These Standard Terms and Conditions apply to all supplier invoices, vendor bills, service-provider invoices, consultant invoices, contractor claims, and related payment requests submitted to or processed by the Alawite Islamic Charity Association (AICA), unless a stricter written contract, purchase order, donor requirement, Lebanese legal requirement, or approved AICA policy applies.
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Supplier terms and order of precedence
AICA shall not be bound by any supplier’s standard terms, invoice terms, quotation terms, or delivery-note terms unless such terms have been expressly accepted in advance in a written contract, purchase order, framework agreement, or approved amendment signed by AICA’s authorized representative. In case of conflict, the stricter or more specific requirement under Lebanese law, donor rules, AICA’s Delegation of Authority, Finance Manual, Procurement Manual, safeguarding/PSEA rules, anti-fraud rules, data-protection rules, or the signed contract or purchase order shall prevail. -
Approved procurement and engagement basis
Payment by AICA requires an approved procurement, contracting, or engagement basis. This may include an approved purchase request, purchase order, signed contract, framework agreement, approved waiver or exception, or other authorized written basis accepted under AICA procedures. No invoice, supplier settlement, advance, partial payment, or exceptional payment shall be processed solely because an invoice was submitted. -
Invoice requirements
Supplier invoices must contain sufficient information to allow verification, coding, approval, and payment. At minimum, the invoice should include the supplier’s full legal name, address and contact details, invoice number and date, tax/VAT status where applicable, description of goods or services, quantity, unit price, currency, total amount payable, applicable VAT or taxes where legally required, fiscal stamps or certifications where required, supplier stamp and signature where applicable, and the related contract, purchase order, or procurement reference. AICA may return or reject incomplete, unclear, unsupported, duplicated, altered, or non-compliant invoices. -
Delivery, service completion, and acceptance
Payment is conditional on AICA’s verification that the goods, services, deliverables, milestones, or works were received, completed, and accepted in accordance with the contract, purchase order, Terms of Reference, specifications, delivery schedule, and quality requirements. Supplier invoices must be supported, as applicable, by delivery notes, goods-receipt notes, service-completion certificates, milestone verification, supervisor certification, progress reports, deliverable-acceptance evidence, or other approved proof of performance. For service providers, payment shall be linked to verified deliverables or milestones and not only to time elapsed. The Procurement Manual specifically provides that service-provider payments proceed only after completion or milestone delivery is confirmed, contract or PO terms are met, the invoice is verified, tax/withholding treatment is documented, and the payment pack is complete. -
Payment timeline
Unless a signed contract, purchase order, donor requirement, or approved payment schedule provides otherwise, AICA aims to process valid supplier payments within sixty (60) days after the later of: satisfactory receipt or acceptance of the goods or services; receipt of a complete and correct invoice; completion of the required procurement, finance, tax, due-diligence, and approval checks; and availability of all required supporting documents. The Procurement Manual refers to vendor settlements within 60 days after receipt of goods/services and also states that no payment shall be released unless the complete support pack is present. -
No automatic interest, penalty, or collection charges
AICA shall not be liable for interest, late-payment penalties, administrative charges, collection fees, legal fees, or debt-recovery costs unless such charges were expressly agreed in a signed contract or purchase order, are lawful, are donor-allowable where donor funds are used, and are approved under AICA’s Delegation of Authority. Delays caused by incomplete documentation, unresolved disputes, missing approvals, bank-detail verification, tax clarification, donor review, compliance screening, or supplier non-compliance shall not create any right to penalty or interest. -
Taxes, VAT, withholding, and statutory deductions
Suppliers are responsible for their own tax, VAT, registration, social-security, licensing, and statutory obligations. AICA may deduct, withhold, report, or transfer any taxes, withholding amounts, fiscal charges, or statutory deductions required by Lebanese law, donor conditions, banking requirements, or AICA procedures. Where applicable, the supplier must provide valid tax/VAT status documentation, exemption evidence, registration documents, or other support required by Finance. For service providers, AICA’s Procurement Manual requires contract terms addressing financial terms and tax/withholding treatment, including the 8.5% non-resident tax clause where the provider is not registered with the Ministry of Finance, has not submitted a business commencement notification, and is not paying tax in Lebanon. -
Supplier onboarding and due diligence
Before first payment, and whenever material details change, suppliers may be required to complete AICA’s vendor onboarding and due-diligence process, including legal identity documents, commercial registration where applicable, tax/VAT status, verified bank details, conflict-of-interest declarations, sanctions or restricted-party screening, acceptance of AICA ethics and compliance clauses, safeguarding/PSEA screening where applicable, and signed contract, framework agreement, purchase order, or other approved engagement basis. AICA’s Finance Manual states that no supplier shall be activated in the finance system and no payment released until the minimum onboarding and due-diligence pack is complete or a documented exception is approved. -
Bank details and payment method
Payments shall be made only through AICA-approved payment methods and to verified supplier bank or payment details. Suppliers must immediately notify AICA in writing of any change to bank account, payment instructions, legal identity, ownership, registration, tax status, or authorized representative. AICA may delay payment until changes are independently verified and approved. Payments above petty-cash limits shall normally be made through bank transfer, cheque, approved financial entity, or other approved digital or banking channel, subject to AICA’s payment controls. -
Disputed, incomplete, or non-compliant invoices
AICA may suspend, reject, partially pay, or require correction of any invoice where there is a dispute or uncertainty regarding price, quantity, quality, delivery, service completion, tax treatment, budget availability, donor allowability, procurement compliance, supporting documents, bank details, sanctions screening, conflict of interest, safeguarding exposure, fraud risk, or any other compliance issue. Payment shall resume only after the issue is resolved in writing and the approved amount is supported by the required evidence. -
Anti-fraud, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and conflicts of interest
Suppliers, contractors, consultants, service providers, partners, and sub-recipients must comply with AICA’s anti-fraud, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, conflict-of-interest, reporting, audit, and access-to-records requirements. Fraud, bribery, corruption, kickbacks, facilitation payments, false invoices, inflated claims, collusion, ghost vendors, undisclosed related-party interests, gifts intended to influence decisions, manipulation of procurement, or falsification of records are prohibited. AICA may suspend payment, recover funds, terminate the contract, debar the supplier, notify donors, or refer the matter to competent authorities where misconduct or material non-compliance is suspected or substantiated. AICA’s Anti-Fraud Policy requires third-party agreements to include anti-fraud, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, conflict-of-interest, reporting, access-to-records, audit, and termination clauses, and requires third parties to keep accurate records, report suspected misconduct, and cooperate with audits and investigations. -
Safeguarding, PSEA, child safeguarding, and community-facing conduct
Where a supplier, contractor, consultant, service provider, or third party may interact with children, beneficiaries, patients, community members, vulnerable persons, sensitive personal data, cash, referrals, complaints, or AICA-supported activities, the supplier must comply with AICA’s safeguarding, PSEA, child-safeguarding, confidentiality, Code of Conduct, complaints, and reporting requirements or an approved equivalent standard. AICA may require orientation, undertakings, additional screening, role-based access controls, supervision arrangements, or contractual flow-down clauses before field deployment, system access, or payment. -
Confidentiality, data protection, and intellectual property
Suppliers shall protect confidential, personal, beneficiary, patient, child, safeguarding, financial, donor, procurement, contract, and organizational information received or accessed through their engagement with AICA. Such information shall be used only for the approved purpose, shared only on a need-to-know basis, and stored or transferred only through approved secure channels. Deliverables, materials, reports, data, tools, designs, training materials, documents, and other outputs developed for AICA shall belong to AICA unless the signed contract expressly states otherwise. Service-provider contracting rules require attention to confidentiality, intellectual property, and data privacy, including that no data be shared with third parties without written consent or legal obligation. -
Records, audit access, and retention
Suppliers must maintain complete, accurate, and accessible records relating to AICA-supported goods, services, deliverables, payments, taxes, receipts, transaction evidence, and compliance obligations. Such records must be provided promptly to AICA, auditors, donors, investigators, or competent authorities where lawfully required or contractually permitted. Records shall be retained for the period required by contract, Lebanese law, donor rules, or AICA policy, including longer donor-specific periods where applicable. AICA’s policy framework requires third parties to cooperate with spot checks, monitoring visits, audits, investigations, and donor verification. -
Digital payments and Odoo records
Where payment is processed through Odoo, bank transfer, approved digital payment platform, wallet provider, money-transfer operator, or other approved financial channel, the supplier agrees that payment confirmations, vouchers, transaction references, platform records, Odoo attachments, approval histories, journals, reconciliation notes, and related records may be used as official evidence for audit, donor review, reconciliation, investigation, or dispute resolution. Supplier or service-provider digital payments must be supported by invoice, contract or purchase order, service completion evidence, coding reference, payment authorization, transaction reference, voucher, ledger entry, reconciliation note, and filing reference as applicable. -
Independent contractor status
Suppliers and service providers are independent contractors and shall not be considered AICA employees, agents, or representatives unless a signed agreement expressly states otherwise. They are not entitled to employee salary, paid leave, NSSF, health insurance, severance, or other employment benefits. Service providers remain responsible for their own taxes, registrations, insurance, licenses, staff, subcontractors, equipment, and statutory obligations. AICA’s Procurement Manual includes this independent-contractor status disclaimer for service providers. -
Subcontracting and third-party flow-down
The supplier may not subcontract, assign, transfer, or delegate any obligation involving AICA funds, data, beneficiaries, communities, branding, deliverables, or contractual duties without AICA’s prior written approval where required by the contract or the nature of the engagement. Approved subcontractors or third parties must comply with equivalent ethics, safeguarding, confidentiality, data-protection, anti-fraud, audit, access-to-records, and reporting obligations. -
Amendments, advances, partial payments, and exceptions
Any amendment, variation, extension, advance payment, deposit, mobilization payment, partial payment, urgent release, waiver, sole-source arrangement, retroactive approval, or exceptional deviation must be documented in writing, justified, linked to the relevant procurement or finance file, approved under the Delegation of Authority, and compliant with donor and Lebanese legal requirements. No verbal instruction, informal message, or unsupported email shall override AICA’s approval and documentation requirements. -
Suspension, termination, recovery, and debarment
AICA may suspend processing, withhold payment, recover amounts, terminate the engagement, cancel the purchase order, reject deliverables, require corrective action, debar the supplier, notify donors, or take legal action where the supplier fails to deliver, submits unsupported or false claims, breaches confidentiality or safeguarding obligations, violates anti-fraud or conflict-of-interest rules, refuses audit cooperation, fails screening, requests unofficial payments, or otherwise breaches AICA policy, contract terms, donor requirements, or Lebanese law. -
Complaints, reporting, and non-retaliation
Suppliers, staff, community members, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders may report suspected fraud, bribery, corruption, safeguarding concerns, data breaches, conflicts of interest, unofficial payment requests, misconduct, retaliation, or other concerns through AICA’s approved reporting, complaints, whistleblowing, safeguarding, or compliance channels. Good-faith reporting shall be protected from retaliation. -
Governing law and dispute resolution
All supplier relationships, invoices, vendor bills, purchase orders, and contracts shall be governed by the laws of Lebanon, unless a signed donor-approved contract expressly requires another lawful arrangement. Disputes shall first be addressed through good-faith written communication between the supplier and AICA’s authorized focal point. Where unresolved, the dispute shall be escalated according to the signed contract, purchase order, AICA’s Delegation of Authority, and applicable Lebanese law. -
Controlled interpretation
These terms are intended for use on AICA Vendor Bills and related supplier-payment documents. They do not replace a signed contract, purchase order, donor agreement, or Board-approved policy. Where more than one requirement applies, AICA shall apply the stricter legal, donor, contractual, safeguarding, finance, procurement, anti-fraud, data-protection, documentation, or approval requirement.