GENERAL TERMS OF AGREEMENT  (GTA)

 

applicable to all forwarding orders as from 1 April 2012

 

 

1.

 

The time to refuse an order shall be 30 minutes from the time of its submission to the Contractor (the carrier or forwarding agent) by fax, e-mail or by post. After the lapse of the aforementioned time, the order shall be deemed accepted for fulfilment with simultaneous acceptance of its specific conditions as well as these GTA.  In the event that the Contractor refuses to accept an order after the lapse of the 30 minutes mentioned in the sentence above or cancels it (contra-entry) for reasons outside the control of the Ordering Party, the Ordering Party shall be entitled to charge the Contractor with a contractual penalty in an amount equal to the remuneration for the fulfilment of the order (the freight) and if the loss incurred by the Ordering Party or a third party that placed the order with the Ordering Party caused by refusal to accept the order or cancellation thereof exceeds the amount of the freight, the Contractor shall be obliged to compensate the said loss in full amount.

 

2.

 

The Contractor (the carrier or forwarding agent) must have a valid third party insurance policy for a Carrier or Forwarding Agent and a valid licence for the vehicle used for transportation as well as any other licences and certificates of technical tests necessary to conduct the transport in a duly manner.  In case of lack of valid documents referred to above, the Contractor may be charged with a contractual penalty in an amount equal to the value of the goods.

 

3.

 

Each case of default with loading and/or unloading on time (the so called idle time/demurrage) for reasons attributable to the Contractor must be immediately notified in writing by fax and/or e-mail and confirmed in writing by the person handling loading or unloading on the original demurrage card. For failure to comply with the above rules the Contractor shall be charged with compensation for any loss that may be caused by delay and/or shall not be paid the demurrage fee.

 

4.

 

The time for loading or unloading that is free from demurrage fees is 48 hours – applicable only to business days. Saturdays, Sundays, and banking holidays are free from demurrage fees. The demurrage fee for idle time over 48 hours on business days shall be an amount in PLN that is equivalent to EUR 100 for each commenced day, and the demurrage fee shall be paid subject to the Contractor’s written request and the original demurrage card with the demurrage time confirmed by the person handling loading or unloading.

 

5.

 

The Contractor shall not be held liable for any idle time at the Customs Office for which the Contractor is not responsible.

 

6.

 

Any problems arising in connection with the order fulfilment shall be immediately notified to the Ordering Party, or otherwise the Contractor shall be obliged to compensate any loss that may arise therefrom.

 

7.

 

The Contractor shall perform its duties as outlined in the order. Should any actions not covered in the order have to be undertaken, the Contractor shall fulfil the obligation set forth in clause 6 and shall act so as to protect the interest of the goods, with due diligence and compliance with the law in force.

 

8.

 

Upon acceptance of the goods, the Ordering Party (or a duly authorised representative) shall check if the goods delivered are intact, free from defects or external damage and compliant with attached documentation (consignment note, customs documents, etc.). In case of damage, missing elements or inadequate sealing or other protection, the Ordering Party shall be obliged to secure the Contractor’s rights towards third parties responsible for the defects identified, immediately notifying the Contractor about the fact.

 

9.

 

The Contractor must place a relevant annotation in the documents (e.g. consignment note) mentioning the defects found, e.g. inadequate packaging, missing elements or other non-conformance. Confirmation of acceptance of the goods without reservations implies that the goods upon acceptance were in the same condition as at the time of placing the order.  The Contractor shall be fully responsible for any losses resulting from lack of a relevant annotation on non-conformity with the order.

 

10.

 

The Contractor shall be responsible for adequate arrangement of the goods in the vehicle (e.g. so that to avoid axle overloading) and shall inform the Ordering Party about any problems arisen during the loading, e.g. connected with inadequate arrangement of the goods on the axles. If the Contractor fails to comply with the notification obligation referred to in the preceding sentence and if any defaults are attributable to it, the Contractor shall be financially liable for the entire loss arising therefrom.

 

11.

 

In the event of a complaint regarding the quality of the transport service performed by the Contractor or other doubts or dispute in connection therewith, the Ordering Party shall be entitled to withhold any payments to the Contractor until the contested issues and/or complaints are resolved.

 

12.

 

Additional loading or reloading of goods without written consent of the Ordering Party is strictly forbidden. In the event of violation of the above rule, the Ordering Party shall be entitled to impose on the Contractor a contractual penalty up to the amount equivalent to the material losses arisen therefrom.

 

13.

 

Any changes to, deviations from and modifications of special and general terms of the order require mutual arrangements of both parties (the Contractor and the Ordering Party), which must be confirmed in writing.  In the event of non-compliance with the above rule, any consequences resulting therefrom shall incriminate the Contractor.

 

14.

 

The Contractor shall be financially liable for all and any losses resulting from failure to perform or improper performance of the forwarding service ordered.

 

15.

 

In case of delay or failure to provide a vehicle for loading the goods or default in delivery of the goods within time specified in the order, provided that the above situations are not attributable to the Ordering Party, the Ordering Party may charge the Contractor with a contractual penalty up to 100% of the agreed remuneration for the order fulfilment (the freight), however the Ordering Party may additionally demand the Contractor to cover the resulting loss in the full amount, above the value of the agreed freight, in particular when the Ordering Party has been charged by a third party that placed the shipment order with the Ordering Party (subsequently sub-contracted to the Contractor) with a penalty exceeding the value of the freight agreed with the Contractor.

 

In such event the Ordering Party shall be entitled to automatically transfer the obligation to pay the penalty charged by its ordering party to the Contractor, which the Contractor hereby acknowledges and agrees to.

 

16.

 

If for reasons attributable to the Ordering Party the vehicle is not loaded and further fulfilment of the order is stopped despite timely provision of the vehicle for loading by Contractor, the contractual penalty that the Contractor may charge the Ordering Party with may not exceed EUR 100.

 

17.

 

Should the goods be damaged, the Contractor must immediately notify the Ordering Party and draw up a relevant protocol (note), describing the event and its causes. The aforementioned protocol (note) shall be signed by the driver and the person handling the loading/unloading.

 

 

 

18.

 

The Contractor shall be fully responsible for the persons commissioned by it to handle the order.

 

19.

 

The Contractor shall not be responsible for any losses resulting from acts or omissions of persons with whom the Contractor is not in a contractual relationship.

 

20.

 

The Contractor is forbidden to contact, directly or indirectly, the third parties that placed the order with the Ordering Party, which was subsequently sub-contracted by the Ordering Party to the Contractor. This ban applies also to the persons handling loading and unloading.  For breach of the above ban the Contractor may be charged with a contractual penalty up to EUR 10,000.

 

21.

 

For disclosure of the amount of the freight payable to the Contractor for fulfilment of the order to third parties, in particular the person handling loading or unloading, the Ordering Party may impose on the Contractor a contractual penalty in the amount of EUR 10,000.

 

22.

 

The Contractor shall not have the right to put a lien on the shipped goods, and if, however, it does put a lien on the goods, it shall be held liable for all and any losses resulting therefrom, up to the full amount.

 

23.

 

The Contractor shall collect at the loading site the original invoices, EUR1 document with stamps of the Customs Office where the customs clearance was conducted. The EUR 1 document may not be issued with an earlier date than the invoice date.

 

24.

 

The Contractor shall send the whole documentation, together with a VAT invoice, within 14 days from the order fulfilment to the Ordering Party’s address indicated in the order. A duly issued invoice must state the number of the order and the Contractor’s NIP (Tax Identification Number). If the deadline set forth in the preceding sentence is exceeded by the Contractor, the Ordering Party shall be entitled to reduce the remuneration due to the Contractor for the order fulfilment by 25%.

 

25.

 

All orders placed by the Ordering Party shall be governed by specific terms and conditions of particular orders, these General Terms of Agreement, Polish General Forwarding Rules 2010, provisions of the CMR Convention, provisions of the Civil Code, Forwarding Law and other Polish laws in matters not regulated in the above acts.

 

 

 

26.

 

Any disputes that may arise in connection with fulfilment of orders placed by the Ordering Party shall be resolved by a Polish Court competent for the registered office of the Ordering Party.

 

Terms and conditions for

CONTRACTORS