Freight Contract - an agreement between the carrier and the sender. Most companies and citizens are faced with the need for transportation, and they have questions about the procedure for concluding an agreement and its conditions. Consider the features of some of them.
Normative regulation
- GK - Chapter 40 of the Code is dedicated to transportation. It describes the main provisions of the contract, the nuances of concluding an agreement.
- Transport charters and codes - supplement the provisions of the Civil Code.
- Decisions of the Government adopted to resolve issues within its competence defined by laws.
Another act affecting the transportation sector is the Law on Licensing.
Concluding an agreement without a license is a serious violation. The contract can be recognized by the court as invalid. Those wishing to conclude a contract for the carriage of goods should ask whether the carrier has permission.
A license is issued to organizations and entrepreneurs that meet a number of requirements specified in the law.
The only exception is Russian Railways, a company whose activities are governed by a separate law.
Shipping Methods
In the modern economy, the transportation of goods is ensured by the following modes of transport:
- railway;
- automobile;
- river water;
- marine;
- air.
The most diverse implementation of road transport.
The route can be provided by one or more modes of transport. Practice local, direct and international transport.
For example, when transporting mail, rail, air, and road transport are practiced. If it is planned to organize movements by different means of transport, the conclusion of a contract for the carriage of goods is much more complicated due to the application of a whole list of regulatory acts.
Parties to the agreement
They are the carrier of the goods - the organization or entrepreneur that provides transportation services, and the sender of the goods. The customer is citizens, organizations, authorities, etc.
Recipient - a person who may coincide with the sender. If there is no coincidence, then it acquires a set of rights and obligations in relation to the carrier, although its signature does not stand on the document. The contract of carriage of goods in this case is considered concluded in favor of a third party.
Conclusion procedure
Relations between the parties begin to be built with the application. It is served directly by the client or his representative or sent via electronic means of communication.
The application is made in free form or on a questionnaire proposed by the carrier. It indicates the characteristics of the cargo, the point of departure and destination, the time frame in which it is required to complete the transportation, other information that is significant from the point of view of the customer.
Based on the application received, calculations are made. Then the parties discuss the nuances of the future agreement. Direct signing is already the final step.
The described procedure is also applicable to the conclusion of contracts for the carriage of goods by road.
application
The following documents on the part of the customer are an integral part of the contract for cargo transportation services:
- copies of the charter or memorandum of association;
- documents confirming the right to cargo (as a rule, we are talking about ownership);
- papers confirming its safety, compliance with accepted norms and standards.
The Contractor also submits documents for its part:
- copies of constituent documents (charter or contract);
- copy of the license for transportation;
- Driving license (usually asked to introduce an entrepreneur working independently).
When concluding an agreement with the company, the last paragraph does not make sense, since drivers can change.
Terms of agreement
The contract for the carriage of goods by transport consists of the following clauses:
- subject of the agreement - services to be provided to the carrier;
- term - the time allotted for the execution of the contract;
- contract price - the amount paid for the services provided;
- form of agreement - written;
- rights and obligations.
Whether the contract for the carriage of goods by road or another category of transportation agreements is taken into account, the law gives the parties a standard set of rights and obligations. If they wish, they have the right to expand them, reformulate them according to their situation, remaining within the framework of the law.
Now we will analyze in more detail all the points.
Subject of Agreement
The contract for the transportation of goods obliges you to specify a route, it can consist of one or several points. In addition to the actual transportation, the list of services sometimes includes the reception, storage, delivery of goods.
Term of agreement
It is noted directly in the contract for the transport of goods. Despite the freedom of the parties in choosing the length of the term, this issue is not only decided by them. Authorized persons may make adjustments and give instructions, in particular, in the railway and air transport system.
Using sea routes for the transfer of goods, the weather-related circumstances should also be taken into account. For example, a storm and other adverse factors seriously affect the timeliness of fulfillment of obligations.
If for some reason the contract does not pay attention to the deadlines, the law refers to the right to demand execution within a reasonable time. What is meant in this case? By official explanations to the court, it is charged to take into account the circumstances that affected the length of the order execution period.
Price
The price of the contract for the provision of services for the carriage of goods is determined by the parties. The carrier offers its own prices, which sometimes can be reduced to a more acceptable level.
Another case is the setting of tariffs. The decision on their size is taken by authorized bodies in the manner prescribed by transport codes.
Agreement form
Two options have been developed:
- the contract is drawn up in standard form;
- a package of documents is drawn up taking into account the details provided for by regulatory enactments.
In the second case, execution is the preparation of an application and additional documents for the goods. They serve as confirmation of the transaction, and as a means of fixing the performance of obligations.
Using the form approved by the authorities simplifies the procedure for registration.
Obligations and rights of the carrier
The responsibilities of the carrier include:
- the provision of vehicles suitable for the transport of a specific cargo;
- carry out loading and unloading of cargo, unless otherwise specified in regulatory enactments and in the contract;
- deliver the goods within the time specified in the agreement.
In the list of rights, the law pays attention to cargo retention in case of refusal of the obligated person to make payment. True, an agreement on the provision of freight transportation services may explicitly prohibit such actions.
Obligations and rights of the sender
Duties of the consignor:
- ensuring timely loading, taking into account the terms of the contract and regulations, if it is carried out by his forces;
- payment in accordance with the terms of the contract.
What rights does the sender have:
- changing the representative of the consignee without changing the final destination of the route;
- change of destination.
Recipient Status
His duties include receiving the goods. He has the right to refuse it if the quality of the cargo during transportation has deteriorated so much that it cannot be used for the indicated purposes.
According to the contract, the obligation to pay the carrier may be assigned to the consignee.
Features of the contract for the carriage of goods by road
The main features are:
- the effect of a whole list of regulations governing precisely road transport;
- transport may be provided to the place of loading specified by the sender;
- change of route due to force majeure circumstances;
- both single and systematic transportations are organized, for example, as part of deliveries;
- transportation of various volumes of cargo is ensured (starting from the transportation of furniture, ending with container transportation);
- different lengths of routes (from moving within the same city to international);
- an agreement can be considered concluded both from the moment of signing the documents, and from the moment of transferring the goods for transportation (depending on which option the parties have chosen).
Transportation outside the country
The contract for the international carriage of goods is concluded taking into account the following points:
- a foreign carrier providing services in Russia is required to have permission from local authorities (even if it is a transit issue);
- A Russian carrier who wishes to engage in transportation outside the country is also required to obtain permission;
- The agreement is based on the norms of both Russian and foreign law.
The last paragraph obliges you to decide which law to resort to in one case or another. If any issues were not resolved in the contract and the dispute is parsed in a Russian court, the provisions of the section of the Civil Code International Private Law apply.
Large companies are inclined, for example, to enter into agreements based on the law of third countries; the law of Great Britain is very popular in this regard.