Freight forwarder
A was commissioned by an import and export company B for the international air cargo from Beijing to London. After the delivery, company B failed to pay forwarder expenses about 15,000yuan as promised. A reminded B several times but no result and then detained the verification document of B company. Negotiating for times, they went nowhere and at last A accessed to court for the payment and interests B should pay. Then B made a countercharge that the detention of verification document by A caused a loss of export tax rebate in the valid time more than 8000 Yuan and required compensation.
The case is relatively simple, the fact that B arrears A had no objection, the court judged B to pay A freight, customs fees and other charges total 15,000yuan and relevant interests.
As for the countercharge, the court considered that as the depositary A should fully implement its obligations, including the timely return of verification document. There was no stipulation in the contract by two sides that if B failed to pay the freight, A had right to detain the verification document, so detaining verification document was lack of gist, and A should be responsible for the loss that B could not apply for export tax rebate. Finally, the court judged A to pay the loss total 8000 Yuan to B.
At present, freight forwarders are on behalf of the shipper for customs declaration and transportation, freight forwarders usually detain the shippers?verification documents to give the shipper pressure for the freight once there is a payment dispute. It sometimes plays a certain part indeed; customers have to pay the freight as soon as possible for verification and tax refund. However, the behavior may be illegal. As the court thought, there were no items showed in the contract that A had right to detain verification document as payment dispute occurred. And the law gives no right to the forwarder, so the freight forwarder did the behavior without a gist.
Freight forwarder should adopt legal means to protect their own rights and interests against the customers not paying the freight, but not adopt such illegal way. Both considering saving lawsuit cost and a customary practice, it may be in trouble to detain the verification document recklessly, sometimes it may fail to meet the customer to pay the freight, by contraries, the customer will suit to the court for the compensation of tax rebate, and the loss of freight forwarder may be head and shoulders above the freight they should be paid.
So, here remind all the forwarder never to detain the verification document recklessly unless indicating in the contract.