Foreword
AnimalLogistics FRA GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “we” or “freight forwarder”) is a specialist freight forwarder specializing in the transport of live animals, products of animal and plant origin, and living plants. Within Germany, the sensitive goods are transported in appropriate vehicles from the loading point to the airport or from the airport to the delivery point by us or companies commissioned by us. We and any companies commissioned by us have all the appropriate transport authorizations from the relevant authorities. For transport to the destination country, we use aircraft from airlines that are also approved for the transport of animals as live cargo (AVI). However, this does not apply to all airlines, so we do not use these airlines. For the transport of goods other than live animals, we may not use certain airlines. Abroad, we also use specialist freight forwarders who meet all official requirements in the respective country and who we trust to handle these sensitive transports.
Explanation of terms
1. Delivery
The term delivery also includes delivery in the case of warehouse transactions.
2. Client
The legal entity that concludes a transport contract with the freight forwarder.
3. Goods at risk of theft
Goods that are exposed to an increased risk of robbery and theft, such as money, precious metals, jewelry, watches, precious stones, works of art, antiques, check cards, credit cards or other means of payment, securities, valuables, documents, spirits, tobacco products, entertainment electronics, telecommunications equipment, IT equipment and accessories, chip cards and all goods with a value of 100 euros per kg or more.
4. Recipient
The legal entity to whom the goods are to be delivered in accordance with the transport contract or based on effective instructions from the client or another authorized person.
5. Vehicle
A means of transport used to transport goods on roads.
6. Dangerous goods
Goods that can pose an immediate danger to people, vehicles and the legal interests of third parties even during normal transport, storage or other activities. Dangerous goods are in particular goods that are covered by the dangerous goods laws and regulations as well as hazardous substance, water or waste regulations.
7. Loading equipment
Means for combining packages and forming loading units, e.g. pallets, containers, swap bodies, containers.
8. Loading point/unloading point
The postal address, unless the parties have agreed on a more precise location.
9. Time of performance
The time (date, time) at which a specific service is to be provided, e.g. a time window or a point in time.
10. Packages
Individual items or units formed by the client to process the order with and without loading equipment, which the freight forwarder must handle as a whole (freight items within the meaning of §§ 409, 431, 504 HGB).
11. Damage case / damage event
A damage case occurs when an injured party asserts a claim from a transport contract or instead of a transport contract claim due to an external event; a damage event occurs when several injured parties assert claims from several transport contracts due to an external event.
12. Interface
After the goods have been taken over and before they are delivered by the freight forwarder, every transfer of the goods from one legal entity to another, every reloading from one vehicle to another, every (intermediate) storage.
13. Freight forwarder
The legal entity that concludes a transport contract with the client. Freight forwarders in this sense are in particular freight carriers within the meaning of Section 407 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), forwarders within the meaning of Section 453 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), warehouse keepers within the meaning of Section 467 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) and carriers within the meaning of Sections 481 and 527 of the German Commercial Code (HGB).
14. Transport contracts
Freight forwarder contracts for all types of activities, regardless of whether they concern forwarding, freight, sea freight, warehousing or other business that is usually part of the forwarding industry (e.g. customs clearance, shipment tracking, transshipment). These also include standard logistical services provided by forwarding companies if they are related to the transport or storage of goods, in particular activities such as the formation of loading units, picking, labelling and weighing of goods and returns processing. Contract transport contracts for the provision of manned motor vehicles are also considered freight contracts.
15. Shipper
The legal entity that hands over the goods for transport in accordance with the transport contract or on the basis of effective instructions.
16. Essential contractual obligations
Obligations whose fulfilment enables the proper implementation of the transport contract and on whose compliance the contractual partner can regularly rely.
17. Valuable goods
Goods with an actual value at the place and time of acceptance of at least 100 euros/kg.
18. Time slot
Agreed performance period for the arrival of the freight forwarder at the loading or unloading point.
19. Time
Agreed time of performance for the arrival of the Freight Forwarder at the place of loading or unloading.
§1 Scope of application
1. the GTC apply to all transport contracts that we execute as a contractor. 2. statutory provisions from which no deviation is permitted by way of pre-formulated contractual conditions shall take precedence over the GTC.
§2 Obligations of the client when placing an order; information obligations, special types of goods
1. the principal shall inform the freight forwarder in good time of all significant factors known to him which may influence the execution of the order. These include
1.1. addresses, type and condition of the goods, the gross weight (including packaging and loading equipment provided by the principal) or the otherwise specified quantity, markings, numbers, number and type of packages, special characteristics of the goods (such as live animals, plants, perishability), the value of the goods (e.g. for customs purposes or insurance of the goods according to §20), and delivery times.
1.2 All obligations under public law, e.g. customs law, foreign trade law (in particular embargoes relating to goods, persons or countries) and security law.
2. the client is obliged to co-operate. He shall provide all necessary and commonly used information when placing the order. Copies of documents shall be provided as soon as possible, at the latest with the original shipment. The client shall ensure the accuracy of the information and documents. If separate deadlines for the submission of documents and information are specified for orders, the client shall ensure that the deadlines are met or, in prior consultation with us, shall bear the costs.
3. in the case of dangerous goods, the client must inform us in good time in text form of the quantity, the exact nature of the danger and – if necessary – the precautionary measures to be taken. In the case of dangerous goods within the meaning of the law on the transport of dangerous goods or other goods whose transport or storage is subject to special dangerous goods or waste regulations, the client must provide the information required for the proper execution of the order, in particular the classification according to the relevant dangerous goods law, and hand over the necessary documents at the latest when the goods are handed over.
4. in the case of valuable goods or goods at risk of theft, the client must inform us in text form in the order about the type and value of the goods and the existing risk, so that we can decide whether to accept the order or take appropriate measures to ensure that the order is processed safely and without damage. If we accept this order, we are obliged to take suitable security measures to protect the goods.
5. the customer must provide us with all documents and other records and information (e.g. tariff classification) which are necessary in particular for the proper customs or other legally prescribed handling – including security checks, e.g. for air freight shipments – of the goods.
§4 Rights and duties
1. we shall safeguard the interests of the client. We shall inspect the order placed with us for obvious defects and notify the client immediately of all hazardous circumstances known to us for the execution of the order.
2. we shall deploy reliable, professionally trained, suitable and properly employed driving personnel in accordance with the activity and, if necessary, with a driver’s licence.
3. we must comply with any house, company or construction site rules applicable on third-party premises and made known to us. § Section 419 HGB remains unaffected.
4. if we are commissioned with the cross-border transport of the goods or the import or export clearance, this order shall in case of doubt also include the customs or other legally prescribed handling of the goods if the cross-border transport to the place of destination cannot be carried out without it. We are authorised to do so:
4.1. open packaging if this is necessary for the purpose of carrying out a legally prescribed inspection (e.g. freight forwarder as regulated agent) and subsequently take all measures necessary for order processing, e.g. repackaging the goods.
4.2.interpret the customs duties.
4.3 In the event of damage to the goods or delays, we shall, at the request of the client or consignee, immediately provide him with all information necessary to secure claims for damages and known to him. 5.
5. a prohibition of transhipment (§ 486 HGB does not apply) is excluded.
6. returns, transhipments and concealed additional shipments are permitted. If, in deviation from the order, the client hands over one or more additional packages for transport and we accept this or these packages for transport, we and the client shall conclude a new transport contract for these goods. In the case of returns or concealed additional loads, the provisions of the original transport contract shall apply in the absence of deviating agreements.
7. further service and information obligations, e.g. regarding quality management measures and their compliance (audits) as well as monitoring and evaluation systems and key performance indicators, require express agreement.
§5 Contact person, electronic communication and documents
1. at the request of a contracting party, each contracting party shall designate one or more contact persons for the receipt of information, declarations and enquiries for the execution of the contract and shall provide the names and contact addresses of the other party. This information shall be updated in the event of changes. If a party does not designate a contact person, the person who concluded the transport contract for the party shall be deemed to be the contact person. Information obligations that go beyond the law, e.g. regarding measures taken by us in the event of disruptions, in particular an imminent delay in acceptance or delivery, in the event of obstacles to transport or delivery, damage to the goods or other disruptions (emergency concept), require express agreement.
2. in the absence of an express agreement, contractual declarations by the warehouse and transport personnel shall require the authorisation of the respective contracting party in order to be effective.
3. the client must ensure that the shipper or consignee makes the declarations required at the loading or unloading point for the execution of the transport contract on behalf of the client and carries out actual actions, such as the handover or acceptance of the goods.
4. if this has been agreed between the client and us, the parties shall transmit or receive consignment data, including invoicing, by EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)/DFÜ (remote data transmission). The transmitting party shall bear the risk for the loss, completeness and correctness of the transmitted data.
5. in the case of an agreement pursuant to §5(4), the parties shall ensure that their own IT system is operational and that the usual security and control measures are implemented to protect the electronic data exchange from access by third parties and to prevent the alteration, loss or destruction of electronically transmitted data. Each party is obliged to notify the other party in good time of any changes to its IT system that may affect the electronic data exchange.
6. electronically or digitally created documents, in particular proof of delivery, are equivalent to written documents. In addition, each party is authorised to archive written documents only electronically or digitally and to destroy the originals in compliance with the statutory provisions.
§6 Packaging and labelling obligations of the client
1. the goods must be packed by the client and, where necessary, labelled clearly and durably with signs indicating that they have been handled in accordance with the order. Old labels must be removed or made unrecognisable. The same applies to packages.
2. furthermore, the client is obliged
2.1. to label packages belonging to the same consignment so that they are recognisable as belonging together.
2.2 If loading or unloading takes place at more than one loading or unloading point, we shall ensure that the load is secured continuously up to the last unloading point after the goods have been loaded safely for transport.
§7 Receipt
1. we confirm acceptance of the goods – if necessary with reservations – with a receipt. In case of doubt, we only confirm the number and type of packages with the acceptance receipt, but not their content, value, weight or otherwise specified quantity.
2. as proof of delivery, we shall obtain a delivery receipt from the consignee for the packages specified in the order or in other accompanying documents. If the recipient refuses to issue the delivery receipt, we shall arrange for the return transport at the expense of the customer.
3. for deliveries within Germany, we will contact the recipient in advance. If the recipient cannot be contacted, delivery will only be made when the recipient can be contacted. Any resulting costs shall be borne by the client.
4. the client may demand the handover of the delivery receipt within one year of delivery of the goods.
5. all signed documents proving the execution of the order, such as delivery notes, forwarder’s acceptance notes, freight and sea waybills, consignment notes or bills of lading, shall serve as acceptance or delivery receipts.
6. the acceptance or delivery receipt can also be issued electronically or digitally, unless the client requests the issue of a freight or sea waybill, consignment note or bill of lading.
§8 Instructions
We undertake to comply with any instruction given to us after conclusion of the contract regarding the goods in return for payment, unless the execution of the instruction threatens to cause disadvantages for the operation of his company or damage to the clients or recipients of other consignments. If we intend not to comply with an instruction given to us, we must inform the party who gave the instruction immediately.
§9 Freight transfer, cash on delivery
The client’s notification that the order is to be dispatched freight collect or, for example, executed in accordance with the Incoterms for the account of the consignee or a third party, shall not affect the client’s obligation to us to bear the remuneration and other expenses (freight, customs duties and other charges). COD instructions e.g. according to § 422 HGB, Art. 21 CMR remain unaffected.
§10 Non-compliance with loading and unloading times, demurrage charge
1. if the client has to load or unload the goods, he is obliged to comply with the agreed, otherwise a reasonable loading or unloading time.
2. if a time or time window is agreed or notified by us for the provision of a vehicle for road transport, the loading or unloading time shall be a maximum of 30 minutes for loading or unloading, irrespective of the number of consignments per loading or unloading point.
3. the loading or unloading time begins with the arrival of the road vehicle at the loading or unloading point (e.g. notification to the gatekeeper) and ends when the client or recipient has fully met their obligations. If a specific performance time has been agreed for the provision of the road vehicle at the loading or unloading point, the loading or unloading time shall not begin before the time agreed for the provision.
4. if the loading or unloading time is exceeded due to contractual agreement or for reasons that are not attributable to our sphere of risk, the client must pay an appropriate demurrage charge of at least 60 euros per hour or part thereof.
§11 Impediments to performance, force majeure
1. if we cannot take over the goods or cannot take them over in time, we will inform the client or shipper immediately and obtain appropriate instructions. § Section 419 HGB shall apply accordingly.
2. impediments to performance which are not attributable to the sphere of risk of a contracting party shall release the contracting parties from their performance obligations for the duration of the disruption and the extent of its effect. Such impediments to performance include force majeure, civil unrest, acts of war or terrorism, strikes and lockouts, blockage of transport routes and other unforeseeable, unavoidable and serious events. In the event of an impediment to performance, each contracting party is obliged to inform the other party immediately.
§12 Delivery
1. if it becomes apparent after arrival at the unloading point that unloading cannot be carried out within the unloading time, we shall notify the client of this immediately and obtain appropriate instructions. § Section 419 HGB shall apply.
2. if we are unable to comply with the agreed performance time or – in the absence of an agreement – a reasonable time for delivery of the goods, we must obtain instructions from our client or the consignee.
3. if the recipient is not found in his home, in the business premises or in a communal facility in which the recipient lives, the goods may be delivered, unless there are obvious doubts as to his authorisation to receive them, if the following persons are involved:
3.1.In the home to an adult family member, a person employed by the family or an adult permanent flatmate.
3.2 In business premises to a person employed there.
3.3 In communal facilities to the manager of the facility or an authorised representative.
4. deliveries without physical takeover by the recipient or another authorised person, e.g. overnight, garage or conveyor belt deliveries, are expressly excluded. 5. deliveries may only be made under the supervision of the client, recipient or a third party authorised to receive the goods (§13 (3)).
§13 Duty of the freight forwarder to provide information and surrender
1. we undertake to provide the client with the necessary information, to provide information on the status of the transaction on request and to render an account after its execution; we are expressly not obliged to disclose the costs.
§14 Storage
As a matter of principle, we do not store live animals and all your other sensitive goods ourselves, but use specialist companies such as the Frankfurt Animal Lounge or the Perishable Centre at Frankfurt am Main Airport and similar companies. We have already calculated the corresponding costs in our quotations. If you require accommodation for your animals for a longer period of time, we use paw hotels near the airport.
§15 Remuneration
1 The agreed remuneration, which includes the costs of transport and storage, shall cover all services to be provided under the transport contract. Additional claims for costs incurred in the regular course of transport or storage and foreseeable at the time of submission of the offer cannot be asserted separately, unless otherwise agreed. Calculation errors shall be borne by the calculator. §§ Sections 412, 418, 419, 491, 492, 588 to 595 HGB and comparable regulations from international agreements remain unaffected. 2.
2. the client undertakes to settle the costs immediately in accordance with the offer. If the client issues instructions during the execution of the order, the client shall bear any costs incurred in full.
3. if costs are incurred for which we are not responsible, the client shall bear these.
(4) Unless otherwise agreed, full payment must be made at the latest when the goods are handed over.
5. if it has been agreed that the recipient will pay for the transport and the recipient does not honour the payment, the client is obliged to pay.
6. if payment by invoice is agreed, the term of payment printed on the invoice must be observed.
7. we offer various methods of payment. Should the payment methods selected by the payer entail additional costs, these shall be borne by the payer.
§16 Claims for expenses and indemnification
(1) We shall be entitled to compensation for expenses which he may consider necessary under the circumstances and for which he is not responsible, in particular contributions to average procedures, detention or demurrage costs, repackaging to protect the goods.
2. if the customer instructs us to take delivery of his goods and freight, cash on delivery, customs duties, taxes or other charges or expenses are demanded upon delivery to us, we shall be entitled, but not obliged, to pay these – insofar as we were entitled to consider them necessary in the circumstances – and to demand reimbursement from the customer, unless otherwise agreed.
§ 17 Invoices, foreign currencies
1. our claims for remuneration require the receipt of an invoice or payment schedule that fulfils the statutory requirements. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the due date does not require the submission of proof of delivery in the case of undisputed delivery.
2. our invoices and prices are expressed in euros. We do not accept foreign currencies.
3. if we owe foreign currency or interpret foreign currency, we shall be entitled to demand payment either in the foreign currency or in euros. If we demand payment in euros, the conversion shall be made at the official exchange rate on the day of payment.
4. payment processing by credit note procedure must be expressly agreed. In case of doubt, the client must issue credit notes immediately after performance.
§18 Offsetting, retention
Offsetting or retention against claims arising from the transport contract and related non-contractual claims is only permitted if the counterclaim is due, undisputed, ready for judgement or legally established.
§19 Lien and right of retention
1. the freight forwarder may invoke the statutory rights of lien and retention to which he is entitled to secure his claims arising from contractual transport services.
2. the realisation of the lien shall be carried out in accordance with the statutory provisions, provided that
2.1.When exercising the statutory right of lien of the carrier or shipper, the threat of lien realisation and the necessary notifications must be addressed to the consignee.
2.2 The period of one month stipulated in § 1234 BGB shall be replaced by a period of one week.
§20 Insurance of the goods
1. we shall arrange insurance for the goods (e.g. transport or storage insurance) with an insurer of our choice if the client instructs us to do so before the goods are handed over.
2. we shall procure the insurance of the goods if this is in the interest of the client. In particular, we may assume this if:
2.1. we have arranged insurance for a previous transport contract within the framework of an ongoing business relationship.
2.2. the client has specified a ‘value of goods for insurance of the goods’ in the order.
3. the presumption of interest in obtaining insurance cover in accordance with §20 (5) shall not apply in particular if:
3.1.The Principal prohibits cover.
3.2. the customer is a forwarding agent, carrier or warehouse keeper.
4. when procuring insurance, we must follow the client’s instructions, in particular with regard to the sum insured and the risks to be covered. If we do not receive any instructions, we shall decide on the type and scope of the insurance and take out the policy at our own discretion.
5. if we are unable to obtain insurance cover due to the nature of the goods to be insured or for any other reason, we must inform the client of this immediately.
6. if, after conclusion of the contract, we procure insurance on the instructions of the client, if we take over the collection of a compensation amount or other activities in the settlement of insurance claims and average, we shall be entitled to a customary local, otherwise reasonable remuneration in addition to the reimbursement of his expenses, even without agreement.
§Section 21 Liability of the freight forwarder, assignment of claims for compensation
1. we are liable for damages in accordance with the statutory provisions. Compensation for damages Compensation for value and costs in accordance with §429, §430, §432 HGB. No deviations are agreed.
2. if we have claims against a third party arising from a case of damage for which we are not liable, or if we have claims for compensation against a third party that exceed our liability, we must assign these claims to the client at the client’s request, unless we assume the pursuit of the claims for the account and risk of the client on the basis of a special agreement. §§ Sections 437, 509 HGB remain unaffected.
§22 Limitation of liability
1. our liability is limited. If we are responsible for the damage, we shall be liable as follows:
1.1 We are liable for personal injury, property damage and financial loss up to a maximum of 5,000,000 euros per loss event.
1.2 For all contracts of carriage with 8.33 special drawing rights per kilogramme, the maximum liability is 300,000 euros per loss event. Section 413 (2), Section 418 (6), Section 422 (3), Section 431 (3), Section 433, Section 445 (3), Section 446 (2), Section 487 (2), Section 491 (5), Section 520 (2), Section 521 (4), Section 523 HGB and corresponding liability provisions in international agreements, which may not be deviated from by means of pre-formulated contractual conditions, remain unaffected. §Section 22 et seq. shall not apply to statutory provisions such as Art. 25 MÜ, Art. 5 CIM or Art. 20 CMNI, which extend our liability or allow it to be extended.
1.3 For environmental damage up to a maximum of 1,000,000 euros per damage event.
§23 Liability insurance of the freight forwarder
We have taken out and maintain liability insurance with ‘Württembergische Versicherung AG’ Versicherung AG.
§24 Client liability
1. the legal relationship between us and the client shall be governed by German law.
2. the place of fulfilment for all parties involved is 65451 Kelsterbach.
3. the place of jurisdiction for all legal disputes arising from the transport contract, its initiation or in connection with it shall be Frankfurt am Main for all parties involved. In the case of Art. 31 CMR and 46 § 1 CIM, the above agreement on the place of jurisdiction applies as an additional agreement on the place of jurisdiction; in the case of Art. 39 CMR, 33 MÜ, 28 WA, it does not apply.
§25 Confidentiality
The parties are obliged to treat as confidential all information that becomes known to them during the execution of the transport contract and that is not publicly accessible. The information may only be used for the purpose of providing the service. The parties must impose this confidentiality obligation on other legal entities that they use to fulfil their obligations under the transport contract.
§26 Minimum requirements
1. we undertake to comply with minimum wage regulations and regulations on minimum conditions at the workplace and confirm this in text form at the request of the client.
2. in the case of transport, we shall ensure that we or the contractor carrying out the transport comply with the following requirements
2.1.within the scope of application of the GüKG, we are the holder of a permit in accordance with § 3 GüKG or an authorisation in accordance with § 6 GüKG or a Community licence or do not use such a permit, authorisation or licence in an unauthorised manner.
2.2. within the scope of application of the GüKG, uses driving personnel for the transport who fulfil the requirements of § 7b Para. 1 Sentence 1 GüKG.
2.3. presents all documents required by law to be carried during transport on request, insofar as the client or third parties must fulfil statutory inspection obligations.
3. we or the contractor carrying out the transport are obliged to organise the work of our driving personnel in such a way that the prescribed working, driving and rest times can be complied with. There is a general ban on alcohol and drugs when driving the vehicle.
