Article 1: DEFINITIONS In these general conditions is understood by: 1.1. PostNL Cargo België: PostNL Cargo België bvba, head office located in Turnhout; 1.2. Consignor: client/contracting party of PostNL Cargo België; 1.3. Addressee: the one to whom PostNL Cargo België needs to deliver the Shipment according to the Transport Agreement 1.4. Transport unit: the packaged goods which are handed over to PostNL Cargo België fo r transport (such as a parcel, roll container, pallet or piece goods) and which are destined for an Addressee and is provided with an address label for a destination address situated in countries available in the chosen service framework; 1.5. Shipment: transport units which are handed over to PostNL Cargo België for transport and which are destined for the same Addressee and are provided with an address label with the number of transport units within the shipment; 1.6. Party: an amount of Shipments which are handed over at the same time for transport and are for account of one and the same Consignor, under the conditions agreed upon with the Consignor regarding among other things the owed reimbursement, the minimum amount to hand over, delivery time and Delivery point; 1.7. Address label: a label attached to Transport units with at least the following data: Name, Address, Place of residence and Postal code and Country of destination as well as a barcode in compliance with the most recent specifications of PostNL Cargo België; 1.8. Transport Agreement: an agreement for transport (whether or not electronic) between PostNL Cargo België and the Consignor under applicability of these General Conditions; 1.9. Transport document: the present data carrier on the Shipment (or combination of data carriers), from which the specifications regarding the transport can be reduced, such as consignor address, weight, date, destination and barcode number, together with the accompanying bill of lading for delivery of Shipments at the Delivery point; 1.10. Delivery point: the establishments or facilities accepted by PostNL Cargo België for transport of Shipments; 1.11. Service Framework: the whole of service conditions regarding the transport of goods, which PostNL Cargo België offers by means of these General Conditions. Article 2: APPLICABLE REGULATIONS To all activities and agreements of PostNL Cargo België apply: National and International transport by road: Treaty regarding the Agreement to international transport of goods by road, in the version ratified by Belgium (CMR), and the General Billing conditions of PostNL Cargo België; Article 3: CONTRADICTORY DETERMINATIONS When there is contradiction between the determinations of the CMR, non -compulsory judicial determinations in the law or in the Article 2 mentioned agreements with the subsequent determinations, the following take precedence, namely the subsequent determinations and the determinations of the General Billing conditions of PostNL Cargo België. Article 4: DELIVERY CONDITIONS 4.1 As bill of lading PostNL Cargo België uses own Transport documents. All Shipments need to be provided with a completely and correctly filled in Transport document. The mentioning of the consignor s data is a compulsory part of the Transport document. The Consignor is responsible for a careful packaging adjusted to the nature and content of the Shipment and foresees the add ress of the Consignee and the address of the Consignor. 4.2 Shipments need to be delivered at the indicated Delivery point. PostNL Cargo België bvba Bremheidelaan 10, B-2300 Turnhout Page 1 of 5
4.3. For the delivery of a Party, PostNL Cargo België can determine supplementary delivery conditions regarding among others the rate, the minimum amount to deliver, delivery time and Delivery point. 4.4. On the basis of a contract between the Consignor and PostNL Cargo België, the Consignor is able to electronically preannounce the delivery of Shipments. Such a contract arranges among others how the Shipments need to be transported and delivered and how the Consignor can obtain information regarding the handed over Shipments for transport. 4.5. All shipments which are registered online via the web application TOP, are also ele ctronically preannounced. The Transport document is made online and printed out by the consignor. This document can only be used once. Article 5: REIMBURSEMENT The owed reimbursement is stated in the Transport Agreement and is determined by the acceptation of the rates for transport with the agreed Service Framework and by the data registered by PostNL Cargo België regarding among others amount, weight, measurements and destination of the Shipment. Article 6: PAYMENT Payment of the owed reimbursement and following invoicing takes place at the latest 30 days after invoice date on account of PostNL Cargo België. According to the General Billing Conditions, any invoices which have not been paid by their due date will be increased by late payment interest of 12% p.a., with a minimum of 50, all this without the requirement for any written reminder or notice of default. Furthermore, in addition to the late payment interest, an increased fee will be charged as fixed compensation, in the amount of 15% of the invoice amount or its balance, with a minimum of 75 and a maximum of 10,000, all this without the requirement for any written reminder or notice of default. Article 7: REFUSAL, SUSPENSION OR CESSATION OF TRANSPORTATION 7.1. If requested, PostNL Cargo België may refuse, suspend or cease the transportation of a Consignment without stating a reason, if: (a) the Sender does not comply with the terms and conditions with PostNL Cargo België set with regard to accepting the Consignment for transportation (for example, with regard to payment, the submission location, furnishing or stating details, using a Transport Document, using a barcode, packaging, contents, destination, weight and dimensions); (b) transportation of the Consignment may endanger persons or items; in any case this applies to the transportation of goods to which the national and international legislation and regulations on the transportation of harmful substances applies and this has not been correctly indicated by the Sender; (c) the transportation is prohibited by law or government regulations or if PostNL Cargo België has an indication that the transportation may be in violation of the law or a gov ernment regulation; (d) the Sender fails to comply with its payment obligation pursuant to another agreement with PostNL Cargo België; (e) PostNL Cargo België has another well-founded reason to refuse, suspend or cease transportation; (f) if an online Transport Document is used more than once for more than one Consignment 7.2. In the event of the refusal or cessation of the transportation of a Consignment, PostNL Cargo België will, insofar as possible, enable the Sender to recover possession of the Consignment and any documents that may have been submitted together with it, whereupon the Transport Agreement will be terminated. PostNL Cargo België may make a claim for payment of the fee due for transportation, without prejudice to PostNL Cargo België's right to compensation for (additional) costs incurred. Article 8: AMENDMENT OF THE TRANSPORTATION AGREEMENT PostNL Cargo België bvba Bremheidelaan 10, B-2300 Turnhout Page 2 of 5
Following acceptance for transportation, the Service Framework and/or the delivery address can no longer be amended. Article 9: COMPLIANCE WITH THE TRANSPORTATION AGREEMENT PostNL Cargo België has the right to have all or part of the Transportation Agreement performed by third parties, without prejudice to the rights and obligations of PostNL Cargo België pursuant to the Agreement. Article 10: DELIVERY TERMS 10.1. The Sender or the Addressee can only rely on a delivery term for a Consignment, as specified or indicated by PostNL Cargo België, if this term has been explici tly agreed with respect to said Consignment. 10.2. With regard to transporting outgoing Consignments, the target delivery term depends on the destination country or region and the Service Framework selected by the Sender. Article 11: LIABILITY 11.1. In the event that a Consignment is either lost or damaged, PostNL Cargo België is only liable in accordance with the provisions contained in the CMR. 11.2. In the event of a notice of default, PostNL Cargo België will furnish as evidence of loss or damage a copy of the delivery document evidencing the place of delivery in accordance with the product and Service Framework agreements which were contractually stipulated with the Client in advance. Unless there is evidence to the contrary, PostNL Cargo België disclaims all liability for loss of damage. 11.3. PostNL Cargo België will make every effort, within reason, to deliver the consignment in accordance with its normal delivery schedules; however, these schedules are not binding and do not form any part of this agreement. PostNL Cargo België is not liable for damage or loss caused by delays. Article 12: ADDITIONAL SERVICES On payment of the fee set for this purpose and under the full applicability of the provisions contained in or with these terms and conditions, the Service Framework may be extended by one or more of the Additional Services specified in this Article: 12.1. Increased liability 12.1.1. Consignments within the controlled temperature framework may be sent with increased liability at the request of the Sender and on payment of the fee set by PostNL Cargo België. 12.1.2. The increased liability must be listed on the Transport Document in the manner proscribed by PostNL Cargo België. The listing in question is to be considered as a provis ion explicitly entered into by the Parties to increase the liability of PostNL Cargo België, as referred to in Article 26 CMR. 12.1.2. In the event of damages attributable to PostNL Cargo België as a result of damage to a Consignment with increased liability, the Sender or the Addressee may make a claim for the compensation, as recorded in the Transport Document. 12.1.4. Compensation of damages will be paid on condition that the proof of delivery and the (procurement or commercial) invoice are submitted. 12.2. Cash on delivery 12.2.1. At the request of the Sender and on payment of the fee set by PostNL Cargo België, consignments may be submitted with the stipulation of cash on delivery within a number of specific service frameworks, up to a maximum amount of 2,000 (two thousand Euro). 12.2.2. In the event that a consignment submitted with the cash on delivery stipulation is lost, damaged or delayed, then PostNL Cargo België is only liable for any ensuing liability in accordance with Article 11. 12.2.3. PostNL Cargo België has the right to offset any deductible cash -on-delivery amounts with any claims due to the Sender. 12.2.4. Under no circumstances may PostNL Cargo België be held liable for incorrectly completed cheques, the loss of cheques, uncrossed cheques, counterfeit cheques, bounced cheques or any other PostNL Cargo België bvba Bremheidelaan 10, B-2300 Turnhout Page 3 of 5
damage ensuing from payment by cheque, except in case of gross negligence on the part of PostNL Cargo België and insofar as you no longer have a recovery option with respect to the addresse e. 12.3. ADR 12.3.1. At the request of the Sender and on payment of the fee set by PostNL Cargo België, consignments which fall into the ADR category (classes 3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 8, 9) may be submitted within a number of specific service frameworks. The Sender is and will remain responsible for providing PostNL Cargo België with the necessary legal documents and details. The following are not permitted: classes 1 and 2 (with the exception of 1950, if the packaging is maximum 1 l) and 7. 12.4. Signing for receipt 12.4.1. Signing for receipt is a standard part of all Service Frameworks for all Consignments. Article 13: DELIVERY METHOD 13.1. General 13.1.1. Unless this cannot be reasonably expected of PostNL Cargo België, deliveries will be made on all days of the week, with the exception of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. 13.1.2. Deliveries will be made to the address listed on the Consignment, albeit not necessarily to the recipient whose name is listed. If delivery is not possible, then a written notification will be left in the Addressee's letterbox, indicating the manner and term within which another attempt will be made to deliver the Consignment or the manner in which he or she can obtain the Consignment. 13.1.3. The terms and conditions of delivery recorded in Article 13.1.1. and Article 13.1.2. apply to all Consignments. 13.2. Place of delivery: Deliveries can only be made by handing over the Consignment to the Addressee or to an employee of the organisation designated on the Consignment as the Addressee. Consignments cannot be delivered to PO boxes or to post codes. 13.3. Procedure for undeliverable Consignments 13.3.1 If the Consignment cannot be delivered to the Addressee, for whatever reason (includin g refusal by the Addressee), the Consignment will be returned to the Sender. The goods will remain the property of the Sender. 13.3.2. PostNL Cargo België will retain any Consignments for a period of 30 days which, for whatever reason, cannot be returned to the Sender and keep them available for the Sender, unless PostNL Cargo Belgium knows or considers it likely that the (contents of the) Consignment have no value whatsoever or if custody is inconvenient for PostNL Cargo Belgium in connection with the cont ents of the Consignment, in which case PostNL Cargo Belgium is free to dispose of the Consignment as it sees fit. Any Consignments which are considered to be of value will become the property of PostNL Cargo België after the period of 30 days specified for this purpose. In the event that PostNL Cargo België does not proceed with returning a Consignment, it will make the effort to inform the Sender of the manner in which it will dispose of the Consignment. 13.3.3. If the Sender refuses the return of a Consignment, PostNL Cargo België will assume that the contents of the Consignment no longer hold any value for the Sender and PostNL Cargo België will be immediately free to dispose of the Consignment as it sees fit. 13.3.4. If it should prove impossible to deliver the Consignment in accordance with the applicable Service Frameworks with regard to delivery, PostNL Cargo België is entitled to charge the Sender all or part of the costs associated with the return, storage and/or delivery. Article 14: NOTIFICATION OF DAMAGE PostNL Cargo België assumes that the Consignment has been delivered in accordance with the selected service framework: 14.1. If the recipient does not report any comments or damage on the Proof of Delivery. 14.2. In the case of hidden damage, if no written notification is given within 7 days of the delivery date to the effect that the Consignment was damaged. PostNL Cargo België bvba Bremheidelaan 10, B-2300 Turnhout Page 4 of 5
14.3. If no defects or delays are reported within 7 days of the date on which the Consignment was supposed to be delivered or if no report is made to the effect that the transport agreement was otherwise improperly performed. Article 15: APPLICABLE LAW AND SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES 15.1. All Transport Agreements are governed by Belgian law. 15.2. Only the District Courts of Antwerp are competent, in accordance with the General Billing Terms and Conditions of PostNL Cargo België. Article 16: PROTECTION OF PRIVACY PostNL Cargo België uses the details laid down in writing in the context of the Agreement to perform the Agreement and to provide good service. Likewise, PostNL Cargo België may use the personal details to inform the party in question about products and services from PostNL Cargo België, from its subsidiaries and other directly related companies or third parties. To this end, it may also provide said details to these parties or to third parties. If the party in question does not appreciate the information referred to, he can file an objection to it with PostNL Cargo België, Bremheidelaan 10, 2300 Turnhout, Belgium. The party in question must provide his (company) name, address, post code and town/city together with this objection. Article 17: AMENDMENTS TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS PostNL Cargo België has the right to amend and/or supplement these terms and conditions. Unless otherwise provided or agreed, any amendments or supplements will, until further notice, apply to all Transport Agreements created on or after the effective date for the amendments and/or supplements announced by PostNL Cargo België. PostNL Cargo België bvba Bremheidelaan 10, B-2300 Turnhout Page 5 of 5