GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE TRANSPORT OF GOODS
These General Conditions are available to our Clients both at the offices of Aduanas, Logística, Transportes e Intermediación en Unidades de Servicio, S.A. (ALTIUS, S.A.) and on our website www.grupoaltius.com.
1.- SCOPE OF APPLICATION
These General Conditions shall be applicable to all freight forwarding services requested from Aduanas, Logística, Transportes e Intermediación en Unidades de Servicio, S.A. (ALTIUS, S.A.), with address at Muelle de Reparaciones de Bouzas s/n, 36208 - Vigo, Spain (hereinafter, the "Forwarding Agent") and Fiscal Identification Code A-82303769, and this regardless of the means used to request them (whether by telephone, by tele/fax, by e-mail or by any other means). This is without prejudice to those multimodal transport contracts in which it is expressly stated that they are subject to the General Terms and Conditions of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations and Allied Trades (FIATA).
2.- DEFINITIONS.
"Forwarding agent". The activity of ALTIUS is defined as that of a Freight Forwarder: that which consists, fundamentally, in the organization of the transport of goods and other related activities. In order to carry out the transport, ALTIUS may use all types of means of transport, and sub-agents, which may be contracted in the name and on behalf of the Client.
"Client": The person who has contracted the Freight Forwarder services and is obliged to pay for the provision of these services. In the case of two different entities (one contracting the services and the other paying for them), both shall always and in all cases be jointly and severally liable for the full payment of the services provided by ALTIUS.
3.- ACCEPTANCE.
The Client expressly agrees to submit any service contracted with the Forwarder to these General Terms and Conditions, even if no specific reference to these General Terms and Conditions is made in the service request.
The General Terms and Conditions shall be mentioned in the Forwarder's offers or proposals. Their content shall at all times be available to the Client as stated above.
The Client also undertakes to inform third parties who may have contracted with him of the existence, validity, validity and acceptance of these General Terms and Conditions.
In the event of non-acceptance of these General Terms and Conditions, the Client must expressly, in writing and unequivocally notify the Freight Forwarder immediately after the first offer or proposal received. Seven days after receipt of these General Terms and Conditions without any declaration to the contrary by the Freight Forwarder, the General Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to be validly incorporated into the contractual relationship between the parties.
4.- GENERAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE CLIENT
The Client shall pay the Freight Forwarder the price for the services rendered in accordance with the terms contained in the latter's offer or proposal. In the event of late payment, the Client shall be liable to pay the Freight Forwarder interest for late payment equivalent to the legal interest rate in force at any given time, increased by two percentage points. The Client shall also be liable for any damage caused to the Freight Forwarder or its agents as a result of the delay, including any possible damage due to currency fluctuations, bank charges incurred and any other financial damage suffered as a result of such delay. The Client expressly waives any right of retention or set-off on the sums due to the Freight Forwarder.
4.2.- The Client guarantees the Forwarder:
- The accuracy of the declaration of the goods as regards their characteristics, description, markings, number, quantity, weight and volume.
- The suitability and aptitude of both the goods themselves and their packaging for the correct performance of the contracted service.
- The consideration, if applicable, of the nature of the goods being flammable, explosive or of hazardous nature, and submitting their corresponding safety data sheet. The Client and/or the sender are solely responsible for complying with current legislation, both in terms of packaging, documentation, markings, consignment notes and any other requirement that may be necessary for the transport of the aforementioned goods.
- Timely compliance with prior information and documentation requirements necessary for the export and/or import of the goods to the country of destination, as may be required in due course by competent authorities.
In any case, the Client shall be liable for all losses, damages, breakdowns, penalties and/or expenses that the Forwarder or a third party may incur as a result of omissions, inaccuracies or delays in the information provided by the Client and/or defective or inadequate packaging, expressly including, where applicable, any extraordinary costs generated by the need to reorganise or redesign the contracted services.
In addition, the Freight Forwarder reserves the right to make, at the time of receipt of the goods, any reservations it deems appropriate or necessary. In the event of omission or insufficient information, the Freight Forwarder shall also be authorised, prior to unloading and in accordance with the circumstances, to unload, destroy or neutralise the goods, and shall be exempt from any liability for this reason and without the Client or the consignee of the goods being entitled to any compensation whatsoever in this regard.
5.- GENERAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE FREIGHT FORWARDER.
5.1 The Freight Forwarder undertakes to organize at their own discretion the transport, handling, hauling and storage of the goods entrusted to them, in the most appropriate manner and with due diligence, unless they receive express instructions from the Client as to how to organize any of the aforementioned services.
5.2.- For the purposes of organising the services described in paragraph 5.1 above, and unless otherwise instructed by the Client, the Freight Forwarder may select and contract with third parties acting in their capacity as freight forwarders, carriers, warehouse operators, customs agents and others required for the transport, storage, handling and delivery of goods, all of which shall be considered independent agents of the Freight Forwarder. The Freight Forwarder shall, as far as possible, contract the provision of such services with those companies or firms that are subject to the International Agreements in force.
Goods shall be entrusted to such third parties subject to such terms and conditions, such as limitations of liability for loss, damage, expense or delay in delivery, as are set forth in the waybills, bills of lading and receipts issued by such forwarders, carriers, warehouse operators and others.
6.- LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
ALTIUS shall only be liable to the Customer or to a third party for loss and/or damage to the goods resulting from a breach of its contractual obligations. In any case, such liability, as well as any other liability that may arise from a delay in the delivery of the goods, shall be limited to the amounts resulting from applying to each specific case the carrier's own liability limits of the regulations applicable to each mode of transport, the sum of which may never exceed the total value of the goods.
The regulations applicable to each mode of transport shall be as follows:
- National maritime transport: Law 14/2014, of 24 July, on Maritime Navigation.
- International Shipping: Hague-Visby regulations (Brussels International Convention of August 25, 1924, for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bills of Lading, as amended by the 1968 and 1979 Protocols). However, when the shipping line Bill of Lading alludes to the US COSGA, in shipments to or from the United States, then the provisions set forth in said Act shall govern under the terms set forth in that same Bill of Lading.
- National land transport and multimodal transport: Law 15/2009, of 11 November, on the contract of land transport of goods.
- International land transport: Convention governing the contract for the international carriage of goods by road (CMR), done at Geneva on 19 May 1956, and its Protocol of 5 June 1978.
- National air transport: Law 48/1960 of 21 July 1960 on Air Navigation and subsequent revisions.
- International Carriage by Air: Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, done at Montreal on 28 May 1999.
- National rail transport: Law 15/2009 of 11 November 2009 on the contract of land transport of goods.
- International rail transport: Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) of 9 May 1980, together with its protocols and subsequent amendments.
7.- EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITY.
ALTIUS shall be exonerated from any liability if the damage and/or loss claimed against it originates from information provided by the customer, or from instructions given by the latter, or from operations carried out by him or by his subcontractors. Likewise, ALTIUS will be exonerated from any damage and/or harm that may take place outside the period of custody assumed by ALTIUS, or when it occurs within the scope of operations not carried out by ALTIUS. Likewise, ALTIUS will be exonerated from liability in cases of force majeure, and in any other case regulated by current regulations applicable in each specific case.
In no event and under no circumstances shall ALTIUS be liable for any damages and/or losses related to loss of profits and/or customers, penalties, taxes, fees, fines, penalty clauses and/or linked to customer contracts with third parties, depreciation of goods and/or currency exchange fluctuations.
8.- INSURANCE.
8.1.- The Freight Forwarder shall not insure against loss or damage that may be caused to the goods during handling, storage or transport, unless specifically instructed to do so in writing by the Client. In which case, the Freight Forwarder shall take out the appropriate insurance on behalf of the Client.
8.2.- In the event that insurance coverage has been taken out at the request of the Client:
8.2.1.- The terms and conditions of the insurance shall be those set out in the insurance policy contracted, which shall be available to the Client at his express request.
8.2.2.- The Freight Forwarder shall not be held responsible for any possible disputes or claims that may arise between the Client and the insurance company contracted as a result of the insurance of the goods.
8.2.3.- In order to calculate the value to be insured, the Client must take into account all costs affecting the goods, including the costs at destination and the delivery of the goods to the place of destination.
9.- COMPLAINTS.-
9.1 At the time of delivery of the goods, the consignees must verify the conditions in which the goods are found, as well as that the quantity, number and weight of the packages correspond to the data stated in the transport documentation, and must immediately inform the Freight Forwarder of any apparent defect or loss in any part.
9.2.- In the event that any irregularity, damage and/or loss is not immediately observed by the receiver of the goods, he/she must state his/her reservations in writing in accordance with the terms, deadlines and conditions established in the regulations applicable to each mode of transport and which are detailed in General Condition 6.
9.3.- The time limits for initiating an action against the Forwarder shall be those established in the regulations applicable to each mode of transport and which are set out in General Condition 6.
Under no circumstances may payment of invoices due to the Freight Forwarder, including costs and expenses, be withheld as a result of claims or claims arising from reservations made by the Client for alleged loss or damage to the goods.
10.- RIGHT OF RETENTION
Irrespective of any reason whatsoever, the Forwarder has the right in general and in particular to retain the transported goods of Clients who have not paid the sums due to them for the services entrusted to him. He may assert this right by any means he deems appropriate and admissible under the law.
The Client shall be liable for any damage or deterioration suffered by the goods, especially if they are perishable, due to the right of retention or notarial proceedings that the Freight Forwarder or his agents have had to carry out.
If the goods are lost or destroyed, the Freight Forwarder shall have the same rights as mentioned above with respect to compensation paid by insurance companies, transport companies or others.
11.- CURRENT LAW AND JURISDICTION.
The services contracted and/or rendered by the Forwarder are subject to current Spanish law, and any dispute arising from or related to them shall be ultimately settled by the ordinary Spanish courts having jurisdiction.
The only exception to this general rule will occur when: (i) the services contracted and/or provided by the Forwarder are related to international maritime transport and, in addition, (ii) the entity with which Altius maintains the dispute is foreign (non-Spanish). In the event of both circumstances, there will be a submission to the English Law in force and the disputes will be resolved by Arbitration in London under the terms of LMAA (London Maritime Arbitrators Association)..
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in transports to or from the United States, the provisions of the US COGSA shall apply in accordance with the terms contained in the bills of lading of the respective shipping lines.
12.- INDEPENDENCE.
The terms of these General Terms and Conditions are independent of each other. In the event that any part of these Terms and Conditions is declared invalid by a judge or institution of sufficient competence and capacity, the remaining terms of these Terms and Conditions shall remain in full force and effect.