Auction rules for live auctions

1. ART CONSULTING BRNO CZ, s.r.o., registered office at Lerchova 299/7, 602 00 Brno, Company ID No. 60715553

I. Introductory Provisions

  1. These Auction Rules are issued for the purpose of organizing the sale of works of art by the auction house 1. ART CONSULTING BRNO CZ, s.r.o. by means of auction.

  2. Auctions held in accordance with these Rules of Auction are organised according to international customs in the art trade and the legal regulations of the Czech Republic.

  3. Auctions are accessible only to clients of the auction house and other persons authorised by the auction house.

  4. The auction house means the company 1. ART CONSULTING BRNO CZ, s.r.o., registered office at Lerchova 299/7, 602 00 Brno, Company ID No. 60715553.

  5. The auction house announces auctions at its discretion in the usual manner, for instance, in the auction catalogue, in the media, etc.

  6. These Rules of Auction are binding for all persons participating in an auction, and all persons undertake to observe them when participating in an auction.

II. Definitions

For the purposes of these Rules of Auction, the following terms shall be interpreted as follows:

a. auction – a form of sale of a work of art where it is sold at the highest bid offered by an unspecified number of bidders. Ownership of the item passes onto the buyer by paying the price;

b. auctioneer – a person designated by the auction house to manage and conduct the auction. The auctioneer performs all related activities on behalf of the auction house, especially initiating and managing the auction, organizing bidding, and giving the so-called knock, i.e., closing bidding and confirming the highest bid;

c. person interested in holding an auction – a legal or natural person who enters into a written contract with the auction house for the sale of a specific item in the form of an auction; it may also be the auction house;

d. auction participant – a legal or natural person authorised to participate in an auction. Only a client of the auction house who is not the owner of the item or a person acting on behalf of the item owner can be an auction participant. An auction participant must have full legal capacity, observe the Rules of Auction and rules and customs of decent and appropriate behaviour at the auction, and be a person over 18 years of age who has not thwarted a previous auction of the auction house 1. ART CONSULTING BRNO CZ, s.r.o. It is not allowed to bid on behalf of the above persons. Auction participants must prove their identity using a valid identity card (e.g., ID card, passport) and, if they participate via a proxy, provide a power of attorney to the auction house to be represented on the auction by another client of the auction house. To take part in an auction, the bidder must, if required by the auction house, also provide an earnest money deposit. The auction participant will receive a number from the auction house under which they will participate in the auction. Upon agreement with the auction house, the client may participate in an auction by telephone provided they have granted the auction house a power of attorney for this type of auction. In this type of auction, the auction house must act as advantageous as possible to the benefit of the auction participant.

e. earnest money deposit – not required

f. auction catalogue – the list of items to be offered to clients of the auction house in the respective auction. The catalogue is published on the website of the auction house www.acb.cz.

g. auction winner – the auction participant who offered the highest bid publicly knocked down by the auctioneer. The auction winner assumes ownership of the item after paying the price.

h. auction house clients – persons interested in buying works of art by means of auctions held by the auction house who are registered by the auction house. There is no legal right to the registration, and it is entirely at the discretion of the auction house to deny a registration application without giving a reason. Auction house clients must be legal or natural persons (over 18 years of age) who can prove their identity in a lawful manner (for example, by an extract from the Commercial Register, ID card, or passport). If an auction house client violates the Rules of Auction, the auction house may cancel their registration, of which the client will be demonstrably notified.

III. Auction organization

  1. Items included in an auction will be exhibited on the day of the auction to allow their inspection. Location: Prague 1, Topič Salon, 1st floor. Persons interested in inspecting exhibited items must respect the measures of the auction house for the protection of the exhibited items. Inspection of items for sale in the auction is free of charge.

  2. Only clients of the auction house, employees of the auction house, and other persons authorised by the auction house may attend an auction; auctions are not public. No photographs, films, or any other recordings may be taken during an auction without the consent of the auction house.

  3. Auction participants must observe the instructions of the organisers and refrain from disrupting the course of the auction in any manner.

  4. An auction is opened by a representative of the auction house who may announce changes compared to the catalogue or changes and clarifications of the Rules of Auction with the resulting instructions for the organization of the given auction.

  5. Auction of individual items is performed by an auctioneer. The auctioned (sold) item must always be unmistakably designated, usually at least by reference to the catalogue. The auctioneer will announce the minimum bid, which is the price (amount) for which the item can be purchased provided no reserve price was set, i.e., the minimum required price of the item owner. If a reserve price was set but no bid has reached its amount, the auctioneer will call the item unsold. If no auction house client shows interest in the purchase, the auctioneer will close the auction of the item by calling “not sold” or “item remains”. An item may be re-auctioned at the discretion of the auction house.

  6. After the auctioneer announces the starting price, bidders may call out their bids to the auctioneer by raising their auction number or by raising their auction number together with the offered price, which must always be greater than the last amount called out by the auctioneer.

  7. The amount of the bid, i.e., the smallest possible amount by which the price offered by the auctioneer is increased, is

    1. 500 CZK if the buyout price is less than 10,000 CZK

    2. 1,000 CZK if the buyout price is at least 10,000 CZK but less than 50,000 CZK

    3. 5,000 CZK if the buyout price is at least 50,000 CZK but less than 100,000 CZK

    4. 10,000 CZK if the buyout price is at least 100,000 CZK but less than 500,000 CZK

    5. 50,000 CZK if the buyout price is at least 500,000 CZK but less than 5,000,000 CZK

    6. 100,000 CZK if the buyout price is at least 5,000,000 CZK but less than 10,000,000 CZK

    7. 250,000 CZK if the buyout price is at least 10,000,000 CZK and more

      The order of bids is decided by the person authorised to organise the auction.

  8. If no auction participant calls out a higher bid, the auctioneer will repeat the amount of the last bid offered together with the words “for the first time,… second time, … third time to number…” followed by a hammer knock. This closes the auction and the highest bidder acquires the right to buy the item for the price (increased by the auction fee). Participants are bound by their bids (offers) called out in the auction, which means an irrevocable bid to buy the item for a given amount. The price achieved in the auction cannot be reduced.

  9. All possible objections, protests, or comments on the course of the auction are finally resolved by the auction house in the spirit of the principles of fair trade and international auction customs. Objections, protests, comments, or warnings must be made directly in the auction hall in a visible and loud manner otherwise they shall be disregarded.

IV. Payment methods

  1. The auction winner must pay the price corresponding to their bid in the auction, including the auction fee, if possible by the end of the auction but not later than 10 days from the end of the auction. Payments can be made:

    1. in cash at the place of auction or in the auctioneer’s office; or

    2. by wire transfer to the auctioneer’s bank account No. 27-0461150247/0100.

      Payment cards are not accepted.

  2. The auction fee 22% is added to the winner’s bid.

The fees are final and include both 21 % VAT and 4 % royalties. Ownership of the auctioned item passes onto the buyer by paying the price of the auctioned item together with the auction fee within the deadlines according to the Rules of Auction.

V. Other

1.     The auctioneer is obliged to take over the paid object obtained by auctioning no later than 40 days after the auction, unless otherwise agreed with the auction house. After this period, the auctioned items will be stored by the auction house or a third party at the auctioneer's expense and responsibility.

The auctioneer is then charged a storage fee of 0.5% of the amount for which he auctioned the items in question for each day of storage. If the total amount of the storage fee reaches or exceeds the price of the item(s) for which the auctioneer auctioned the item(s), the auctioneer agrees that the auction house is entitled to sell these items or offer them again in the auction in order to offset the costs incurred with the storage of the auctioned items.

2.  The auction house provides the transport of items auctioned thing only when so agreed with the auction winner. The auction house provides only packaging commonly used for handover, not special packaging, such as transport packaging.

3.  Complaints concerning auctioned things are governed by the laws of the Czech Republic. 

4.     All data and all declarations published in the catalogue concerning authorship, properties, authenticity, quality, origin, date, age, provenance, condition and estimation of the auction price express the opinion of the Auctioneer. The Auctioneer reserves the right to consult specialists and authorities they think fit. Stakeholders and auction participants must use their own discretion and the auction house does not bear any responsibility for correctness of their judgment, even if such judgment was influenced by the opinion held by the auction house. The Auctioneer provides no warranty on the auctioned items and any guarantees are thereby ruled out. The subjects of auction are auctioned as artworks and any defects are reflected in the hammer price, on which the highest bidder expressly agrees and affirms it by making a bid, which is subsequently knocked down. Given the nature of the subjects of auction, the auction winner waives their rights in respect of defective performance, including any rights within the meaning of Section 1916 of Act No 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, by making a bid, which is subsequently knocked down. Warranty claims concerning items auctioned in person in the auction house are not accepted by the Auctioneer; subjects of auction won by the auction winner based on the power of attorney or telephone representation granted to the Auctioneer can be claimed by the auction winner on receipt of the items at the latest.

5.     Upon payment, the auction house shall issue a receipt of a tax deductible expenditure to the auction winner and, upon request, a written confirmation of the purchase of the auctioned item.

6.     Items subject to Act No. 20/1987 Coll., on state monument care, as amended, and to Act No. 71/1997 Coll., on the sale and export of objects of cultural value, as amended, must be so designated in all auction documents, particularly in the catalogue, must be so announced at the calling out of the items and so denoted in the certificate of acquisition issued to the auction winner.

7.     All legal acts under these Auction Rules are governed by the legal standards of the Czech Republic.

Personal data protection

The auction participant hereby grants the company 1. ART CONSULTING BRNO CZ, s.r.o., Company ID No. 60715553, registered office in Brno, Lerchova 299/7, Stránice, 602 00 Brno, incorporated in the Companies Register kept by the Regional Court in Brno, Section C, insert 16013 (hereinafter also referred to as the “Controller”), their consent so that the Controller processes, within the meaning of the relevant generally binding legal regulations and directly enforceable legal acts (EU regulations) (as amended), the following personal data of the auction participant: surname, date of birth, address of residence, e-mail, and telephone for the purpose of notifying the auction participant of holding other auctions and sending auction catalogues and offers of other services of the Controller. The personal data will be processed by the Controller for the necessary period which, unless otherwise provided by the relevant generally binding legal regulations, the auction participant acknowledges that the necessary period shall be 10 years.

The auction participant grants the Controller their express consent to the above-mentioned processing of their personal data. The auction participant acknowledges that they may revoke their consent at any time, for instance, by sending an e-mail message or letter to the address of the registered office of the Controller registered in the Commercial Register. The auction participant further acknowledges that the processing of their personal data will be performed by the Controller through its authorised employees, either manually or automatically. Personal data of the auction participant may, however, also be provided for processing to persons belonging to the Controller’s group of companies. The auction participant also acknowledges that in accordance with the relevant generally binding legal regulations and directly enforceable legal acts (regulations) of the EU (as amended) he or she has the right to (i) revoke their consent to the processing of their personal data at any time, (ii) request information from the Controller on which personal data of the auction participant the Controller processes, (iii) request an explanation from the Controller regarding the processing of the personal data of the auction participant, (iv) request access to the personal data of the auction participant processed by the Controller and have the Controller rectify or update the data, (v) request erasure of the personal data of the auction participant, and (vi) file a complaint with the Controller or the Office for Personal Data Protection in the case of doubts about the fulfilment of the obligations regarding processing of their personal data. For the avoidance of doubt, the auction participant declares that he or she has been informed by the Controller in accordance with the relevant generally binding legal regulations and directly enforceable legal acts (regulations) of the EU (including the GDPR) about the intended processing of their personal data, including the scope and conditions of such processing and the rights of the auction participant related thereto.

1. ART CONSULTING Brno CZ, s.r.o.
Jiří Rybář, Executive Director