Username
Password
Not a Member?
Click here for the detailed
Membership Benefits
Members Log In
Contracts

The objectives of the Association are to facilitate and regulate the trade in general produce. The Association issues and revises from time to time forms of contract and conditions of sale (contract clauses) and has procedures for the speedy and amicable settlement of disputes by arbitration and appeal under the terms and conditions of the IGPA standard Contracts.

The IGPA issues a number of contracts for different classes of products, the four basic contracts are designed so that they can be used for commodities of whatever description from gold to pepper.

They are: (members can log in and download the list below)

SHIPMENT CONTACT - General Produce - CIF, C&F, C&I, FOB

ESSENTIAL OIL & AROMA CHEMICALS CONTRACT - CIF, C&F, C&I, FOB

SPOT CONTRACT

DELIVERY CONTRACT

The Conditions of sale for the above mentioned contracts are:
CONTRACT CLAUSE – GROUP 1, for inclusion in all contracts and
CONTRACT CLAUSE – GROUP 2, for inclusion in all Shipment Essential Oil & Aroma Chemicals contracts.

Members please note that these clauses are included in the pdf downloads for each of the Contracts listed above.


A Few Key Points:

Agreements to trade are often made in a casual manner, often on the telephone; once the major terms have been agreed, such as the price, amount of goods and shipment period a contract is formed. It is therefore always important to remember to incorporate your standard terms during these discussions and not to leave it to include in a confirmation of terms.


Once a trade has been agreed it is best practice to always remember to confirm the trade in writing. In this document you should list all key points, including:

• Sellers (Name and Address including telephone, fax and email)
• Buyers (Name and Address including telephone, fax and email)
• Broker - where used
• Quantity
• Goods
• Quality
• Shipment Period
• Destination (where relevant)
• Price
• Payment Terms

• Any other terms which are critical to your trade (and which have been agreed during the negotiations)
• Finally it is important to remember to include a clause confirming that you have incorporated the standard terms of the IGPA and the IGPA Rules of Arbitration and Appeal. A suggested incorporation is below.

Contract Clause: -

"All the above terms, conditions and rules contained in …[Shipment Contract / Essential oil & Aroma Chemicals Contract / Spot Contract / Delivery Contract]*…of The International General Produce Association, of which the parties admit that they have knowledge and notice, apply to this transaction, and the details above given shall be taken as having been written into such Form in the appropriate places. * delete as appropriate.

Arbitration Clause: -

(a) Any and all disputes arising out of or under this contract or any claim regarding the interpretation or execution of this contract shall be determined by arbitration in accordance with the IGPA Rules of Arbitration and Appeal, in the edition current at the date of this contract, such Rules are incorporated into and form part of this Contract and both parties hereto shall be deemed to be fully aware of and to have expressly agreed to the application of such Rules.

(b) Neither party hereto, nor any persons claiming under either of them shall bring any action or other legal proceedings against the other in respect of any such dispute, or claim until such dispute or claim shall first have been heard and determined by the arbitrator(s) or a board of appeal, as the case may be, in accordance with the Arbitration Rules and it is expressly agreed and declared that the obtaining of an award from the arbitrator(s) or board of appeal, as the case may be, shall be a condition precedent to the right of either party hereto or of any persons claiming under either of them to bring any action or other legal proceedings against the other of them in respect of any such dispute or claim.

(c) Nothing contained under this Arbitration Clause shall prevent the parties from seeking to obtain security in respect of their claim or counterclaim via legal proceedings in any jurisdiction, provided such legal proceedings shall be limited to applying for and/or obtaining security for a claim or counterclaim, it being understood and agreed that the substantive merits of any dispute or claim shall be determined solely by arbitration in accordance with the IGPA Rules of Arbitration and Appeal.

What to do when you receive a confirmation of a contract

1. If you agree with it, confirm it.

2. If you do not agree with any item within the confirmation, identify it and state what you consider was agreed - issues dealt with at this stage will prevent problems later.

3. The key thing is not to ignore a confirmation on the basis that it does not exist if you do nothing - the contract was formed during your discussions, the confirmation is only a confirmation of what was agreed.