General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of One4Cargo AG

Version 10.2024

 

I. Scope and application, general information

1. Scope of application: These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all transportation services of one4cargo AG and its system and transport partners (hereinafter referred to as “Contractor”). The contractors provide transportation and customs services for forwarding, courier, express, scheduled services and postal shipments.
2. Exclusivity of the GTC: These GTC shall apply exclusively. Any deviating or conflicting terms and conditions of the Client shall only be binding if the Contractor expressly agrees to their validity in text form prior to commencement of the order. Deviating terms and conditions of the Client shall not be valid even if the Contractor performs the delivery or service without reservation in the knowledge of such terms and conditions.
3. Supplementary statutory provisions: Insofar as these GTC do not contain any special provisions, the statutory provisions shall apply. The following conventions in particular apply to international transportation:
   a) Road transport: Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR),
   b) Rail transport: Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM),
   c)  Air transport: Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal Convention).
4. Sanctions and boycott lists: All consignments for which the sender, recipient or other third parties involved are listed on sanctions or boycott lists of the EC Anti-Terrorism Regulations or other sanctions lists are subject to exclusion from transportation. The inclusion of such persons or third parties in the Contractor’s service is not permitted.

 

II. Contract of carriage, services and prices

1. Scope of services: The Contractor’s transport services may include, in addition to the routing, the collection (first mile) and delivery (last mile) of the consignments. The Contractor may use third parties to fulfill the contract, subject to their respective terms and conditions.
2. Terms and prices: Delivery takes place within the terms and conditions specified in the valid offers, price and tariff lists. If no individualized offer has been prepared, the applicable rates shall apply in accordance with the official price lists of the respective partner responsible for the service. Prices may be changed at any time and without prior notice in accordance with the adjustment to the harmonized consumer price index (HICP) for international shipments and the national consumer price index for national shipments. All delivery times are non-binding, unless a specific delivery period has been agreed in writing in an individual contract and expressly before the start of the order. Deliveries to places that are difficult to access or car-free, non-landlocked islands and customs-excluded areas are excluded from delivery times.
3. Transportation conditions and freight surcharges: The Contractor is entitled to impose additional freight surcharges in the event of more difficult transportation conditions, such as significant weather conditions, political and/or legal restrictions, security problems and/or logistical difficulties. In all cases, the client shall be liable for freight charges.
4. Exclusions from transportation: The following consignments are generally excluded from carriage:
   a) Consignments that are not labeled in accordance with the contractor’s specifications; 
   b) national consignments under the Swiss Post monopoly; 
   c) Consignments that cannot be loaded and unloaded by one person; 
   d) contain perishable foodstuffs or live animals; 
   e) Consignments that are subject to a special hazard or risk assessment, in particular weapons, evidence, ammunition, narcotics, consignments with protected products, articles harmful to minors or similar; 
   f) shipments that require special handling with regard to external conditions, e.g. temperature sensitivity; g) shipments that require special official approvals or are subject to legal restrictions or licensing;  
   h) waste of any kind;
   i) dangerous consignments and those which may cause damage to property or personal injury, in particular – but not exclusively – contaminated medical or biological examination material, medical waste, human or animal mortal remains, body parts or organs, radiation-sensitive goods which are at risk of damage due to X-rays, in particular X-rays, during security checks.
   If a consignment is partially covered by these transport exclusions, the entire consignment is considered excluded.
5. Transportation of perishable foodstuffs: The transportation of perishable foodstuffs is generally excluded unless the client agrees this in an individual contract. In this case, the client must prove that the shipment complies with food law requirements and that the packaging and temperature requirements (+40 to -20 degrees) are maintained for at least 48 hours from collection.
6. Transport of goods of special value: Goods with a value of more than CHF 5,000 or of special importance (e.g. works of art, jewelry, securities) require an express written agreement. In this case, separate insurance must be taken out.

7. Transportation of dangerous goods: Dangerous goods are subject to ADR regulations and may only be transported after prior written agreement and compliance with all legal requirements. The client must declare the shipment and provide all necessary transportation documents. In advance, the client must inform the contractor in writing and in good time in German and English of the exact nature of the hazard and any precautionary measures. If the consignment contains dry ice, liquid nitrogen, lithium or similar hazardous substances that could pose or be assumed to pose a fundamental danger, this must be stated in writing when the order is placed. This notification obligation is binding. The client must ensure that all statutory regulations on declaration, packaging and transport documents are complied with when the hazardous goods are handed over. Dangerous goods are generally excluded from a transit time commitment.
8. Packaging: The client is responsible for packaging the shipment. It must be safe for transportation and prevent damage to other consignments or transport personnel. Damage caused by improper packaging shall be borne by the client.
9. Obligation of the contractor to check for transport exclusions: The contractor is not obliged to check consignments for transport exclusions (excluded goods); this is the responsibility of the shipper. In case of doubt, the shipper must inform the contractor and obtain his written decision. If this information is not provided, the shipper declares that no excluded goods are included. The acceptance of such goods by the driver does not constitute a waiver of the exclusion from transportation. The Contractor may refuse, detain, cancel, postpone or return a shipment at the Shipper’s expense at any time if the shipment could cause damage or delay, is prohibited by law or violates conditions. Acceptance does not confirm that the shipment complies with all regulations.
10. Duty of the Contractor to check the accuracy of the order data: The Contractor may, but is not obliged to, check the contents, quantity, condition, transportability and correctness of the order data of consignments and open the consignment if instructed to do so by the authorities. If the Contractor discovers deviations that were not known to it at the time of acceptance or were not communicated by the Client or are also discovered during the transportation process, it may exclude the goods from transportation, unload, reweigh, store, return or hand them over to suitable third parties for transportation. This includes, among other things
    1. non-palletized, individual consignment items with:
     a) a weight greater than 40 kg,
     b) a maximum length of 300 cm,
     c) a maximum width of 120 cm,
     d) a maximum height of 200 cm.
     e) palletized consignments weighing over 300 kg
     f) Dangerous goods with more than 999 points or conflicting mixed loading regulations,
     g) known dangerous goods such as rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and lithium-ion accumulators,
     h) this list is not exhaustive.
    2. the client shall subsequently bear all costs of a consignment determined by the contractor to be deviatingly dangerous. This includes, among other things:
     a) the flat-rate costs of re-weighing of CHF 25.00 per consignment plus the corrected weight tariff,
     b) the additional costs of suitable third parties who have been commissioned by the Contractor to transport consignments that have been discharged, for which the Contractor expressly gives its consent,
     c) the costs of return transportation,
     d) any other costs, fees, taxes and fines arising from incorrect or omitted information for a deviating/dangerous consignment, but at least CHF 25.00.
11. The Contractor reserves the right to properly dispose of shipments that are excluded from transportation or to refuse a transport order without giving reasons, in which case the costs shall be borne by the Client. The Contractor shall not be liable for any resulting measures, decisions, costs or consequences.

 

III Takeover and delivery

1. Order acceptance: The order is deemed to have been accepted upon acceptance or, at the latest, upon handover of the consignment by the client. The order will be carried out as soon as traffic conditions and vehicle scheduling permit. All orders are generally carried out with one vehicle and only one driver. The Contractor may choose suitable means of transportation and commission third parties. Each package must bear a clearly visible label in accordance with the Contractor’s specifications. Before accepting the consignment, the Contractor may, but is not obliged to, check the contents, quantity, condition, transportability and order data and open the consignment if instructed to do so by the authorities.
2. Physical handover: The first scan of the label on the consignment or the driver’s signature is considered proof of handover. The client must ensure that the consignment is correctly labeled, marked and handed over ready for transport and does not pose a risk to other goods or persons. The contractor, not the driver, is responsible for checking these requirements. Any necessary re-labeling is subject to a charge of at least CHF 25.00. The Contractor accepts no liability for incorrectly or inadequately labeled consignments that have to be subsequently labeled.
3. Delivery deadlines: If binding delivery deadlines are agreed in writing, these shall commence upon acceptance of the consignment by the Contractor. An extension of at least 24 hours shall apply if the recipient cannot be found or delivery is not possible for other reasons for which the Contractor is not responsible.
4. Depot location deliveries: Consignments may be deposited at agreed depot locations if this has been agreed in writing with the consignor and/or consignee. The consignment is deemed to have been delivered when it is deposited and the Contractor’s liability ends when it is deposited at the depot location specified by the Client/consignee, which must be freely accessible, theft-proof, lockable and protected from the weather (hereinafter referred to as “criteria”). If the depot location does not meet these criteria or is not suitable for hazardous goods, the Contractor shall not be liable. The driver shall unload the consignment to the best of his knowledge and belief without a receipt at the agreed depot location, and the client expressly waives the right to a recipient’s receipt. If geodata is missing on delivery, for example due to a poor mobile phone connection, the Contractor accepts no liability for this or similar technical defects. The terms and conditions of the contracted service providers shall also apply.
5. PO box addresses will not be supplied by the contractor or its agents.
6. Delivery: Consignments whose acceptance was refused by the recipient or which could not be delivered for other reasons for which the contractor is not responsible and for which no other written agreement exists are generally returned to the sender in accordance with the official tariff list, but at least at the agreed consignment price and any additional costs, such as a customs clearance and envelope premium of CHF 25.00.
7. Daytime delivery of consignments is generally carried out against signature to the recipient, provided no deposit location or delivery agreement has been registered and provided no legal instructions prohibit this. The geo-coordinates of the delivery scan, if available, shall serve as proof of delivery for consignments deposited with authorization (existing instruction, depot location registration or delivery agreement).
8. The client and his vicarious agents cannot be held liable for the correctness and legibility of the delivery receipt, which the recipient himself indicates on the scanner or delivery documents.
9. All claims against the Contractor arising from the contract of carriage shall lapse upon unconditional acceptance of the goods by the consignee present in the day-to-day business.
10. In the case of deliveries to agreed depot locations and/or in accordance with instructions based on a delivery agreement, the consignment shall be deemed to have been accepted without reservation upon delivery scanning.

 

IV.  Liability of the contractor
(A) National transportation:

1. Supplementary provisions: For international transportation, the provisions of the CMR, CIM and Montreal Convention also apply.

 

(B) International promotions:

1. In the case of international transportation, the provisions of the international conventions (Article I. No. 3.) also apply.

 

V. Obligations of the consignor

1. Shipper’s obligations: The shipper must ensure that the consignment is suitable for transportation and properly packaged. Particularly valuable, dangerous or time-critical consignments must be notified in writing in advance and confirmed by the contractor.
2. Insurance cover: It is the shipper’s responsibility to take out suitable insurance to cover risks in the event of loss or damage.

 

VI Invoice adjustment and volume weight

1. Freight cost calculation: The freight costs are based on the actual weight or the volume weight (chargeable weight), whichever is higher.
2. Volume calculation: The volume weight is calculated using the formula Volume = L x W x H (cm) / 5000. If the volumetric weight is higher than the actual weight, the shipping costs are recalculated on this basis.
3. Checks: Contractor reserves the right to inspect shipments and adjust freight charges and invoice amount accordingly if values quoted are incorrect. 
4. Compensation for expenses: The Contractor may charge a processing fee of at least CHF 25.00 per adjustment for adjustments and corrections from the aforementioned clauses 1 to 3.

 

VII Provisions for customs clearance

1. Responsibility of the client: The client must provide all documents required for customs clearance completely and correctly. Incomplete or incorrect information may have consequences under civil and criminal law. Any right of recourse at the expense of the contractor is excluded.  
2. Commissioning: With the handover of the consignment, the Contractor shall be commissioned as a customs agent, insofar as this is permissible. He may pass on the customs clearance to third parties, which the client hereby authorizes. The GTC and tariffs of the commissioned customs service provider shall apply, but at least the following amounts:  
3. Customs fees: The contractor charges the following fees for customs clearance:
   1. Customs fees for import/export: CHF 65.00 per customs clearance,
   2. Processing fee: CHF 25.00 per customs clearance,
   3. ZAZ user fee: CHF 15.00 per invoice,
   4. Costs for physical checks: CHF 50.00 per shipment.
4. Liability for delays: The client is liable for all additional costs incurred due to delays caused by incomplete or incorrect customs documents. If the consignee does not fulfill his payment obligation within 10 days, the client is collectively liable for all costs incurred and invoiced.

1. Right of lien: The contractor has a right of lien on the goods handed over for all claims arising from the transaction. If the client does not pay within the set period, the goods can be sold without further formalities.

IX. Data protection

1. Processing of personal data: The Contractor processes personal data of the Client and other persons involved only within the framework of the applicable data protection laws and exclusively for the purpose of processing the contract. 
2. Further information: Please note the data protection information as well as the contracts and terms and conditions of the respective products, services, services or partners.

X. Place of performance, place of jurisdiction and applicable law

1. Place of performance and jurisdiction: The place of performance and jurisdiction for all contractual claims is the Contractor’s registered office in Winterthur, Switzerland. 
2. Applicable law: Swiss law shall apply exclusively. In the event of discrepancies between different language versions of these GTC, the German version shall prevail.  
3. Changes to the GTC: The Contractor reserves the right to amend these GTC unilaterally at any time. The Client shall be notified of any changes in good time.  
4. Gender note: For better readability, the generic masculine has been used for the most part. Unless otherwise indicated, the personal designations used in these GTC refer to all genders.