Department for Business and Trade
English Regions

Trade Mission Terms and Conditions

1.1. The Department for Business and Trade reserves the right to withdraw inclusion in an event if the participant fails to comply with the conditions or causes embarrassment to His Majesty’s Government, the host country or other participants of the group.

1.2. The Department for Business and Trade reserves the right to change or alter the programme of activities.

1.3. Approved participants must make their own assessment regarding the appropriateness and risk of travel to any destination. The Department for Business and Trade does not warrant the safety of travel in any respect, nor to the regions being visited as part of an overseas event. Participants are advised to visit www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice for guidance.

1.4. All event participants must obtain and maintain all appropriate insurances in connection with attendance at, and participation in, an event.

1.5. If you book non-refundable flight and travel arrangements, this is at your own risk and The Department for Business and Trade will not bear the cost of any change and/or cancellation.

1.6. The Overseas Business Risks Guide provides information for businesses on potential risks when trading in the overseas territories. These cover political and economic risks, human rights issues, bribery, terrorism, criminal activity, and intellectual property. Please visit www.gov.uk/government/collections/overseas-business-risk for advice.


2. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

2.1. The Department for Business and Trade does not provide liability insurance for the protection of individuals, groups, organisations, businesses, spectators, or others who may participate in an event.

2.2. The Department for Business and Trade will have no responsibility for insuring any risks associated with taking part in an event. The Department for Business and Trade will not be liable for the consequences of any such risks or any costs incurred. Any insurance required by the participant will be the responsibility of the participant.


3. Cancellations

3.1. A company may cancel their participation in an event having already paid. In these cases, the following terms & conditions apply:

3.1.a. If you book an event and subsequently cancel, the following charges will apply:

(1) 11-20 days before the event (excluding the day of the event) 50% of the event cost;

(2) 0-10 days before the event (excluding the day of the event) 100% of the event cost.

3.1.b. If you book an event using a discount code and you cancel you may still be charged the full cost regardless of any discount you may have been offered.

3.1.c. Where payment was initially made by debit / creDIT card, refunds shall normally be applied back to the same card account.

3.1.d. Where Internet payments require an authorised refund to be applied to the transaction, the payment will only be refunded to the card making the initial payment.

3.1.e. The Department for Business and Trade reserves the right to change or alter the programme of activities at any event.

3.1.f. If you book non-refundable flight and travel arrangements this is at your own risk and The Department for Business and Trade will not bear the cost of any cancellation or rescheduling. 2

3.2. Cancellation by The Department for Business and Trade:

3.2.a. In the case of The Department for Business and Trade cancelling an event/mission once payments have been received from customers, written confirmation of the cancellation will be sent by The Department for Business and Trade at the soonest possible opportunity to refund customers with the monies received.


4. Additional notes

4.1. Support is discretionary and subject to the limits of the scheme budget. Each market attracts a standard rate of support.

Support is also conditional on businesses:

(a) satisfying the criteria at 2;

(b) obtaining certification of applications for funding from their International Trade Team

(c) not being indebted to the Secretary of State or The Department for Business and Trade on his behalf or any other government department; and

(d) complying with the De Minimis regulations (paragraphs 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4 below).

(e) receiving financial support for up to 6 Midlands Engine market visits only per business.

4.2. Financial support paid by the Secretary of State to UK businesses in respect of their participation in overseas trade fairs constitutes State aid. It may however operate under a part of the State aid rules known as De Minimis (Commission Regulation 69 / 2001 on the application of the State aid rules to De Minimis aid – the “Regulation”). The Regulation allows Member States to give relatively small amounts of aid (not exceeding 200,000 euro over a three year period) of State aid to undertakings without breaching the State aid rules.

4.3. This support constitutes De Minimis aid as defined by the European Union. Awards of all De Minimis aid received by an undertaking must be totalled together and must not exceed 200,000 Euro within any three-year period. Any amount over 200,000 euro received by an undertaking in a three year period may be recovered with interest from the date it was granted.

4.4. The Department for Business and Trade reserves the right to provide the Commission of the European Communities with information about any offer of support under this scheme. It shall also have the right to publish the amounts of grant paid.
Please note that under the Government initiative to improve the transparency of how public funds are used, all payments made (including the identity of the recipient and the amount) will be published (details of payments over £500 have been published since April 2010). By making an application to participate in the market visit support scheme you agree that details of any payments made to your company can be published.

4.5. Insurance is solely for you to arrange – this should be sufficient to cover costs when any unforeseen circumstances lead to cancellation of the visit, including “force majeure”.

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