General terms of service

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE PROVISION OF FREIGHT FORWARDING SERVICES BY ARIJUS, UAB

I. SCOPE OF APPLICATION
1. The present General Terms and Conditions for the Provision of Freight Forwarding Services (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Terms’) apply to all orders submitted to the Freight Forwarder, all concluded contracts and other agreements, as well as to all offers submitted or services provided by the Freight Forwarder, regardless of what specific services are provided to individual Customers, if the relevant Customer has been informed of the application of the Terms.
2. Orders made via e-mail or using information technology tools or programs have the same legal effect as contracts made in writing, except for the cases where legal acts require a contract to be made in writing.
3. The Terms are valid to the extent that they are not in conflict with the requirements of legal acts. Any deviations from the Terms are valid only if the Freight Forwarder have consented expressly to such deviations in writing.
4. The Customer submitting an order or concluding a contract confirms that the Customer has read and agrees with the Terms. It shall be considered that all persons acting on behalf of the Customer are duly authorised by the latter and have powers to submit an order, conclude a contract or confirm acquaintance with these Terms.
5. The following terms shall be used for the purposes of these Terms:
5.1. ‘Freight Forwarder’ means Arijus, UAB or/and any other Company within the Arijus Group, submitting these Terms to the Customer.
5.2. ‘Customer’ means any legal person who submits an Order or enters into a Contract for the provision of the services specified in Clause 5 of the Terms.
5.3. ‘Contract’ means any contract for the provision of forwarding services concluded between the Freight Forwarder and the Customer. In certain cases, and where it is not in conflict with applicable laws, the conclusion of the Contract may take place in another form, for example, where the Customer and the Freight Forwarder have agreed on the basic terms and conditions of services via e-mail or in another manner. The Contract shall consist of the Order and the present Terms unless the Parties have agreed otherwise.
5.4. ‘Order’ means a document submitted by the Customer to the Freight Forwarder, indicating specific information about the specific services ordered by the Customer. It shall be considered that the Order has been accepted and has to be executed when the Parties have coordinated all the details of service provision, and the Freight Forwarder has confirmed this to the Customer. The Customer’s Order shall specify the following: the required data concerning the cargo, the place of cargo loading, dispatch and destination, the transportation method, the need for cargo insurance, the service provision deadlines, and other relevant terms and conditions.

II. OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES
6. The Customer shall instruct, and the Freight Forwarder shall undertake for a fee to provide the Customer with services concerning the organisation of cargo carriage and perform other related actions at the Customer’s expense.
7. The Parties agree to stipulate the terms and conditions of specific cargo transportation in an annex to the Contract or in the Order, which may be submitted via electronic means of communication and shall form an integral part of the Contract.
8. The Freight Forwarder shall:
8.1. Perform all actions related to cargo transportation or/and organisation of transportation based on the terms and conditions agreed on with the Customer in advance;
8.2. Keep the Customer informed about the location of the cargo along the entire cargo transportation route;
8.3. Execute the Customer’s instructions provided for in Clause 9.5 below;
8.4. Have the right to unilaterally determine the payment procedure if the Customer breaches the Contract, Order or these Terms;
8.5. Have its civil liability insured for an amount of at least EUR 500,000;
8.6. Compensate the Customer in accordance with the procedure established by legal acts for damage caused by non-fulfilment or inadequate fulfilment of the Contract;
8.7. Be exempted from the fulfilment of obligations if the Customer fails to fulfil the obligations assumed under the Terms, the Order, or the Contract.
9. The Customer shall:
9.1. Provide the Freight Forwarder with all documents and information about the characteristics of the cargo and the requirements concerning the transportation conditions of the cargo, as well as any other information necessary for the Freight Forwarder to fulfil properly its obligations under the Contract;
9.2. Ensure that the cargo is properly prepared, packed and secured, except for the cases where the performance of the said operations is entrusted to the Freight Forwarder in writing;
9.3. Pay the Freight Forwarder a fee for cargo transportation or/and the organisation of cargo transportation;
9.4. In accordance with the procedure established by these Terms, compensate the Freight Forwarder for any additional costs incurred during the execution of the Contract or Order. Additional costs may include, but are not limited to, expenses related to unforeseen delays, detentions, storage, special handling requirements, compliance with changes in regulations, and any other circumstances beyond the Freight Forwarder’s control, and shall be identified and documented by the Freight Forwarder;
9.5. Provide the Freight Forwarder with instructions for the warehousing, loading, transportation and storage of perishable goods and goods that have special characteristics due to which damage may be caused to other goods, people or the environment;
9.6. Be responsible for the correctness of the data provided in the cargo documents and compensate the Freight Forwarder for the losses suffered by the latter due to the provision of inadequate, incorrect or incomplete documents or information by the Customer;
9.7. In the event of failure to present the cargo in due time or to make use of the shipping containers or vehicles provided, pay the Freight Forwarder a fine of EUR 100 for each day of delay or each unused container or vehicle, except for the cases where this occurs due to force majeure or interruption/restriction of cargo transportation via certain routes in accordance with the procedure established by transport laws or in other cases provided for by transport codes or other laws;
9.8. When making a claim, shall not have the right to withhold the payment of the claim amount until the final examination of the claim.

III. GENERAL PROVISIONS CONCERNING LIABILITY OF THE PARTIES
10. In the event of non-fulfilment of the obligations stipulated in the Terms and/or the Contract, the Parties shall be liable in accordance with the procedure established by the Terms and/or the Contract and/or legal acts.
11. Where the Order, the Contract or the Terms are violated due to non-performance or inadequate performance of a transport contract, the Freight Forwarder’s liability towards the Customer shall be determined based on the same rules as the carrier’s liability towards the Freight Forwarder.
12. The Party whose culpable actions and/or omissions cause losses to the other Party shall compensate the other Party for the direct losses incurred by the latter, unless otherwise specified in individual clauses of the Terms and/or the Contract.
13. The Freight Forwarder shall not be responsible for the proper execution of contractual relations between the Customer and the third parties. In all cases, the Freight Forwarder shall compensate the Customer only for the direct losses incurred at the Freight Forwarder’s fault.
14. Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) and the liability-related rules established by the abovementioned convention concerning the compensation for damage to the cargo shall apply to all Orders involving cargo transportation by road.
15. Upon termination of the Contract or the expiration of the validity period thereof, the financial obligations shall remain valid until full payment for the services provided.

IV. PAYMENT TERMS AND PROCEDURE
16. The amount of the service provision fee and the fee payment procedure shall be determined in the Order.
17. The service provision fee shall be paid by a payment order to the bank account specified by the Freight Forwarder.
18. It shall be considered that the fee has been paid when the money is credited to the bank account specified by the Freight Forwarder.
19. In case of failure to make the relevant payment on time, the Customer shall pay a default interest of 0.02% of the due amount for each day of delay.
20. Failure to fulfil a monetary obligation by the set deadline shall be considered a material breach of the Terms, the Order and/or the Contract.

V. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
21. Any disputes, disagreements or claims arising out of or relating to the Terms and/or the Contract shall be resolved through negotiation between the Parties. Where the Parties fail to resolve any disputes through negotiation, such disputes shall be settled in court at the choice of the Party submitting the claim to the court based on the location of the seat of the Freight Forwarder or the Customer.
22. The Terms, the Order and the Contract shall be governed by the law of the Republic of Lithuania.
23. The Parties undertake not to distribute or disclose any confidential information to the third parties without the prior written consent of the other Party, as well as not to use it for any purposes unrelated to the performance of obligations under the Contract. In the event of violation of the said obligation, the Party that violated it shall compensate the other Party for the direct losses incurred by the latter as a result. The disclosure of such information to State authorities, where required by legal acts, to the Parties’ lawyers, auditors, consultants, or other employees to the extent necessary for the proper execution of the Contract or any individual terms and conditions of the Contract shall not be considered violation of confidentiality obligations. The Parties shall ensure that all persons assigned to provide services under the Contract comply with the confidentiality obligations and shall undertake to compensate all direct losses resulting from the disclosure of confidential information by such persons.
24. The obligation of confidentiality shall remain applicable within the entire period of validity of the Contract and indefinitely after the expiration of the Contract unless the Contract stipulates otherwise.
25. In the event of any inconsistencies between the terms and conditions specified in the Terms and the terms and conditions specified in the Order and/or the Contract, the terms and conditions specified in the Order and/or the Contract shall take precedence.