|
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
These terms and conditions of service constitute a legally binding
contract between the “Company”and the “Customer”.
In the event the Company renders services and issues a document
containing Terms and Conditions governing such services, the
Terms and Conditions set forth in such other document(s) shall
govern those services.
1. Definitions
(a) “Company”shall mean U.S. Worldwide Logistics,
its subsidiaries, related companies, agents and/or representatives;
(b) “Customer”shall mean the person for which the
Company is rendering service, as well as its agents and/or representative,
including, but not limited to, shippers, importers, exporters,
carriers, secured parties, warehousemen, buyers and/or sellers,
shipper’s agents, insurers and underwriters, break-bulk
agents, consignees, etc. It is the responsibility of
the Customers to provide notice and copy(s) of these terms and
conditions of service to all such agents or representatives;
(c) “Documentation”shall mean all information received
directly or indirectly from Customer, whether in paper or electronic
form;
(d) “Ocean Transportation Intermediaries”(“OTI”)
shall include an “ocean freight forwarder”and a “non-vessel
operating carrier”;
(e) “Third parties”shall include, but not be limited
to, the following: “carriers, truckmen, cartmen, lightermen,
forwarders, OTIs, customs brokers, agents, warehousemen and others
to which the goods are entrusted for transportation, cartage,
handling and/or delivery and/or storage or otherwise”.
2. Company as agent. The Company acts as the “agent”of
the Customer for the purpose of performing duties in connection
with the entry and release of goods, post entry services, the
securing of export licenses, the filing of export documentation
on behalf of the Customer and other dealings with Government
Agencies: as to all other services, Company acts as an independent
contractor.
3. Limitation of Actions.
(a) Unless subject to a specific statute or international convention,
all claims against the Company for a potential or actual loss,
must be made in writing and received by the Company, within ninety
(90) days of the event giving rise to claim; the failure to give
the Company timely notice shall be a complete defense to any
suit or action commenced by Customer.
(b) All suits against Company must be filed and properly served
on Company as follows:
(i) For claims arising out of ocean transportation, within one
(1) year from the date of the loss;
(ii) For claims arising out of air transportation, within two
(2) years from the date of loss;
(iii) For claims arising out of the preparation and/or submission
of an import entry(s), within seventy-five (75) days from the
date of liquidation of the entry(s);
(iv) For any and all other claims of any type, within two (2)
years from the date of the loss or damage.
4. No Liability For The Selection or Services of Third
Parties and/or Routes. Unless services are performed
by persons or firms engaged pursuant to express written instructions
from the Customer, Company shall use reasonable care in its selection
of third parties, or in selecting the means, route and procedure
to be followed in the handling, transportation, clearance and
delivery of the shipment; advice by the Company that a particular
person or firm has been selected to render services with respect
to the goods, shall not be construed to mean that the Company
warrants or represents that such person or firm will render such
services nor does Company assume responsibility or liability
for any action(s) and/or inaction(s) of such third parties and/or
its agents, and shall not be liable for any delay or loss of
any kind, which occurs wile a shipment is in the custody or control
of a third party or the agent of a third party, all claims in
connection with the ACT of a third party shall be brought solely
against such party and/or its agents; in connection with any
such claim, the Company shall reasonably cooperate with the Customer,
which shall be liable for any charges or costs incurred by the
Company.
5. Quotations Not Binding. Quotations as to fees, rates
of duty, freight charges, insurance premiums or other charges
given by the Company to the Customer are for informational purposes
only and are subject to change without notice; no quotation shall
be binding upon the Company unless the Company in writing agrees
to undertake the handling or transportation of the shipment at
a specific rate or amount set forth in the quotation and payment
arrangements are agreed to between the Company and the Customer.
6. Reliance On information Furnished.
(a) Customer acknowledges that it is required to review all documents
and declarations prepared and/or filed with U.S. Customs & Border
Protection, other Government Agency and/or third parties, and
will immediately advise the Company of any errors, discrepancies,
incorrect statements, or omissions on any declaration filed on
Customs behalf;
(b) In preparing and submitting customs entries, export declarations,
applications, documentation and/or export data to the Unites
States and/or a third party, the Company relies on the correctness
of all documentation, whether in written or electronic format,
and all information furnished by Customer; Customer shall use
reasonable care to insure the correctness of all such information
and shall indemnify and hold the Company harmless from any and
all claims asserted and/or liability or losses suffered by reason
of the Customer’s failure to disclose information or any
incorrect or false statement by the Customer upon which the Company
reasonable relied. The Customer agrees that the Customer has
an affirmative non-delegable duty to disclose any and all information
required to import, export or enter the goods.
7. Declaring Higher Value To Third Parties. Third
parties to whom the good are entrusted may limit liability for
loss or damage; the Company will request excess valuation coverage
only upon specific written instructions from the Customer, which
must agree to pay any charges therefore; in the absence of written
instructions or the refusal of the third party to agree to a
higher declared value, at Company’s discretion, the goods
may be tendered to the third party, subject to the terms of the
third party’s limitations of liability and/or terms and
conditions of service.
8. Insurance. Unless requested to do so in writing
and confirmed to Customer in writing, Company is under no obligation
to procure insurance on Custom’s behalf; in all cases,
Customer shall pay all premiums and costs in connection with
procuring requested insurance.
9. Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability.
(a) Except as specifically set forth herein, Company makes no
express or implied warranties in connection with its services;
(b) Subject to (c) below, Customer agrees that in connection
with any and all services performed by the Company, the Company
shall only be liable for its negligent acts, which are the direct
and proximate cause of any injury to Customer, including loss
or damage to Customer’s goods, and the Company shall in
no event be liable for the acts of third parties;
(c) In connection with all services performed by the Company,
Customer may obtain additional liability coverage, p to the actual
or declared value of the shipment or transaction, by requesting
such coverage and agreeing to make payment therefore, which request
must be confirmed in writing by the Company prior to rendering
services for the covered transaction(s).
(d) In the absence of additional coverage under (b) above, the
Company’s liability shall be limited to the following:
(i) Where the claim arises for activities other than those relating
to customs brokerage, $50.00 per shipment or transaction or
(ii) Where the claim arises from activities relating to “Customs
business”, $50.00 per entry or the amount of brokerage
fees paid to Company for the entry, whichever is less;
(e) In no event shall Company be liable or responsible for consequential,
indirect, incidental, statutory or punitive damages even if it
has been put on notice of the possibility of such damages.
10. Advancing Money. All charges must be paid
by Customer in advance unless the Company agrees in writing to
extend credit to customer; the granting of credit to a Customer
in connection with a particular transaction shall not be considered
a waiver of this provision by the Company.
11. Indemnification/Hold Harmless. The Customer
agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold the Company harmless from
any claims and/or liability arising from the importation of customers
merchandise and/or any conduct of the Customer, which violates
any Federal, state and/or other laws and further agrees to indemnify
and hold the Company harmless against any and all liability,
loss, damages, costs, claims and/or expenses, including but not
limited to reasonable attorney’s fees, which the Company
may hereafter incur, suffer or be required to pay by reason of
such claims; in the event that any claim, suit or proceeding
is brought against the Company, it shall give notice in writing
to the Customer by mail at its address on file with the Company.
12. C.O.D. or Cash Collect Shipments. Company
shall use reasonable care regarding written instructions relating
to “Cash/Collect on Deliver (C.O.D.)”shipments, bank
drafts, cashier’s and/or certified checks, letter(s) of
credit and other similar payment documents and/or instructions
regarding collection of monies but shall not have liability if
the bank or consignee refuses to pay for the shipment.
13. Costs of Collection. In any dispute involving
monies owed to Company, the Company shall be entitled to all
costs of collection, including reasonable attorney’s fees
and interest at 15% per annum or the highest rate allowed by
law, whichever is less, unless a lower amount is agreed to by
Company.
14. General Lien and Right To Sell Customer’s Property.
(a) Company shall have a general and continuing lien on any and
all property of Customer coming into Company’s actual or
constructive possession or control for monies owed to Company
with regard to the shipment on which the lien is claims, a prior
shipment(s) and/or both;
(b) Company shall provide written notice to customer of its intent
to exercise such lien, the exact amount of monies due and owing,
as well as any on-going storage or other charges; Customer shall
notify all parties having an interest in its shipment(s) of Company’s
rights and/or the exercise of such lien.
(c) Unless, within thirty days of receiving notice of lien, Customer
posts cash or letter of credit at sight, or if the amount due
is in dispute, an acceptable bond equal to 110% of the value
of the total amount due, in favor of Company, guaranteeing payment
of the monies owed, plus all storage charges accrued or to be
accrued, Company shall have the right to sell such shipment(s)
at public or private sale or auction and any net proceeds remaining
thereafter shall be refunded to Customer.
15. No Duty To Maintain Records For Customer. Customer
acknowledges that pursuant to Sections 508 and 509 of the Tariff
Act, as amended, (19 USC 1508 and 1509) it has the duty and is
solely liable for maintaining all records required under the
Customs and/or other Laws and Regulations of the United States;
unless otherwise agreed to in writing, the Company shall only
keep such records that it is required to maintain by Statue(s)
and/or Regulation(s), but not act as a “record keeper”or “recordkeeping
agent”for Customer.
16. Obtaining Binding Rulings, Filing Protests, etc. Unless
requested by Customer in writing and agreed to by Company in
writing, Company shall be under no obligation to undertake any
pre or post Customs release action, including, but not limited
to, obtaining binding rulings, advising of liquidations, filing
of petition(s) and/or protests, etc.
17. Preparation and Issuance of Bills of Lading. Where
Company prepares and/or issues a bill of lading, Company shall
be under no obligation to specify thereon the number of pieces,
packages and/or cartons, etc.; unless specifically requested
to do so in writing by customer or its agent and Customer pays
for same, Company shall rely upon and use the cargo weight supplied
by Customer.
18. No Modification or Amendment Unless Written. These
terms and conditions of service may only be modified, altered
or amended in writing signed by both Customer and Company; any
attempt to unilaterally modify, alter or amend same shall be
null and void.
19. Compensation of Company. The compensation
of the Company for its services shall be included with and is
in addition to the rates and charges of all carriers and other
agencies selected by the Company to transport and deal with the
goods and such compensation shall be exclusive of any brokerage,
commissions, dividends or other revenue received by the Company
from carriers, insurers and others in connection with the shipment.
On ocean exports, upon request, the Company shall provide a detailed
breakout of the components of all charges assessed and a true
copy of each pertinent document relating to these charges. In
any referral for collection or action against the Customer for
monies due the Company, upon recovery by the Company, the Customer
shall pay the expenses of collection and/or litigation, including
a reasonable attorney fee.
20. Severability. In the event any Paragraph(s)
and/or portion(s) hereof is found to be invalid and/or unenforceable,
then in such event the remainder hereof shall remain in full
force and effect.
21. Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction and Venue. These
terms and conditions of service and the relationship of the parties
shall be construed according to the laws of the state of Kentucky
without giving consideration to principals of conflict of law.
Customer and Company
(a) Irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of the United States
District Court and the State courts of Kentucky
(b) Agree that any action relating to the services performed
by Company, shall only be brought in said courts;
(c) Consent to the exercise of in personam jurisdiction be said
courts over it, and
(d) Further agree that any action to enforce a judgment may be
instituted in any jurisdiction.
Terms & Conditions of
Service Acknowledgement
In order for the terms and conditions of
service with U.S. Worldwide Logistics to be binding, we
require acknowledgement in writing.
Important Notice
All services are subject to and governed by
the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of
America, Inc. Terms and Conditions of Service.
As to all “customs business”we
act as your agent; for all other services we are independent
contractors.
Following review, please sign and return
this form, confirming you have received and have complete
understanding of the terms and conditions of service.
Full name of company: _________________________________________________________
acknowledges receipt of Terms and Conditions of Service governing
all transactions between the Parties.
Signature: __________________________________________
Printed Name: _______________________________________
Capacity: ___________________________________________
Date: _______________________________________________
|
|
|
|
