Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen Flott Trans Logistik GmbH

General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTCs) of Flott Trans Logistik GmbH, 8046 Graz, Wiener Straße 441, which can be viewed at www.flotttrans.at, for the processing or rendering of transport, forwarding and logistics services by Flott Trans Logistik GmbH in the capacity of commissioned freight carrier or forwarder (Flott Trans = Contractor):

1. Validity

These General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTCs) apply to all services rendered or procured by Flott Trans Logistik GmbH, Wiener Str. 441, 8046 Graz, as commissioned forwarder or freight carrier (hereinafter referred to as the “Contractor”) for its contracting party (hereinafter referred to as the “Principal”). The Principal agrees that these GTCs, which can be viewed at any time at https://www.flotttrans.at/de/kundenbereich/agb-auftragnehmer.html, apply to all future transactions, irrespective of any further express reference, in particular in the case of oral, telephone or telex orders. The Principal’s terms and conditions to the contrary that are not expressly recognised (in writing) by the Contractor are invalid, including if the Contractor does not expressly object to them. Under no circumstances may the Principal base its activities on its own GTCs, including if these were to be included in orders. No terms and conditions of the Principal shall apply that contradict these GTCs and the AÖSp (General Austrian Forwarders’ Terms and Conditions). The Principal further agrees that these GTCs apply to all future transactions, irrespective of any further express reference to them, in particular in the case of orders placed verbally, by telephone or telex.

Statements made by the Contractor’s vicarious agents shall be invalid in dealings with the Principal if they contradict the content of the GTCs.

2. Offer

The Contractor’s offer is subject to change without notice and is based on the consignment data stated by the Principal, the currently valid prices, tariffs, exchange rates and other charges of all parties involved in executing the transport operations. The stated prices apply subject to available loading space. All stated surcharges are valid until withdrawn and subject to the introduction of additional surcharges.

3. Validity of conventions

Agreeing on the General Terms and Conditions of Business shall not affect the validity of conventions, as stated in their respective, valid, versions insofar as their peremptory provisions specify a regulation to the contrary, such as:

• Road transport: Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR).
• Air transport: Warsaw Convention
• Maritime transport: Hamburg Rules
• Rail: Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF) including the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Rail (Annex b – CIM)

4. Validity of AÖSp

The AÖSp, as stated in the respective, valid, version, published in the Official Gazette of Wiener Zeitung 1947/184, last amended by the Official Gazette of the Wiener Zeitung 1993/68 (available on the internet in English and German at https://www.wko.at/branchen/transport-verkehr/spedition-logistik/Allgemeine_Oesterreichische_Spediteurbedingungen_(AOeSp).html), apply on a supplementary basis. The Principal states that it is a prohibited customer in accordance with Sections 39 et seq. AÖSp. The AÖSp also apply in relation to foreign principals.

5. Forwarding, subcontractors

The Contractor reserves the right to forward this forwarding or transport order to third parties – including without obtaining the Principal’s prior consent. The Contractor is, therefore, entitled to call on the services of subcontractors. However, the Contractor shall exercise the care of a prudent forwarder or freight carrier when selecting the company it commissions.

6. Damage claims

If loss of, or damage to, the goods is not externally visible, the shipper or Principal shall be responsible for furnishing proof that the loss or damage occurred during the period of liability or transport. In the case of external damage that is visible, a written claim is to be asserted and directed to the Contractor immediately upon delivery, while in the case external damage that is not visible, a written claim is to be asserted and directed to the Contractor without delay once such damage is identified, at the latest, however, within seven days.

7. Liability

The Contractor shall be liable for loss and damage in accordance with the provisions of the CMR for both cross-border and domestic road transports (Section 439a, UGB (Austrian Business Code). With regard to domestic transport operations outside Austria, it is expressly agreed that the CMR shall also apply to such transport operations. The Contractor shall be liable for all other damage, irrespective of the legal grounds and irrespective of the type of performance or transaction, exclusively in accordance with the provisions of the AÖSp. In this regard, express reference is also made to the maximum liability limits in accordance with Sections 54 et seq., AÖSp. The Contractor shall not be liable for consequential damage and costs, such as loss of expected profit, loss of expected sales, expenses of substitute performance, damage caused by default. Furthermore, the Contractor shall not be liable for contractual penalties.

The Contractor’s liability shall be excluded, in particular, if

• the damage is attributable to defective packaging, the natural condition of the item transported or culpability on the part of the Principal;
• the content of the parcel falls under one of the prohibitions listed in point 15. or the parcel has been confiscated or destroyed by an authority;
• if the sender is alleged to have acted fraudulently with the intention of obtaining compensation;
• if the damage has occurred due to incorrect information provided by the Principal.

8. Declaration of value, special delivery interest

An increase in the value of the maximum liability amounts (e.g. Article 23, CMR) or a special delivery interest (e.g. Article 26, CMR) cannot be agreed.

An agreement of a declaration of value or interest cannot be agreed. The Contractor expressly objects to any kind of declaration of value or interest, in particular those that may increase the maximum liability amounts provided for in international conventions. Attention is expressly drawn to the fact that any kind of disclosure of an order value, value of goods (etc.) – by whatever means (in invoices, orders, delivery notes or offers etc.) – shall under no circumstances lead to an agreement about a declaration of value or interest, including if no express objection is made by the Contractor. An agreement to increase or waive maximum liability limits specified in contractual conditions or in international conventions is not possible.

9. Demurrage

The Contractor shall be entitled to charge the Principal a demurrage fee of € 80 per hour. The Contractor shall be entitled to the demurrage fee including in the event of no culpability on the part of the Principal. A claim for demurrage shall arise if a total waiting/standing time of 1.5 hours is exceeded.

10. Commissioning by a consumer

Insofar as the Principal enters into this contract as a consumer, the Principal shall have the following right of withdrawal:

The Principal is entitled to cancel this contract within fourteen days without stating reasons for such action. The cancellation period is fourteen days from the day on which the contract is entered into. To exercise the cancellation right, the Principal must inform the Contractor by way of a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail) of its decision to cancel this contract.

If the Contractor’s services have commenced during the withdrawal period, the Principal shall pay the Contractor a reasonable amount corresponding to the proportion of the services already rendered up to the time the Principal has informed the Contractor of exercising the right of withdrawal with regard to this contract compared to the total scope of the services provided for in the contract.

11. Cancellation

The transport order shall be binding unless cancelled within one hour of its forwarding to the Contractor.

If the transport order is not cancelled within one hour, the Contractor shall be entitled to a no-fault liability contractual penalty of 80 % of the freight price. This does not affect further-reaching claims for damages.

12. Special goods

The Principal has a duty to issue warnings with regard to special freight properties. The Principal must, therefore, provide separate notification if the value of the goods exceeds € 10 per kilogram, if the goods are hazardous goods or waste or if a particular risk of theft applies. In addition, the Principal must inform the Contractor about any particular sensitivity of the goods and the correct handling. The Principal confirms that it has a dangerous goods safety adviser at its company and that it shall hand over all dangerous goods relevant data according to ADR or provide notification of them on the Contractor’s online booking platform. Goods that are or may become dangerous goods may only be offered to the Contractor for carriage, irrespective of whether they appear in official or unofficial, international or national codes or agreements, if the Contractor has been notified in writing in advance of their nature, type, name, labelling and classification and the Contractor’s prior, written, consent has been obtained. Furthermore, the packaging in which the goods are to be transported, as well as the goods themselves, must be clearly marked on the outside, indicating the type and nature of the goods. The Principal assures that it shall observe and comply with all legal requirements regarding dangerous goods.

Voluminous goods are determined according to the IATA standard. If the volumetric weight is greater than the effective weight, the freight charge shall be based on the volumetric weight. The volumetric weight is determined by the formula (length x width x height in cm / 6,000).

13. Packaging

Attention is expressly drawn to the fact that the consignments are sent in the so-called express service. The packaging must, therefore, be suitable for transport and stress in respect of such consignments. Attention is expressly drawn to the fact that the Principal must check the transport suitability of the goods packaging before handing it over to the Contractor, taking this type of shipment into account. It must be taken into account that the packages and consignment items can be transported as a consolidated shipment and sorted and transported within depots and transshipment points via automatic conveyor systems. The packaging is to be procured such that the goods are not damaged when dropped diagonally from a minimum height of 80 cm. Consolidated shipments and express shipments are frequently characterised by reloading to guarantee efficiency. The Contractor does not undertake to inspect the goods or adopt measures to safeguard the goods and their packaging. This is exclusively incumbent upon the Principal.

Goods the position of which may not be altered during transport (e.g. upright-standing transport); package markings in this respect as well as other general warnings attached to the package (e.g. “Do not tip” and “Fragile” etc.) shall be disregarded and shall not constitute an obligation on the part of the Contractor.

Items made of glass or other fragile items:

These must be packed in a container made of metal, wood, resistant plastic material or strong cardboard, which is filled with paper, wood wool or any other suitable protective material in such a way that any rubbing or collision of the items themselves or of the items and walls of the container during carriage can be excluded.

Liquids and readily fusible substances:

These must be placed in completely impermeable containers. Each container is to be placed in a rigid outer container made of metal, wood, strong plastic material or strong corrugated board, which shall be filled with sawdust, cotton or any other suitable protective material in sufficient quantity to absorb the liquid in the event of breakage of the container. The lid of the outer container must be secured so that it cannot come off by itself.

14. Collection and delivery

If the Contractor has been instructed by the Principal to collect packages from the front door and the collection has failed due to circumstances attributable to the Principal, the demolition order shall be cancelled by the Contractor. The collection surcharge shall be retained as compensation for the expenses already incurred by the Contractor.

In the interest of the fastest possible delivery, parcels may, if the recipient cannot be found in person when delivery is attempted, be handed to a person present in the recipient’s home or business or, if this is not possible, to a neighbour of the recipient, if it can be assumed under the specific circumstances that this person is authorised to accept the parcel. A neighbour is a person who lives or works in the same or nearest building.

Furthermore, the Contractor shall also be entitled, if the recipient is not met in person, to leave the parcel outside the recipient’s front door or entrance and such leaving is expressly deemed to be agreed delivery. By leaving the parcel at a recipient’s front door or entrance, the recipient expressly declares acceptance and receipt within its sphere of influence.

If parcels cannot be delivered to the recipient or to a person stated above and if a return to the sender is impossible due to lack of knowledge of the sender’s person or if the sender refuses to accept the parcel, the Contractor shall be entitled to dispose of the parcels following expiry of a 90-day period from the determination of undeliverability. The Contractor may destroy parcels contents of which are unusable.

15. Exclusions from carriage (prohibited goods)

The following goods and parcels are excluded from carriage by the Contractor:

• Packages the value of which exceeds € 3,000,
• Inadequately packaged goods,
• Consignments with incorrect or incomplete dispatch data, dispatch data not transmitted (DFÜ),
• Goods that require special handling (e.g. are particularly fragile or may only be transported standing up or lying on one side),
• Perishable and temperature-sensitive goods, mortal remains, blood preserves, organs, live animals,
• Narcotic drugs
• Items import or distribution of which is prohibited in the country of destination
• Prescription medicines and medicines that must be transported separately from other goods, vaccines, insulin and narcotics,
• Precious metals and stones, genuine jewellery and genuine pearls, works of art and collectors’ items, antiques,
• Credit, bank and ATM cards
• Class I securities (shares, securities, bills of lading, mortgage bonds, mortgage bonds and savings books)
• Class II valuables (cash, dividend coupons, tickets, precious metals and jewellery).
• Other valuable goods (e.g. watches) worth more than € 3,000 per parcel,
• Goods which themselves have only a low value, but whose loss or damage could result in high consequential damage (e.g. data carriers with sensitive information),
• Telephone cards and prepaid cards (e.g. for mobile phones),
• Money and documents of monetary value (e.g. stamps, securities, bills of exchange and savings books),
• Vouchers, admission tickets and airline tickets
• Firearms, essential parts of weapons as defined by. Section 1, Weapons Act as well as ammunition,
• Parcels the contents, external design, transport or storage of which violate a legal or official prohibition, including applicable export or import regulations. This also includes parcels contents of which violate regulations on the protection of intellectual property, including counterfeit or unlicensed copies of products (brand piracy),
• Goods or parcels the shipment of which is prohibited under the respective applicable sanction laws, in particular due to the contents, recipient or the country of origin or destination. Sanction laws include all laws, regulations and sanction measures (trade and economic restrictions) against countries, persons/groups of persons or companies, including measures imposed by the United Nations, the European Union and European Member States,
• Parcels listed as “Freight collect” in respect of payment of charges,
• the measurement of which is more than 3m, length of which is more than 3m, height of which is more than 1.5m or width of which is more than 0.8m.

In addition, the following are excluded from carriage abroad:

• Tobacco products and spirits,

From carriage as air cargo:

• Prohibited items in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 300/2008 dated 11.03.2008 and its implementing regulations as stated in the respective, valid, version.

The Principal undertakes to comply with the transport exclusions and shall conduct appropriate checks before handing over the parcels to the Contractor. The Contractor shall only accept sealed parcels. In the event of suspicion of violations of transport exclusions and in the exceptional situations permitted by law, the Contractor shall be entitled to open the parcels.

If the Principal commissions the Contractor to transport parcels transport of which is prohibited in accordance with the above specifications, the Principal shall bear all damages and costs incurred by the Contractor or third parties as a result of the commissioning in breach of the contract, including reimbursement of expenses for reasonable measures to eliminate or avert the condition or risks in breach of the contract (e.g. seizure, temporary storage, return, disposal and cleaning etc.). In the event of violations of these transport exclusions, the Contractor shall nevertheless be entitled to continue the transport operation and demand a lump-sum reimbursement of expenses in the sum of € 250 from the sender.

Labels or marks affixed to a package indicating a condition covered by the transport exclusions shall not be deemed to constitute notification of the Contractor.

In the case of shipments to other EU countries, the Principal shall be responsible for honouring the obligations to furnish proof in conjunction with the exemption from turnover tax for intra-Community deliveries.

16. Instructions

Instructions issued by the Principal after handing over a package do not need to be followed.

17. Compliance with all requirements

The Principal undertakes to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations as well as regulations of customs and other authorities and bear and pay all customs duties, taxes and levies etc., as well as reimburse all penalties, levies, expenses and damages incurred or sustained.

18. Transport insurance

The Contractor’s liability is limited. The Principal is, therefore, recommended to take out transport insurance. However, transport insurance shall only be taken out if expressly ordered in writing.

19. Customs duties

By placing the order with the Contractor, the Principal appoints the carrier as its customs agent solely for the purpose of customs clearance and authorises the Principal to appoint a customs clearance agent for the purpose of performing customs clearance, if such is required. The Principal is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including customs laws, import and export regulations and government regulations of each country. The Contractor and the appointed carrier shall not be liable to the Principal or person authorised to dispose for any loss, damage or costs incurred as a result of non-compliance with these regulations.

The Contractor shall have the right to correct and recalculate any weight or volume discrepancies identified at the Principal’s expense. Grossly negligent or wilfully incorrect weight or volume information shall release the Contractor or its subcontractors from further carriage. The Principal shall be liable in full in the event of the aforementioned incorrect weight information. Cause of all events resulting as a consequence and/or legal consequence in that respect.

20. EDP data

The data taken from the EDP state the correct delivery, with date, time and name. They are valid in the place of the consignment note. The same applies to the digitalised signature of the consignee and its reproduction. The contracting parties agree that this signature shall have the same validity as on the consignment note or the cartage note.

21. Cash on delivery

The Contractor offers the option of delivering parcels via cash on delivery. Cash on delivery orders are accepted exclusively with national shipping (within Austria and Germany) and in cross-border shipping between Austria and Germany. A written order is required for this. Cash on delivery must be entered as such in the appropriate section of the EDP system. Furthermore, the consignment note must clearly indicate to the driver that cash on delivery is to be collected. The amount to be collected must also be expressly stated in writing before the order is placed and entered in the system and in the consignment note. If one of these conditions is lacking, no effective cash on delivery agreement has been made and the Contractor’s liability for this shall be excluded. In other respects, liability shall be subject to Article 21, CMR. Setting off against cash on delivery amounts are absolutely inadmissible.

22. Payment claim

A freight payment claim shall arise upon delivery of the goods. The Contractor shall grant the Principal a period of payment of 14 days, without deductions, from the date of invoicing. The Contractor does not accept cash discounts. In the event of default in payment, the Contractor shall be entitled to interest at the rate of 1.5% per month in accordance with Section 29, AÖSp. Furthermore, the Principal shall bear all accrued reminder charges in full as well as the costs associated with collection of the outstanding debt.

23. Rights of lien and retention rights

The Contractor shall have a right of lien and a right of retention on the goods or other objects in its power of disposal on account of all claims, due and not due, to which it is entitled against the Principal under the contract in question. Unless the Principal expressly discloses the owner of the goods when placing the order, the Contractor may assume that the goods are the Principal’s property. The Principal is entitled to prohibit the exercise of the lien if it grants the Contractor an equivalent means of security (e.g. bank guarantee).

24. Delivery periods

Stated loading and unloading dates are not delivery deadlines, but only approximate guide values/regular delivery times and can, therefore, not be guaranteed by the Contractor. Claims for exceeding delivery deadlines (of any kind whatsoever) shall, therefore, not be accepted by the Contractor, nor will any costs be accepted for potential consequential damage in the event of delays or late payment surcharges for documents sent too late. Any liability on the part of the Contractor for exceeding loading deadlines/for failure to comply with “Loading windows” is generally excluded unless the Contractor has failed to meet these deadlines as a result of “Blatant gross negligence”.

25. Setting off

The Principal is under no circumstances entitled to reduce the freight or to set off counterclaims against the Contractor’s claims. Prohibition of setting off and retention in favour of the Contractor shall apply without exception. Section 32, AÖSp applies.

26. Contract language

German and English are both deemed contract languages. A German and English version of these GTCs has been drawn up. In the event of difficulties of interpretation, ambiguities and contradictions, the wording of the German version shall be authoritative.

27. Place of jurisdiction

The contractual relationship is subject to Austrian law with the exclusion of the provisions of the IPR. The respective court to be considered for A-8046 Graz is deemed to have jurisdiction for all disputes between the parties in dispute in conjunction with this agreement, including disputes about the effective existence of this agreement, as well as disputes in conjunction with individual agreements entered into in executing this agreement.

This agreement is also valid without confirmation!

Status: April 2021