General Commercial Conditions

These general terms and conditions shall apply to the activities of VČELIČKA s.r.o. with its main office at Mělnická 96, Vysoká Libeň, 277 38 Mělnické Vtelno, Czech Republic, Bus. Reg. No. 27605493, registered in the commercial register kept by the Municipal Court in Prague, section C, insert 118377.

They concern delivering services related to the Contractor’s business, in particular this concerns translation and interpreting activities.

Both the Contractor and the Client (hereinafter “Contracting Parties”) are obliged to follow these General Commercial Conditions.

The General Commercial Conditions make up an integral part of the written contract concerning ensuring the translating services (general contract, contract on a specific translation, interpreting) concluded between the Contractor and the Client, if such a contract was signed.

A contract between the Contractor and the Client arises even without signing a written contract on translation services, namely on the basis of a written order which was agreed upon by both parties concerned. The written order, i.e. an order containing all the terms of the order according to point I.1 and being delivered to the Contractor’s address in person, by e-mail or through the order form on the Contractor’s web site. The Contractor’s official web site is www.agenturavcelicka.cz. This order is obligatory and these General Commercial Conditions are an integral part of it.

I. Order

1. Terms of an order: full invoicing and correspondence address, Company Identification number and VAT Identification number, contact for Client, specification of translation or interpreting, translation or interpreting deadline, purpose of the translation (especially texts intended for a presentation), requirements for text revisions (proofreading, graphic layout), contact person for terminology (consultations), stamp and signature (this data is not sent in the case of an electronic order but the Contractor is entitled to subsequently demand a printed order with a stamp and signature). The order form is available on our web site www.agenturavcelicka.cz.

2. The Client has the right to have a non-binding price offer elaborated, which includes information about the deadline and form of delivering the text. The elaboration of such a price offer is free of charge.

3. The Contractor is obliged to confirm a written or electronic order. An additional request by the Contractor to send a printed order with a stamp and signature (point I.) does not influence an electronic order that has been confirmed.

4. The Contractor considers all the information and documents given by the Client in connection with order to be strictly confidential and undertakes not to provide these to any unauthorised person. Besides the Contractor’s employees authorised persons are translators and interpreters who have signed an agreement with the Contractor with the relevant provisions on confidentiality secrecy or a separate declaration of confidentiality.

5. The Contractor bears no responsibility for any consequences connected with infringement of copyright on the Client’s part.

II. Terms

Source language – the language in which the source text is written
Target language – the language in which the target text is written
Source text – the text to be translated
Target text – the translated text
Source word – a text word to be translated
Target word – a translated text word
Certified translation – a translation in accordance with Act No. 36/1967 Coll., on authorised experts and interpreters appointed by the pertinent regional court. In this case the translation bound with the original or an attested photocopy of the translated document and is only in paper form. The Client has to provide the original or attested photocopy of the translated document. The photocopy can be attested by a notary or at the municipal offices
Apostille – a document that is attached to the attested one and serves as confirmation of the document’s authenticity and validity. It is a legalisation (authentication of the seal and official signature) for use abroad. If it is an authentication of a certified translation, the registration of the sworn translator is authenticated.
Superlegalisation – a higher authentication of a certified document in the state where the document is to be used. This is not necessary for states that have signed the Hague Agreement and for those with which the Czech Republic has a bilateral treaty. In this case the Apostille is the final authentication.
Proofreading – modification of the source or target text for stylistic or grammatical correctness
Basic proofreading – checking translation quality–correctness and graphic layout
Special proofreading – checking the use of special terms and uniformity in the given field using a dictionary of terms or reference details
Stylistic proofreading – checking the style of the text
Prepress proofreading – checking for typographical mistakes (after elaborating into HTML formats or in DTP studio), e.g. incorrect text or picture layout, diacritical marks
Standard page (1 NS) – 30 lines, each of 60 keystrokes, i.e. 1800 keystrokes including 1 gap for each word
A page in A4 format – contains varying amounts of standard pages depending on the size and type of font used.
Standard translation deadline – up to 1500 source words in 3 working days from the date the Client confirms the order. More extensive projects to be agreed upon individually.
Express translation – over 1500 source words per day
Editing – elaborating the target text into an electronic form (if the source text is delivered in printed form or in PDF format)
Working hours – Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

III. Translations

Contractor rights and duties

1. The Contractor is obliged to carry out the work under the prearranged conditions and to deliver it by the agreed upon deadline and in the manner arranged by the Client.

2. The Contractor charges the Client according to the price list for translations and sets the standard delivery term for the translation, as long as the text is legible, intelligible and in a standard format without complicated graphic layouts. If the text has a complicated graphic payout (e.g. PDF format), the Contractor is entitled to ask the Client for an extension on the deadline and/or to charge extra for text editing (graphic layouts).

Client rights and duties

1. Client undertakes to receive the finished work on the agreed date and to pay the price for this work to Contractor by the agreed date.

2. The Client owns the translation after full payment for the work. Until then, the Contractor is the owner.

3. If it is an author translation in terms of the Copyright Act, i.e. the work originated by processing another person’s work, including translating the work into another language, the provisions of the Copyright Act (Act No. 121/2000 Coll.,) apply to both contractual parties.

IV. Deadlines for receiving and delivering the translation

Contractor rights and duties

1. The Contractor is obliged to confirm the demand or order acceptance upon receipt in the shortest term as possible within office hours. If the demand or order is delivered at the end of working hours or after working hours, the Contractor can send this confirmation by the next working day at the latest.

2. If the Contractor receives a justified reminder to send the completed work, he/she is obliged to send it immediately after receiving the reminder.

Client rights and duties

1. The Client is obliged to notify the Contractor of the purpose for which the translation will be used.

2. In particular this concerns the publication or presentation of the final translation or its legal usage (e.g. for legal acts) or another usage requiring the appropriate proofreading and also its usage in terms of the Copyright Act. Further, the Client is obliged to notify the Contractor if he/she requires a graphic layout of the final document and to specify this. If this is not the case, it is not possible to consider any complaint concerning the graphic layout of such a document.

3. If the Contractor is not notified of such a purpose, it is understood that the translation is intended for general usage and not for publication and later it is not possible to consider any complaint related to the purpose of the translation.

4. If the source text for translation contains special terms or terminology, the Client is obliged to deliver a list of appropriate terms in the given language to the Contractor, to provide necessary materials with approved terminology or to enable consultation concerning this terminology with the Client’s accredited employee. If this is not the case, it is not possible to consider any complaint concerning the above-mentioned terminology.

5. The Client is obliged to take the completed work on the deadline and in the manner agreed upon in the order or in the contract.

6. The Client is obliged to confirm acceptance of the completed work immediately after receiving it.

7. If the Client doesn’t confirm acceptance of the completed work and doesn’t insist upon its delivery within 24 hours, the Contractor considers the work to have been duly executed and received on time.

8. If the Client insists the completed work be delivered by the Contractor and the Contractor proves the work has been delivered by the agreed upon deadline and in the agreed upon manner, it is not considered to be a late delivery.

9. If the Client refuses to receive the completed work for no serious reason, the work is considered to have been delivered. The Contractor then has the right to set up an invoice, which the Client is obliged to pay by the defined due date.

10. The Client is obliged to notify the Contractor about any circumstances, which could influence payment for the completed work. The Client is also obliged to inform the Contractor about whether a decision about a bankruptcy order on his/her property has been issued or if he/she has entered into liquidation.

V. Translation prices

1. Prices for translation services are governed by the valid price list published on the company’s web site and defined in the contract on translation services or in the price statement which the Client receives and confirms in the written order. The Contractor’s official web site is www.agenturavcelicka.cz. The company is VAT payer. All prices are given with 21% VAT (without VAT).

2. The quantitative invoiced unit for translations and proofreading is 1 source word. The number of source words can be ascertained using the Microsoft Office Word application under the tab File-Properties-Statistics. If the source text is in a format not enabling the number of words to be ascertained or if it is in a printed form, the translation price is calculated according to the number of target words (translated text).

3. In the case of a graphically more complicated document (e.g. in PDF form), it is necessary to add the price for editing the final text into the chosen format (see the price list).

4. For certified translations the price is calculated according to the following scheme: we add the price for a certified translation to the price for the source or target text (see the price list). If the source text is in a format that does not enable the number of words to be ascertained or if it is in a printed form, the price for a certified translation is calculated from the number of target words (translated text).

5. The minimum invoiced number of source or target words is 300 if not agreed upon otherwise in the contract or in the order.

6. The Contractor has the right to set a surcharge for an express translation (more than 1500 source words per working day per translator.

7. The Client has the right to ask for a discount when ordering more extensive works.

VI. Complaints

1. Can be lodged if the translation has mistakes, it wasn’t done according to the order or in the appropriate quality. In other cases, the translation is considered to have been duly translated.

2. The Client must lodge complaints about shortcomings in the work to the Contractor duly and without undue delay (not later than 24 months from the date of receiving the translation).

3. If the Client lodges a complaint about a defect arising from the Contractor’s liability after this date, then the right to do so ceases to exist.

4. The Client can lodge a complaint personally, by electronic mail or by post. The complaint must state the specific reason and the nature of the mistake and its extent, if needs be there can be a proposal for resolving the complaint.

5. The complaint is dealt with without undue delay, and no later than within 30 days from the date of the complaint. The period for resolving the complaint begins the next working day after the complaint is lodged.

6. If the Contractor considers the complaint to be justified, the Contractor immediately ensures the pertinent repairs or corrections at his own cost.

7. If any conflict about the validity of a complaint arises between the Contractor and the Client (a complaint concerning the Contractor’s responsibility for mistakes or about the discount), the contractual parties undertake to resolve this conflict in an out-of-court settlement, by means of an independent translation expert, mutually chosen by both parties. This is generally an independent translator from a list of certified translators and interpreters kept at the relevant court, or a native speaker on whom both parties have agreed. In this event both contractual parties must be acquainted with the estimated price for the expert opinion before it is realised. The independent translator considers the translation quality in comparison with the source text. Both the Client and the Contractor are obliged to give any information concerning the claim to the independent translator.

8. The Contractor is liable for any damages caused by mistakes in the translation, that being up to the total price of the translation.

9. If an expert opinion states that the complaint was not justified, the complaint will be rejected.

10. A complaint does not entitle the Client to postpone payment of the invoice for the service under question.

VII. Interpreting

1. One interpreter’s working day is 8 hours. All breaks are included.

2. The interpreter sent by the Contractor is obliged to be adequately dressed according to the nature of the interpreting.

3. The interpreter works in accordance with customary practice and performs the work according to his best awareness and conscience.

4. The interpreter is entitled to refuse to work in an unacceptable environment, namely due to physical, mental or ethical reasons or undignified conditions.

Contractor rights and duties

1. The Contractor is obliged to ensure the interpreting on the basis of a confirmed order from the Client. The Contractor ensures the interpreting through an interpreter.

2. Both the Contractor and interpreter will consider all the information and materials concerning the interpreting to be strictly confidential.

3. The Contractor has the right to invoice the interpreter’s travel costs or other lost time in connection with interpreting, that being at the same rate as for the interpreting itself.

4. The Contractor bears no responsibility for any consequences of copyright infringement on the part of the Client.

Client rights and duties

1. The Client is obliged to notify the Contractor of the purpose of the interpreting or any usage of the minutes, if taken. If the Client does not do so, no complaints related to the work can be taken into account.

2. The Client is obliged to deliver the necessary materials for interpreting to the Contractor (program, texts and so on) to enable the interpreter to prepare completely, that being 5 days before the planned interpreting at the latest. If the Client does not do so, the Contractor cannot accept any complaints about the terminology the interpreter uses.

3. The Client is obliged to provide conditions corresponding to the type of interpreting including the technical equipment (microphones, cabins, earphones and so on), perfect audibility and enough space to work in, unless the technical equipment is ordered, together with the interpreting, from the Contractor. Further, the Client is obliged to provide on time the interpreter with all the written texts the lecturers will read.

4. The Client is obliged to provide the interpreter with a break for food and rest during interpreting, at least half an hour after four hours interpreting.

5. The Client is obliged to provide the interpreter with board in accord with customary practice and the valid regulations on compensation for board.

6. If the Client does not provide the interpreter with transport from the agreed place to the place of interpreting, he/she is obliged to draw the Contractor’s attention to this fact in advance. Further, the Client is obliged to pay the interpreter’s travelling expenses to the Contractor including the full allowance according to the valid regulations on travelling expenses.

7. The Client is obliged to arrange the interpreter’s accommodation in a single bedroom with facilities. If it is not possible to ensure such accommodation, the Client is obliged to inform the Contractor in advance and ask for the interpreter’s approval of the replacement accommodation.

8. The Client is not entitled to ask the interpreter to do other jobs except interpreting, for example written proceedings or guide and organisational services.

9. Immediately after the interpreting the Client is obliged to confirm with the Contractor that interpreting was done properly and on time. If the Client doesn’t do so the Contractor considers the interpreting to have been done properly and on time.

10. The Client is obliged to inform the Contractor about whether a decision about a bankruptcy order on his/her property has been issued or if he/she has entered into liquidation.

11. The Client undertakes to pay the Contractor the final price for interpreting.

12. If the Client cancels the interpreting without a good reason he/she is obliged to pay the cancellation fee in accordance with section XI.4 of these General Commercial Conditions.

VIII. Interpreting prices

1. Prices for interpreting services are governed by the valid price list published on the company’s web site and defined in the contract on interpreting services or in the price statement, which the Client receives and confirms in the written order. The Contractor’s official web site is www.agenturavcelicka.cz. The company is VAT payer. All prices are given with 21% VAT (without VAT).

2. One interpreter’s working day is 8 hours. All breaks are included. The minimum invoiced amount is 4 hours if not agreed upon otherwise in the contract or in the order.

3. The Client has the right to ask for a discount when ordering more extensive interpreting services.

IX. Complaints about interpreting

1. Complaints can be lodged if the interpreting has mistakes, if it wasn’t made according to the order or in the appropriate quality. In other cases, the interpreting is considered to have been duly made.

2. The Client must lodge complaints about shortcomings in the work to the Contractor duly and without undue delay (not later than 24 months from the date of receiving the translation).

3. If the Client lodges a complaint about a defect arising from the Contractor’s liability after this date, then the right to do so ceases to exist.

4. The Client can lodge a complaint personally, by electronic mail or by post. The complaint must state the specific reason and the nature of the mistake and its extent, if needs be there can be a proposal for resolving the complaint.

5. The complaint is dealt with without undue delay, and no later than within 30 days from the date of the complaint. The period for resolving the complaint begins the next working day after the complaint is lodged.

6. If the Contractor considers the complaint to be justified, the Contractor immediately ensures the pertinent repairs or corrections at his own cost.

7. If any conflict about the validity of a complaint arises between the Contractor and the Client (a complaint concerning the Contractor’s responsibility for mistakes or about the discount), the contractual parties undertake to resolve this conflict in an out-of-court settlement, by means of an independent translation expert, mutually chosen by both parties. This is generally an independent translator from a list of certified translators and interpreters kept at the relevant court, or a native speaker on whom both parties have agreed. In this event both contractual parties must be acquainted with the estimated price for the expert opinion before it is realised. The independent translator considers the translation quality in comparison with the source text. Both the Client and the Contractor are obliged to give any information concerning the claim to the independent translator.

8. The Contractor is liable for any damages caused by mistakes in the interpreting, that being up to the total price of the interpretation work.

9. If an expert opinion states that the complaint was not justified, the complaint will be rejected.

10. A complaint does not entitle the Client to postpone payment of the invoice for the service under question.

X. Payment conditions

1. The basis for paying the work done is a tax document made out by the Contractor with a payment date stated on the document. The usual settlement period is 10 calendar days, unless stated otherwise in the contract.

2. Contractor is entitled to set up a tax document for the Client the moment the completed service or work has been handed over.

3. The Contractor is entitled to issue a proforma invoice to the Client either before the work starts or during it. The proforma invoice is to be paid by the date stated on the invoice.

4. If there is a default in payment, the Client will pay the Contractor 0.1% of the amount due for each day of delay.

XI. Withdrawal from the contract and compensation for damages

1. The contractual parties have the right to withdraw from the contract if, after signing the contract, there are any irremovable barriers preventing the work being carried out.

2. The contractual party is obliged to notify the other party in writing of withdrawing from the contract.

3. If the Client withdraws from a contract for a translation (or proofreading) he/she is obliged to pay the proven costs for that part of the translation (proofreading) already completed, or the whole translation if the work is completely finished.

4. If the Client backs out of an order for interpreting 5-10 days before the event, the cancellation fee is 20 % of the agreed price, 2-4 days before the event it is 50 % of the agreed price and 1 day before the event it is 100 % of the agreed price.

5. The Contractor is not liable for damages caused due to not realising the contract if it is due to unforeseeable and unavoidable circumstances, which could not be prevented.

XII. Final provisions

1. The Client professes not to contact the translator or interpreter directly without the Contractor’s consent.

2. If there is contact between the Client and the translator or interpreter with the Contractor’s consent, the Client undertakes not to discuss matters concerning the commercial conditions of the work.

3. The Client undertakes to inform the Contractor about any new agreement with the translator or interpreter.

4. In the case of infringing the duties stated in point XII.1, the Client is obliged to pay the Contractor a contractual penal clause of CZK 40 000 for each separate infringement even if the order isn’t properly finished.

5. The legislative relations between the contractual parties are governed by the pertinent provisions of Act No. 513/1991 Coll., (Commercial Code of the Czech Republic), unless these General Commercial Conditions or the contract on translation services state otherwise.

6. The General Commercial Conditions text is binding for both contractual parties.

7. These General Commercial Conditions shall enter into force on 1.11.2016.