Companies are not obligated to have General Terms and Conditions. However, we would recommend them. When an entrepreneur sells products or services, he normally concludes a contract including the rules applying to the relationship between him and the costumer. As it is inefficient to negotiate each contract separately, General Terms and Conditions are an efficient solution for standard limitations.
Furthermore, it is possible to limit or even exclude liability with sound General Terms and Conditions. A clause included in the General Terms and Conditions, which limits or excludes liability, is called an exoneration clause. An exoneration clause must be drawn up correctly and its content must accurate as well. Otherwise, there is a high risk that the clause will not be (fully) valid and thus liability would not be excluded after all.
Dutch law has strict rules with respect to the use of General Terms and Conditions. To make sure your General Terms and Conditions are applicable you have to comply with these rules.