor violates its obligation under Clause 7.5.
9.4 The order is carried out within the framework of a  grantfunded project. In the event of a proven lack of funding for this project in the current budget year (including a budget freeze for more than two months), dena shall has an immediate special right of termination. In this case, only the services provided and ready for acceptance at this time shall be remunerated. If services are commissioned without the funding provider having approved at least a provisional start to the measure, dena reserves the right to withdraw from the contract for reasons relating to national funding law.
9.5 Termination and withdrawal must be in writing.

10. Integrity
10.1 The Contractor may not offer, grant or accept or demand gifts or benefits for himself or others (including through third parties) in connection with the procurement respectively the order and/or fulfilment of the contract; this also applies to acceleration bribes.
10.2 The Contractor may not agree on restrictions of competition with one or more other companies.
10.3 Any form of corruption is prohibited. The Contractor shall be obliged to take suitable and appropriate measures to prevent and combat corruption. Furthermore, he is obliged to immediately report confirmed cases as well as severe suspected cases regarding corruption and/or offences against property such as fraud, embezzlement or breach of trust in connection with the fulfilment of the contract to the ombudsperson. The ombudsperson can be reached via e-mail jan.gerd.moeller@pwc.com, Telephone: +49
02119814031 or mobile: +49 1708548529.

11. Contractual penalty
11.1 Should the Contractor be in default with the agreed delivery or service dates, they shall be liable to pay a contractual penalty amounting to 0.2 per cent of the net order value of each scope of delivery or service for every working day of delay for which it is responsible. The contractual penalty shall be limited to a total of 5 per cent of the net order value per scope of delivery and performance and up to total of 5 per cent of the net total order value.
11.2 In the event of a culpable breach by the contractor of the obligations under Clause 7.2 (minimum wage), the contractor shall be obliged to pay a contractual penalty, the amount of which shall be one of one hundred, in the event of several breaches up to five of one hundred of the order value, but at least 5,000 euros. This shall also apply in the event that the violation is committed by a subcontractor used by the Contractor, unless the contractor was not aware of the violation when the subcontractor were commissioned and, taking into account the duty of care of a prudent businessman, did not have to be aware of it. In the event of a disproportionately high contractual penalty, the contractor may apply to the Principal for a reduction of the contractual penalty.
11.3 In the event of a breach of Clause 10 (Integrity), the contractor shall be obliged to pay a contractual penalty in the amount of EUR
25,000 for each breach. If, in the case of a pecuniary benefit granted, the amount of such benefit exceeds EUR 25,000, the contractor shall owe a contractual penalty in the amount of the benefit granted.
11.4 The Principal is able to claim an incurred contractual penalty until the final payment is due. He does not need to reserve this right when the service is accepted and received. Any claims for compensation above and beyond this shall remain unaffected. The contractual penalty to be paid shall be offset against the compensation claim.

12. Final provisions
12.1 Any supplementary agreements, amendments or additions to this contract must be made in writing to be effective. The same applies to any waiver of the written form requirement itself. There are no subsidiary verbal agreements.
12.2 If any individual provisions of the contract are or become void, the validity of the remaining provisions will not be affected. In such a situation, the contracting parties shall replace the invalid provision with a different provision that is permitted and comes closest to the economic purpose of the ineffective provision. The same applies to any loopholes.
12.3 This contract shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany; the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall not apply.
12.4 Place of jurisdiction for merchants, bodies governed by public law or special funds governed by public law shall be Berlin.