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 ALLEGIANCE CUSTOMS BROKERAGE,
LLC,, 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
representatives,
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 Customer to provide notice and copy(s) of
these terms and
conditions of
service to all such agents or representatives;
(c) “Documentation” shall
mean all the 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”.
(f) “CBP” shall mean U.S.
Customs & Border Protection
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 and security
documentation on
behalf of the Customer and the other
dealings with Government Agencies: as to all other services,
Company acts as an independent contractor.
3. Limitations 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 the 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 other 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 while a shipment is in 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
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
CBP,
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 Customers
behalf;
(b) In preparing and
submitting CBP entries, export declarations, applications, security filings,
documentation and/or
other required
data, 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,
incomplete or false
statement by the Customer or its agent, representative or
contractor upon which the Company reasonably 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
goods 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
Customer’s behalf; in all cases, Customer shall pay premiums and costs in
connection with procuring requested nsurance.
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, up
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 from
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 the 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, or for acts of
third parties.
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, fines, penalties and/or attorney’s fees arising from the importation
or exportation of Customers merchandise and/or
any conduct of
the Customer, including but not limited to the accuracy of entry, export or
security data supplied by Customer or its
agent or
representative, 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, penalties, fines
and/or expenses, including but not limited to
reasonable
attorney’s fees, which the Company may hereafter incur, suffer or 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 have no 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 the 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 claimed, 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 CBP 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 Statute(s) and/or Regulation(s), but not act as a “recordkeeper’ 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 CBP 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 agrees
to pay 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. Company's decision to
waive any provision herein, either by conduct or
otherwise,
shall not be deemed to be a further or continuing waiver of such provision or
to otherwise waive or invalidate any other
provision
herein.
21. Governing Law; Consent
to Jurisdiction and Venue. These terms and conditions of service
and relationship of the parties shall be
construed
according to the laws of the State of Georgia 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 Georgia;
(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 by
said courts over it, and
(d) further
agree that any action to enforce a judgement may be
instituted in any jurisdiction
Approved by the National
Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (Revised 07/09)
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