Terms and Conditions

"Auction" means the auction to be conducted on the Website on the date indicated in the catalogue.

"Seller" means the party consigning the Property to Astaguru as its agent for sale through Auction.

"Property" or "Properties" means the artwork or artworks offered by AstaGuru for sale through Auction.

"Reserve Price" means the minimum price that the Seller has communicated to AstaGuru as being acceptable for the sale of the Property through Auction.

"Website" means the collection of HTML and/or Internet media located at the URL www.astaguru.com, and/or any other URL linked to the Website.

"Bidder" means the party bidding on one or many properties in the Auction in accordance with the terms of grant of bidding access as set out in the Conditions for Sale.

"Bid" means the price at which the Bidder is making an offer on a particular Property in the Auction.

"Winning Bid/Sale Price" means the highest Bid on a property at the time of the close of the Auction which may be either equal to or above the Reserve Price as determined by AstaGuru pursuant to the Conditions for Sale.

"Winning Bidder" means the Bidder holding the Winning Bid.

"Conditions for Sale" means those Terms and Conditions of sale through Auction currently applicable to Buyers and published in the catalogue relating to the Auction as well as on the Website as being applicable for the Auction.

"Buyers Premium" means the amount charged by AstaGuru to the Buyer for Services in accordance with the Conditions for Sale.

"Buyer" means the party holding the Winning Bid at the time of the close of the Auction who has agreed to pay/paid the Sale Price plus Buyers Premium for the property(ies) in Auction.

"Terms of Business" means the terms of business executed between AstaGuru and the Seller.

"Description" means the attributes of the Property set out in the auction catalogue and includes the name of the Artist, the title of the Property, the signature of the Artist/ date of the Property (if any), the surface, medium and dimensions of the Property.

"AstaGuru Server" means the computer(s) that provides other computer(s) with access to AstaGuru data and application files and printers as shared resources to a computer(s) network.

"Technical Downtime" means the time period during which the AstaGuru Server is not in operation due to a malfunction.

"Lot Groups" means the Properties put in a group for Auction closing at a particular time on February 22, 2008.

"Closing Date" means February 22, 2008.

"Closing Time" means when the Auction for last Lot Group (listed in the bid closing schedule) closes.

By participating in this auction, you acknowledge that you are bound by the Conditions for Sale listed below and on the website www.astaguru.com

Making a Winning Bid constitutes an irrevocable acceptance of AstaGuru's offer of sale and results in an enforceable contract of sale. The contract of sale of the Property is between Astaguru acting solely as the agent of the Seller and the Bidder.
AstaGuru is authorised by the Seller to exercise its complete discretion in: (i) the description and illustration of the Properties in the catalogue and on the Website, (ii) granting bidding access as well as (iii) in the recording or rejection of bids.

Bidding access shall be given on AstaGuru's discretion and AstaGuru may set limits on Bidders and/or require payment guarantees or deposits prior to giving bidding access. Bidders will be informed of the limits if any and will not be allowed to bid further if their bidding limit is exhausted across all lots in the Auction. AstaGuru recommends that bidders refresh their bidding pages to view latest bid updates and time extensions if any.

AstaGuru shall evaluate the bid histories of specific lots periodically to preserve the efficacy of the auction process. This exercise may be conducted internally or through reputed third parties solely at the discretion of AstaGuru.

AstaGuru reserves the right to withdraw a Property before, during or after the bidding, if it has reason to believe that the authenticity of the Property or accuracy of description is in doubt, or if there is a breach of Terms of Business between the Seller and AstaGuru, or AstaGuru otherwise believes in its sole discretion it to be improper to include the Property in the Auction.

1. All Properties shall be sold subject to the Reserve Price. If the closing bid is below the Reserve Price, the Property will be considered unsold. The Reserve Price on each Property is confidential.
   
   
2. AstaGuru will raise invoices for the Sale Price and Buyers' Premium, plus applicable taxes on sale of Properties and any other additional charges that might apply including shipping and handling.
   
   
3. In addition to the amounts mentioned above, AstaGuru will charge the Buyer a Buyers' Premium calculated at 10% of the winning bid value on each lot. There will be a service tax applicable on the Buyers' premium for deliveries within India.
   
   
4. All foreign currency exchange rates during the Auction are made on a constant of 1:39 (USD:INR) for ease of bid value calculations for Bidders. The estimates for individual Properties have been 'rounded off' for ease of reference and do not necessarily reflect the exact exchange rate used for bid calculations.
   
   
5. All Bidders are required to provide complete invoicing details to AstaGuru prior to the sale at the time of registration for the Auction and no details will be changed after the sale. The Bidder as registered with AstaGuru will be invoiced based on details provided.
   
   
6. After the sale, the Winning Bidder is required to pay the Sale Price and Buyers Premium in full (including the applicable taxes) within seven business days from the date of the Invoice. No shipment or delivery will be made if the amounts are not received or until all proper documentation is completed. No payments will be accepted from any other parties other than the Winning Bidder recorded on the invoice.
   
   
7. Non payment: The Winning Bidder shall ensure that all remittances are made within seven working days from the date of the invoice. In case payment is not received within such period, this shall be treated as a breach of contract and the Seller may authorise AstaGuru to take any steps (including the institution of legal proceedings), which appear to AstaGuru to be appropriate to enforce payment by the Buyer and the Buyer will be charged demurrage @ 1% of the total value (winning bid plus buyers' premium) per month.
   
   
8. Failure to collect: If a Winning Bidder informs AstaGuru that he wishes to collect the Property from AstaGuru, in person, and such Property is not collected within 30 days of the payment formalities being complete, AstaGuru shall arrange for storage at the Winning Bidder's expense, and only release the lot after payment has been made, in full, of the Sale Price and Buyers Premium including demurrage @ 1% of the total value (winning bid plus buyers' premium) per month.
   
   
9. AstaGuru reserves the right not to award the Winning Bid to the Bidder with the highest Bid at Closing Date if it deems it necessary to do so.
   
   
   
10. Technical Downtime
    
    • In the remote event that the Website is inaccessible to Bidders worldwide due to Technical Downtime of the AstaGuru Server or Website within half an hour prior to the closing of the Auction for any of the Lot groups in the Auction on February 22, 2008, the Closing Time of that Lot group and subsequent Lot groups will be extended by the duration of the downtime of the AstaGuru Server.
      
    • In case the Technical Downtime of the AstaGuru Server crosses over a Closing Time for a particular Lot group, the Website when accessible post the Technical Downtime will show the Auction for the particular Lot group as closed, however as in clause (i) above the closing time will be extended and appropriate details will be published on the Website shortly after recovery.

Bids recorded prior to any Technical Downtime will stand according to these Conditions for Sale. AstaGuru shall not be liable for any loss of information due to the Technical Downtime of the Astaguru Server. The data logs of the AstaGuru Server will determine the duration of the downtime of the AstaGuru Server and any determination of extension of the Closing Time by AstaGuru shall be final.

AstaGuru provides an assurance on behalf of the Seller that the Property offered for sale on the Website is a genuine work of the artist listed. All Properties are sourced in conjunction with galleries associated with AstaGuru, reputed dealers, resellers, collectors, or the artists themselves. In some cases the Properties are further screened and authenticated by affiliated experts.

However, in the remote event that within one year of the sale of the Property it is proved to the reasonable satisfaction of AstaGuru that the Property purchased is not authentic or that the Description of the Property as set out in the auction catalogue, or otherwise, is inaccurate and if in AstaGuru's opinion Bidders being aware of the error or omission would have bid significantly less than the actual Sale Price, AstaGuru shall be entitled to rescind the sale and the Seller will be liable to refund to the Buyer the amount paid for the Property. Once the Buyer returns the Property to AstaGuru the proceeds shall subject to receipt from the Seller be refunded to the Buyer and Property returned to the Seller. These claims will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and will require that examinable proof which clearly demonstrates that the Property is not authentic as proved by an established and acknowledged authority.

This guarantee holds up to one year after the date of the purchase of the Property from AstaGuru (i.e. Closing Date), and provided that:

1. Only the actual Buyer (as registered with AstaGuru) makes the claim (the benefit of the claim is not assignable to any subsequent owners or others who may acquire or have an interest in any of the Properties)
   
   
2. The Property is returned in the same condition that it was in, at the time of purchase.
   
   
3. The Property was indisputably purchased from AstaGuru;
   
   
4. At the time of publishing of catalogue, there was technique available, and it was not unreasonable or impractical to use such technique, which could have helped AstaGuru determine that the Property was authentic.

AstaGuru retains the right, as a matter of policy, to bring in, at the Buyer's expense, two recognized experts in the field, (such experts being mutually acceptable to AstaGuru and the Buyer), to examine the Property under question before deciding to rescind the sale and offer the refund on behalf of the seller under the above guarantee. The opinion of the experts is not binding on AstaGuru.

In the event of the Seller's failure to refund the proceeds as stated in this clause, the Buyer shall return the Property to AstaGuru and authorize AstaGuru as its agent to initiate legal proceedings against the Seller. Any such steps taken or legal proceedings instituted by AstaGuru against the Seller shall be to the cost of the Buyer.

AstaGuru has an obligation to refund the Buyer only in the circumstances covered under the Authenticity Guarantee Clause (above). All damages and losses incurred during shipping and transit are covered under the insurance policy and the insurance charges as applicable are charged on the invoice unless specified by the Buyer. In the case where the Buyer does not utilize AstaGuru 's insurance coverage, AstaGuru is not liable for any damage or loss during shipping and transit. Neither AstaGuru's Suppliers nor AstaGuru, nor any of AstaGuru 's employees or agents, is responsible, either for the correctness of any statements as to the authorship, origin, date, age, attributes or genuineness of any Property in the sale, or for any mistakes in the description of the Properties, or for any faults or defects in the Properties, or for any other act or omission, whatsoever. AstaGuru offers no guarantee or warranty other than the limited assurance contained in the Authenticity Guarantee.

It is stated and agreed that the rescission of the sale and the refund of the total Sale Price paid by the Buyer is the sole remedy that can be sought, and such remedy is exclusive and in lieu of any other remedy which may otherwise be available under law. We shall not be liable for any incidental or consequential damages incurred or claimed.

All contents of the catalogue and on the Website are copyright protected in favour of AstaGuru. All trademarks, names, brand names, etc. used in the catalogue and on the Website are either trademarks or registered trademarks of AstaGuru. Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. No image, illustration or written material maybe used without the prior written permission of AstaGuru

If any part of the Conditions for Sale between the Buyer and AstaGuru is found by any court to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that part may be discounted and the rest of the conditions shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permissible by law.

The terms and conditions of this Auction are subject to the laws of India, which will apply to the construction and to the effect of the clauses. All parties are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.