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Freight forwarders should avoid ten legal risks
更新时间:2018-07-20 作者:admin 来源:
In the industry chain of shipping industry, freight forwarders have less risk resistance ability, so they should pay more attention to avoiding relevant legal risks in practice and ensure their own interests are not damaged.


In recent years, the rise of a large number of freight forwarding companies has not only promoted the rapid development of foreign trade, but also intensified the competition in the freight forwarding industry. In the current shipping market is relatively low, freight enterprise profit lower environment, once appear, legal disputes, will lead to hold a candle to hundreds of thousands, millions of yuan of economic losses, often to the forwarder company have serious impact on the survival and development. In this regard, the author analyzes ten legal risks that freight forwarder companies are easy to face in practice.


1.The recovery of advance freight is not guaranteed
Due to the fierce competition in the freight forwarder industry, the freight forwarder company is under the pressure to keep its customers alive. In general, it no longer requires the shipper to pay the redemption order, but adopts the monthly statement or quarterly settlement method with high risk.


In this mode of operation, after the goods are shipped and shipped, the forwarder shall first pay the shipping company or other forwarder companies to redeem the original bill of lading and deliver it directly to the shipper. In the case of the original bill of lading, the freight forwarding company lost the control and initiative to recover the freight.


Objectively speaking, in the case of the buyer's market, the risk of freight settlement by the freight forwarder company is fundamentally uncontrollable. Forwarder company can only from the signing of the contract with the owner entrust, in a timely manner to confirm business links such as freight, we will increase efforts to control and avoid the lack of related contracts and other evidence and lose the case. In addition, if it is a business entrusted by a strange shipper, the freight forwarding company must adhere to the principle of payment redemption order, so as to avoid the failure to recover the freight smoothly when the original bill of lading is delivered.


2.Assume the liability of the carrier without cause
As is known to all, freight forwarding company is a freight service intermediary, which is the link and bridge between shippers and shipping companies. Many owners think, as long as the forwarder company to accept the booking, so any problem occurred after, forwarding company will be responsible for, so the forwarder company inland transport of the goods loss compensation, compensation for the loss of the goods is delay in delivery at the port of destination, the loss of compensation in the process of shipping the goods damaged, etc., are common in practice.


Forwarding company "carry" the reason is that, on the one hand is the shipper for cargo agent enterprises there is a misunderstanding, on the other hand, the owner USES its advantage position, force the forwarder company signed a much less convenient, the forwarder company in order to retain the customer resources, humiliation, settling.


The forwarder company is not a shipping company and has no right to decide whether the goods can meet the scheduled shipment date or when they will arrive at the destination port. Therefore, as a forwarder company, don't need because of the contracting business and making their ability beyond the range of the commitment to the owner, such as shipping date or guarantee that the goods arrived safely, otherwise, in the event of delay in delivery or the goods damaged, forwarding company will bear the liability to pay compensation should not be borne by himself.


3.Issuing foreign illegal bills of lading is jointly and severally liable
Some foreign forwarder company in domestic offices and they are usually in the case of pay a certain fee, domestic freight forwarders companies operating on their behalf to specify the consignment, and issued on behalf of the foreign forwarder bill of lading. The bills of lading of these foreign forwarder companies are seldom paid a deposit of 800,000 yuan or insured and recorded in the ministry of transportation of China. In practice, these bills of lading are generally called illegal bills of lading.


In domestic forwarder company bill of lading issued by foreign illegal cases, in the event of the port of destination shipment release without collection bill of lading or other maritime fraud involving the bill of lading, freight company will be according to the Supreme Court judicial interpretation of dispute relating to freight forwarder shall take several and joint liabilities. Special remind forwarder company, therefore, when the bill of lading issued abroad must be careful, be sure to review the legality of the bill of lading, foreign freight forwarders of the company's financial status, so as to avoid fraud in order to earn a fee as others.


4.Delay in handling unpicked cargo at destination port
As mentioned above, as a bridge between the shipper and the shipping company, freight forwarding company plays a vital role in communication and bonding when the goods are not picked up at the destination port. In this case, the first priority of the freight forwarding company is to fulfill the obligation of timely and accurate notification.


Forwarder company inform obligation includes two aspects, the first it is timely to the principal and the owner to perform the duty of notification will be no one to pick up the goods information timely notify the principal and owner of the goods, inform the possibility of the port of destination box demurrage and calculation way, or solicit opinions from the clients and the owner of cargo handling, such as, andthe resold or jettison. The other is to promptly perform the obligation of notification to the carrier or the shipping company, such as prompting the carrier to reduce the damage at the port of destination, or to dispose of the goods. Up and down through this notification obligations, in order to reach the effect of communication, information, reduce the loss, effectively reduce because of failing to fulfill announcement obligation, and the risk of fault liability to pay compensation.


5.The freight forwarding company shall be jointly and severally liable for mixed operation


In practice, some freight forwarding companies are wholly owned by the import and export trading company, specializing in the freight forwarding agency of the trading company, and are two independent legal entities. This kind of freight forwarder company entrusts to book space, confirm cost and settle accounts in its own name, which is the risk barrier set up by the trading company for itself by the independent legal person system of the company. But if the company in the business process, between forwarder company with its parent can't be independent on each other's personality, financial, business, the company is "a set of troops, two pieces of brand", then according to China's "company law" regulation, trading companies and forwarding company will bear several and joint liability, forwarding company will lose the so-called role to risk.


6. The management of company seals is chaotic
Due to business needs, the freight forwarding industry usually engraves several special business seals, such as booking seal, department seal, export business seal, import business seal, customs declaration seal, etc. Generally speaking, the company's official seal, financial seal and legal person seal have been put on record in industrial and commercial administration organs, Banks and public security departments. However, for seals without records, such as business seals that need to be printed due to business needs, the company usually relaxes the supervision of such seals, and "seals tied to the corner of the table" occurs.


In judicial practice, if according to the trading habits, there will be no record of seal identification seal for the company, on behalf of the company will build, the company also need to record of these affixed with the seal of documents bear legal responsibility. Therefore, from the Angle of risk prevention, forwarding company shall strictly control the seal engraved, and all affix a seal of personnel management, in accordance with the application, has according to, avoid the seal management loophole, lead to additional legal risk forwarder company.


7. The customer experiences fraud when changing the account
In recent years, with the development of network technology, some ungainers start to covet the money flowing in the international freight forwarder market. Freight forwarders are deep participants in international trade and often communicate with overseas buyers, shippers and foreign agents by email.


The author has received some forwarder company, according to the customer E-mail receiving account changes, required subsequent financial transactions through the account after the change, later found that has fallen into the trap of using person. This type of fake email is usually somewhat deceptive, such as the real email address ending in com and the fraudster using com.cn


End of the mailbox, and other user names are consistent with the actual customers; Or because the customer's email is completely stolen, the thief USES the email with the correct address to send the account change notification. Forwarder company when receive similar account change email need to be vigilant, confirmed by phone and asked the customer issue a formal account change statement with seal or signature, ensure that account information accurate, real change, into the dilemma of no recourse after payment.


8. Liability for compensation of container fleet attachment
Our forwarder is closely connected with physical logistics industry, companies usually do not have their own transport fleet, and clients tend to arrange land demand for goods, to fill the service fault, expand the market, part of the freight company will arrange land transportation team affiliated company, in order to provide logistics services to the customers.


If you take the affiliated mode, forwarding company and shall be made by a careful choice, responsibility to distinguish between land transportation team call specific written agreement, suggested the company hire legal professionals to check the content of the agreement. Otherwise, if the goods of the consignor are damaged in the course of land transportation, or even cause casualties due to traffic accidents, the forwarder company will face the direct risk of liability for compensation.


9.The legality of the seizure of the bill of lading by the forwarder company
Is not in the client's credit to pay the freight charges or fees in arrears, for a long time, freight company is through the seizure of the bill of lading, customs declaration, verification documents, put pressure on the client for the freight. However, in recent years, with the popularization of electronic customs declaration and cancellation of the written off documents, these two documents have been undeductible. Can the forwarder seize the bill of lading?


The country issued by the supreme people's court in 2012, the "about sea freight dispute cases on several issues of regulations, according to the judicial interpretation, if the forwarder company and the client not explicitly agreed to seizure of bill of lading, sea waybill or other transport documents, shall not refuse to deliver the above documents by the client did not pay. Therefore, to the protection of the rights of forwarding company, the author suggested that forwarder company at the beginning of the established cooperation with the clients, will sign a written shipping agency agreement, and forwarding company expressly agreed upon in the client does not pay, shall have the right to seize the bill of lading and other shipping documents. Otherwise, in the absence of a clear agreement, illegal detention of the bill of lading not only unable to help the company for lack of success, can also lead to forwarder company to undertake due to the attachment of the bill of lading, thereby causing economic losses to the principal's liability to pay compensation.


10.The limitation of time of claim of the freight forwarding company as the carrier
Forwarder for the record registration of nvocc bill of lading issued by a firm, its identity by freight forwarders into a contract of carriage of the carrier, as the carrier, demand compensation from the shipper, consignee, holder of the bill of lading, sea freight, including claim their limitation period is one year, since the forwarder company knows or should know the date of the rights are violated. If the limitation of action exceeds one year, the right to win the claim is lost. In the absence of the nvocc bill of lading, i.e., under the freight forwarder contract, the limitation period is two years. Therefore, the freight forwarding company should accurately identify its own legal status in its business operations, and avoid unnecessary losses caused by failure to file claims in time due to exceeding the limitation of action.
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