Terms of Service

1. Who we are and what these Terms cover

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website at www.buildnationuae.com and any related pages, forms, content and services we make available through it (together, the "Service"). The Service is operated by BuildNation Smart Building Materials Trading L.L.C, a company licensed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, under trade licence number Trade licence 1265951 · TRN 10488168780003 · DED, Dubai, with its registered address at Garhoud Office 101, Al Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates ("BuildNation", "we", "us", "our").

2. Acceptance

By accessing the Service, submitting a form, subscribing to a brief, creating an account or otherwise using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the Service.

Where you use the Service on behalf of a company, partnership or other legal entity, you represent that you are authorised to bind that entity, and "you" refers to that entity.

Electronic acceptance of these Terms is valid and enforceable under Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 on Electronic Transactions and Trust Services. You may print or save a copy of these Terms for your records.

3. Definitions

• "Content" means all text, product data, catalogue information, images, drawings, specifications, reports, market intelligence, project case studies and other material made available through the Service.
• "Project Owner" means a user who submits a project requirement, specification, bill of quantities, drawing or related material in order to be connected with suppliers.
• "Supplier" means a manufacturer, distributor, trader or other vendor that submits company, product, certification or commercial information to be considered for matching with Project Owners.
• "Counterparty" means a Supplier or Project Owner that you are introduced to or matched with through the Service.
• "Submission" means any information, document, drawing, file or other material you submit through the Service.
• "Intelligence" means the market and project intelligence published on the Service, including the AI Construction Pulse.

4. Eligibility and account security

The Service is intended for businesses and professional users. You must be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity to enter into binding contracts under the laws of the United Arab Emirates. The Service is not directed at children.

If you register an account, you must provide accurate, current and complete information, keep it up to date, keep your credentials and any one-time verification codes confidential, and notify us promptly at support@buildnationuae.com of any unauthorised use. You are responsible for activity carried out through your account, except to the extent caused by our own failure to apply reasonable security measures.

5. Our role — read this section carefully

5.1 We are a procurement and sourcing facilitator, not a seller

Through this website we connect Project Owners with Suppliers, assist in clarifying requirements and specifications, and help coordinate the commercial process. Any separate supply, import, distribution or delivery engagement is governed by its signed written contract, which takes precedence over these website Terms for that engagement.

5.2 We are not a party to your contract of sale

Any contract for the supply of goods or services is concluded directly between the Project Owner and the Supplier on terms agreed between them. We are not a party to that contract and assume no obligation under it.

5.3 We do not act as your agent

Except where we expressly agree otherwise in a signed written agreement, we do not act as agent, distributor, commission agent, exclusive representative or fiduciary for either party, and we have no authority to conclude contracts, make representations or grant warranties on your behalf.

5.4 Information is indicative, not an offer

Product listings, catalogue data, indicative pricing, lead times, availability, certification references and Intelligence are provided for general information only. They do not constitute an offer, a binding quotation, a warranty of availability, or a statement that a product complies with any particular standard.

5.5 We do not guarantee your Counterparty

We assess and screen Suppliers on the basis of information available to us, but we do not guarantee and are not responsible for any Counterparty's solvency, capability, capacity, quality, conformity, delivery performance, certification validity, legal compliance or willingness to perform. You remain responsible for your own due diligence, technical verification, contract negotiation and inspection arrangements.

5.6 Fees received from Suppliers

We may receive listing, subscription, introduction or success fees from Suppliers. Where we do, this does not change the allocation of responsibility in these Terms, and we will disclose the existence of such an arrangement on request.

5.7 No professional advice

Nothing in the Service constitutes legal, tax, engineering, architectural, safety, customs or financial advice. Technical specifications, conformity requirements and customs treatment must be verified with a qualified professional, the relevant authority or a licensed customs broker.

6. Your submissions

6.1 Accuracy

You are responsible for the accuracy, completeness and legality of your Submissions and for having authority to share them for the requested service. You must not submit material that is false, misleading or that you are not entitled to disclose. Confidential information is handled in accordance with our confidentiality obligations and Privacy Policy.

6.2 Authority

By submitting drawings, specifications, bills of quantities, factory data, certificates or commercial terms, you confirm that you own them or have all necessary rights, licences and consents to submit them and to permit the processing described in these Terms and in our Privacy Policy.

6.3 Licence to us

You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, translate, adapt and internally analyse your Submissions solely to the extent necessary to assess your requirement or application, match you with Counterparties, prepare and coordinate quotations, and respond to you. This licence ends when the Submissions are deleted from our systems, except for copies we must retain by law or in routine backups.

6.4 Disclosure to Counterparties

Where you submit a requirement in order to be matched, you acknowledge that we may disclose the information necessary to respond to that requirement — typically project location, category, quantity or scope, required standard, indicative timeline and technical annexes — to a limited number of shortlisted Counterparties. We minimise what is disclosed, but we cannot control how a Counterparty subsequently uses information it receives. Do not include pricing strategy, competitor-sensitive terms or personal data of third parties that is not necessary for the enquiry.

6.5 No public disclosure

Uploaded files are stored in access-controlled storage and are not made publicly accessible by us. They are not, however, a substitute for a signed non-disclosure agreement where confidentiality is commercially critical.

6.6 Retention of records

We may keep a record of your Submissions and of the matching activity carried out on your behalf for the periods described in our Privacy Policy.

7. Acceptable use

You must not:

1. use the Service for any unlawful purpose, or in breach of any applicable law in the UAE, including Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combatting Rumours and Cybercrimes;
2. submit false, forged, altered or expired certificates, test reports, licences or company documents;
3. impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation or authority;
4. access, scrape, crawl, harvest or extract data by automated means, or circumvent rate limits, authentication or access controls, without our prior written consent;
5. reverse engineer, decompile or attempt to derive the source code of the Service, except as permitted by mandatory law;
6. introduce malware, or interfere with the integrity, security or performance of the Service;
7. infringe intellectual property, confidentiality or privacy rights of any person;
8. upload content that is defamatory, obscene, discriminatory, or that promotes violence, terrorism or unlawful discrimination;
9. use the Service to offer, sell or facilitate goods that are counterfeit, stolen, prohibited, subject to sanctions, or that require a licence you do not hold;
10. use contact details obtained through the Service to send unsolicited bulk communications contrary to applicable law;
11. offer or accept any bribe, improper payment, facilitation payment or improper advantage in connection with the Service, contrary to applicable anti-bribery laws including the UAE Penal Code (Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021).

We may investigate suspected breaches, suspend or terminate access, remove content, and report matters to the competent authorities where we are required or entitled to do so.

8. Supplier-specific obligations

If you submit information as a Supplier, you additionally represent, warrant and undertake that:

1. your company, factory and products exist and operate as described, and all certification, test and audit documents are genuine, current and issued by the body named in them;
2. your products conform to the specifications you state and to any mandatory UAE technical regulation and conformity assessment requirement applicable to the products and their intended use, including requirements administered by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology;
3. you hold all licences, registrations and export or import authorisations required for the products and destinations concerned, and you comply with applicable export control, sanctions and customs laws;
4. pricing, minimum order quantities, lead times and payment terms you provide are capable of being honoured, and you will notify us promptly if they change materially;
5. you will not use information about a Project Owner or its project for any purpose other than responding to the enquiry, and will not contact a Project Owner for unrelated marketing;
6. you will not offer or pay any commission, kickback or improper advantage to any employee, representative or associate of a Project Owner or of BuildNation.

We may verify, suspend or remove any Supplier profile, and may decline to introduce a Supplier, at our discretion and without liability, where information cannot be substantiated or where we consider the commercial or compliance risk unacceptable.

9. Fees, taxes and payment

Access to the Service and submission of a project requirement are currently free of charge. Certain Supplier services, listings or introductions may be chargeable. Where a fee applies, we will tell you the amount, the scope and the payment terms in writing before you incur it, and any additional terms we provide will form part of these Terms.

Unless stated otherwise, all fees are exclusive of VAT. Where VAT applies under Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017, we will charge and invoice VAT at the applicable rate, currently 5%. Fees are non-refundable except where these Terms, a separate written agreement, or mandatory applicable law provides otherwise.

We may change our fees on not less than thirty (30) days' prior written notice. Changes do not affect fees already agreed for a fixed term.

10. Intellectual property

10.1 Our content

The Service, its design, structure, databases, software, trade marks, logos and all Content we create — including written analysis, project case studies, category taxonomies and the Intelligence — are owned by or licensed to BuildNation and are protected by UAE and international intellectual property laws.

10.2 Limited licence to you

We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the Service and to view, download and print individual pages for your internal business evaluation. You may not republish, resell, sublicense, systematically extract, create a derivative database from, or use the Content to train or fine-tune any machine learning model, without our prior written consent.

10.3 Third-party material

Content, data, statistics, images and reports sourced from third parties remain the property of their respective publishers and are used for reference, commentary or reporting purposes. Attribution is given where the source is identified. Inclusion of third-party material does not imply endorsement by, or affiliation with, the publisher.

10.4 Your material

You retain ownership of your Submissions. We acquire only the licence described in clause 6.3.

10.5 Feedback

If you send us suggestions or feedback, we may use them without restriction or obligation to you, provided we do not identify you as the source without your consent.

11. Market intelligence and AI-assisted content

Parts of the Service, including the AI Construction Pulse, are produced with the assistance of automated and AI-based tools that summarise, classify and translate publicly available information and third-party reports. Such content:

1. may be incomplete, out of date, mistranslated, or may attribute a statement to the wrong source;
2. reflects information available at the time of publication and is not updated retrospectively;
3. is provided for general market awareness only, and must not be relied upon as the sole basis for a procurement, pricing, investment, engineering, regulatory or contractual decision;
4. does not constitute a statement of fact by us about any project, tender, budget, price, party or authority.

You must independently verify any figure, date, party name, standard or regulatory position before acting on it.

12. Third-party websites and services

The Service may link to, or embed content from, websites and services operated by third parties. We do not control them, do not endorse them, and are not responsible for their content, availability, security or privacy practices. Your dealings with a third party, including a Counterparty introduced through the Service, are solely between you and that third party.

13. Confidentiality

Each party may receive information that the other treats as confidential, including project drawings, specifications, pricing, factory data and commercial terms ("Confidential Information"). The receiving party will use Confidential Information only for the purposes of the Service, will protect it with at least reasonable care, and will disclose it only to personnel and professional advisers who need it and are bound by equivalent obligations.

These obligations do not apply to information that is or becomes public through no breach, was already lawfully known to the recipient, is independently developed without use of the Confidential Information, or must be disclosed by law, court order or a competent authority — in which case the recipient will, where lawfully possible, give prompt notice.

Where confidentiality is commercially critical, the parties should sign a separate written non-disclosure agreement, which will prevail over this clause to the extent of any inconsistency.

14. Privacy and personal data

We process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which is available at /privacy and forms part of these Terms. Our processing is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data and, where applicable, the data protection regime of the free zone in which we are established.

Where you provide personal data of another individual (for example, a colleague's name, email address or phone number), you confirm that you have a lawful basis to do so and that you have provided them with the information required by applicable law.

15. Disclaimers

The Service is provided on an "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we disclaim all warranties, conditions and representations, express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, quiet enjoyment, title and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, error-free, secure or free of viruses; that defects will be corrected; or that any Content, listing, price, certification reference or Intelligence is accurate, complete or current.

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any right or remedy you have under mandatory applicable law, including consumer protection legislation, that cannot lawfully be excluded.

16. Limitation of liability

16.1

Subject to clause 16.3, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential loss, or for any loss of profit, revenue, anticipated savings, business opportunity, goodwill, production, contract or data, arising out of or in connection with the Service, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), statute or otherwise, even if we were advised of the possibility of such loss.

16.2

Subject to clause 16.3, our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with the Service or these Terms in any twelve (12) month period is limited to the greater of: (a) the total fees you paid to us in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim; and (b) AED 10,000.

16.3 Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for

(a) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; (b) wilful misconduct or gross negligence; (c) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (d) breach of confidentiality or of our data protection obligations; (e) infringement of your intellectual property rights by Content we created; or (f) any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable UAE law.

16.4

We are not responsible for the acts, omissions, products, pricing, delays, defects or non-performance of any Counterparty, carrier, customs authority, certification body or other third party.

16.5

Where you are a consumer, nothing in this clause affects your statutory rights, and the limitations apply only to the extent permitted by the consumer protection legislation applicable to you.

17. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless BuildNation, its directors, officers, employees and agents against any claim, loss, liability, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your Submissions, including any allegation that they infringe intellectual property, confidentiality or privacy rights; (c) your breach of applicable law, including export control, sanctions, anti-bribery or product conformity requirements; or (d) any contract concluded between you and a Counterparty.

This does not apply to the extent the claim arises from our own breach, negligence or wilful misconduct.

18. Suspension and termination

We may suspend, restrict or terminate your access to the Service, in whole or in part, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe that you have breached these Terms, that your conduct creates legal, regulatory, security or reputational risk, that information you provided cannot be substantiated, or that we are required to do so by law or by a competent authority.

You may stop using the Service at any time and may request deletion of your account and Submissions as described in our Privacy Policy.

Clauses which by their nature should survive termination — including clauses 5, 6.4, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 21 — will continue to apply.

19. Changes to the Service and to these Terms

We may modify, suspend or discontinue any part of the Service. We may also update these Terms from time to time. Where a change materially affects your rights or obligations, we will give notice on the Service or by email at least fourteen (14) days before it takes effect, unless a shorter period is required by law or by a regulatory or security necessity. The date of the latest revision is shown at the top of this page. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms; if you do not agree, you must stop using the Service.

20. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for failure or delay in performing an obligation (other than a payment obligation) to the extent caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including acts of government, regulatory action, suspension of ports, customs clearance, epidemic, natural disaster, war, civil unrest, industrial action, failure of utilities or telecommunications, or cyber attack not attributable to that party's failure to maintain reasonable safeguards. The affected party will notify the other promptly and use reasonable efforts to resume performance.

21. Governing law and dispute resolution

21.1 Governing law

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them, including their formation, interpretation, breach or termination, are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates as applied in the Emirate of Dubai, excluding any rules that would refer the matter to another law. Where mandatory provisions apply (including the Consumer Protection Law and the Personal Data Protection Law), those provisions prevail.

21.2 Amicable settlement

Before commencing proceedings, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute through senior-level discussion for a period of thirty (30) days from written notice of the dispute.

21.3 Jurisdiction

Subject to clause 21.4, the courts of Dubai have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms, and each party irrevocably submits to that jurisdiction.

21.4

Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking urgent interim or injunctive relief from any court of competent jurisdiction, or from bringing a claim in any court that has mandatory jurisdiction under applicable law (including a consumer's right to bring proceedings in the courts of their place of residence where the law so provides).

21.5

Where the parties have separately agreed in writing to refer a matter to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, that agreement will prevail over clause 21.3 for that matter.

22. Notices

Notices to us must be sent to support@buildnationuae.com, and legal notices additionally by courier to our registered address. Notices to you may be sent to the email address associated with your account or submission, or published on the Service. Notice is deemed received on the next business day after sending by email, or five (5) business days after dispatch by courier.

23. General

23.1 Severability

If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions continue in full force.

23.2 No waiver

A failure or delay in exercising a right is not a waiver of that right.

23.3 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign them to an affiliate or to a successor in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring or transfer of assets, on notice to you.

23.4 Entire agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any separate written agreement signed by both parties, constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to the Service and supersede prior discussions and representations, except that nothing limits liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.

23.5 No partnership

Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, employment or agency relationship between the parties.

23.6 Language

These Terms are drafted in English and translated into Chinese for convenience. The English version prevails in the event of any inconsistency. Where mandatory applicable law requires that a contract with a consumer be in Arabic, or that an Arabic version prevail, the Arabic version will prevail to that extent.

23.7 Electronic records

You agree that these Terms, notices and records may be created, stored and communicated electronically, and that electronic records satisfy any requirement for writing under Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021.

24. Contact

Questions about these Terms: support@buildnationuae.com. Privacy and data protection: support@buildnationuae.com. Postal: Garhoud Office 101, Al Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.