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Standard Trading Condition (STC)
 
CHAPTER 4 - GENERAL CONDITIONS
Customer's Obligations
  1. The Customer warrants that he is either the Owner or the authorized agent of the Owner of the Goods, and he is authorized to accept and is accepting these Conditions not only for himself but also as agent for and on behalf of the Owner of the Goods.
  2. The Customer shall be deemed to be competent and to have reasonable knowledge of matters affecting the conduct of his business, including terms of sale and purchase and all other matters relating thereto.
  3. The Customer shall give to the Company sufficient and executable instructions.
  4. If the Company's instructions are insufficient or inexecutable, the Company shall within the limits of its duty of care and diligence informs the Customer.
  5. The Customer warrants that the description and particulars of the Goods are complete, accurate and correct.
  6. Except where the Company has agreed in writing to pack the goods, the Customer warrants that the Goods are properly and sufficiently prepared, packed, stowed and marked, and that the preparation, packing, stowage, labeling and marking are appropriate to any operations or transactions affecting the Goods and the characteristics of the Goods.
Special Conditions Relating To Particular Goods
  1.  
    1. Except following instructions previously received in writing and accepted by the Company, the Company will not accept or deal with Goods of dangerous or damaging nature, nor with Goods likely to harbour or encourage vermin or other pests. If such Goods are accepted pursuant to special arrangement and then in the opinion of the Company they constitute a risk to other Goods, property, life or health, the Company shall where reasonably practicable contact the Customer but reserves the right at the expense of the Customer to remove or otherwise deal with the Goods.
    2. If the Customer delivers to the Company or causes the Company to deal with or handle Dangerous Goods in breach of Clause 11(a) above, the Company shall not be liable whatsoever, and the Customer shall solely be liable, for any loss or damage whatsoever caused by or to the Dangerous Goods or howsoever arising in connection therewith or incidental thereto and the Customer shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Company against all penalties, claims, liabilities (whether civil, criminal or otherwise), damages, costs and expenses whatsoever arising in connection with or incidental to such loss or damage, and the Dangerous Goods may without notice be destroyed or otherwise dealt with at the sole discretion of the Company or any other person in whose custody they may be at the relevant time without compensation or any liability whatsoever attaching to the Company.
  2. No insurance will be effected except upon express instructions given in writing by the Customer and all such instructions effected by the Company unless specifically instructed otherwise by the Customer in writing are subject to the exceptions and conditions of the policies of the insurance company or underwriters taking the risk. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Company shall not be under any obligation to effect a separate insurance on each consignment but may declare it on any open or general policy. Should the insurers dispute their liability for any reason whatsoever the insured shall have recourse against the insurers only and the Company shall not under any responsibility or liability whatsoever in relation thereto notwithstanding that the premium upon the policy may not be at the same rate as that charged by the Company or paid to the Company by its Customers.
  3. Except in accordance with express instructions previously received in writing and accepted in writing by the Company, the Company shall not be obliged to make any declaration for the purposes of any statute, convention or contract as to the nature or value of any Goods or as to any special interest in delivery.
General Indemnities
  1.  
    1. The Customer undertakes that no claim shall be made against the Company, its servants or employees of the Company which imposes or attempts to impose upon them any liability in connection with any services which are the subject of these Conditions and if any such claim should nevertheless be made, to indemnify the Company against all consequences thereof.
    2. The Customer shall defend and hold harmless and keep the Company indemnified from and against all claims, costs and demands whatsoever and by whomsoever made or preferred in excess of the liability of the Company under the terms of the Conditions and without prejudice to the generality of this Clause this indemnity shall cover all claims costs and demands arising from or in connection with the negligence or breach of duty or other default of the Company, its servants, agents or other persons (including any independent contractors).
    3. In this clause "contractor" includes direct or indirect sub-contractors and their respective servants or agents and " agents " includes sub - agents and their respective servants or agents.
  2. The Customer shall warn the Company if any Goods which are the subject of any transaction to which these Conditions apply are liable to taint or affect other Goods; and the Customer shall indemnify the Company against any liability, loss, damage, costs or expenses incurred by the Company as a consequence of the Customer's failure to do so or his failure to do so in good time.
  3. The Customer shall solely be liable for demurrage or loss, damage, contamination, soiling or detention before during or after the carriage of property (including but not limited to Containers) or any person or vessel referred to herein caused directly or indirectly by the Customer of any person acting as servants, agents or independent contractors for or on behalf of either of them.
General Average
  1. The Customer shall indemnify the Company in respect of any claims of a general average nature, which may be made on it and shall provide such security as may be required by the Company in this connection.
Charges
  1.  
    1. The Customer shall pay to the Company in cash or in such manner as the Company may agree all sums immediately when due without deduction or deferment on account of any claim, counterclaim or set-off.
    2. When the Company is instructed to collect freight, duties, charges or other expenses from any person other than the Customer, the Customer shall make payment of the same to the Company on receipt from the Company of evidence of demand and a notice stating that payment has not been received (which notice shall be conclusive and binding on the Customer).
    3. On all amounts overdue to the Company, the Customer shall pay to the Company interest calculated from the date sum amounts are overdue until payment thereof, at the rate of two (2) percent per month.
    4. Notwithstanding and without prejudice to Clause 18 (c), in the event that the Customer fails to pay any sum due to the Company within five (5) days from the date any such sum is due, the Company shall be entitled at any time thereafter by written notice to the Customer declare that: -
      1. all credit terms in respect of all or any part of the Services rendered pursuant to these Conditions shall be cancelled, whereupon the same shall immediately or in accordance with the terms of such notice become due and payable.
Rights of the Company
  1. The Company shall be entitled and the Customer hereby expressly authorizes the Company, except in so far as has been otherwise specifically agreed between the Company and the Customer, to enter into contracts on behalf of the Customer:-
    1. for the carriage of Goods by any route or means or person;
    2. for the storage, packing, transshipment, loading, unloading or handling of the Goods by any person at any place whether on shore or afloat and for any length of time;
    3. for the carriage or storage of Goods in Containers or with other Goods of whatever nature; or
    4. to do such acts as may in the opinion of the Company be reasonably necessary in the performance of its obligations in the interests of the Customer.
    1. The Company shall be entitled but under no obligation to depart from the Customer's instructions in any respect if in the sole opinion of the Company there is good reason to do so in the Customer's interest and the Company shall not thereby incur any additional liability whatsoever, other than its liability hereunder.
    2. The Company may at any time comply with the orders or recommendations given by any Authority. The responsibility of the Company in respect of the Goods shall cease on the delivery or other disposition of the Goods in accordance with such orders or recommendations.
    3. If at any time the performance of the Company's obligations, in the sole opinion of the Company or any person whose services the Company makes use of, is or is likely to be affected by any hindrance, risk, delay, difficulty or disadvantage whatsoever and which cannot be avoided by reasonable endeavours by the Company or such other person, the Company may, on giving notice in writing to the Customer or Owner or without notice where it is not reasonably possible to give such notice, treat the performance of its obligations as terminated and place the Goods or any part of them at the Customer's or Owner's disposal at any place which the Company may deem in its opinion safe and convenient, whereupon the responsibility of the Company in respect of the Goods shall wholly cease. The Customer shall pay on demand any additional costs of carriage and delivery to and storage at such places and all other expenses incurred by the Company.
    4. If delivery of the Goods or any part thereof is not taken by the Customer or Owner at the time and place when and where the Company or any person whose services the Company makes use of calls upon the Customer or Owner to take delivery thereof, the Company shall be entitled to store the Goods or any part thereof at the sole risk of the Customer, whereupon the liability of the Company in respect of such Goods shall wholly cease and the costs of such storage and all other expenses and liability whatsoever paid or payable or incurred or which may be incurred by the Company shall be paid by the Customer on demand.
    5. Without prejudice to Clause 19 and 20, the Company shall be entitled but under no obligation, at the expense of the Customer payable on demand and without any liability on the part of the Company to the Customer or the Owner, to sell or dispose:-
      1. on giving 21 days' notice in writing to the Customer or where the Customer cannot be traced and reasonable efforts have been made to contact any parties who may reasonably be supposed by the Company to have any interest in the Goods, of Goods or any part thereof which in the sole opinion of the Company cannot be delivered as instructed; or
      2. without notice to the Customer, of Goods which have perished, deteriorated or altered, or are in immediate prospect of doing so or which has caused or may reasonably be expected to cause loss or damage to any person or property or to contravene any applicable laws or regulations.
    1. All Goods and documents in the possession, custody and control of the Company or its agents shall be subject to a general lien and right of detention for all sums ( including without limitation all costs and charges payable by the Customer ) dues to the Company at any time and from time to time whether in respect of Services provided or in respect of such Goods or other goods or otherwise. If the sums due as aforesaid are not satisfied within 28 days of a notice in writing by the Company to the Customer, the Company shall be entitled to sell or dispose of the Goods or documents whether by public auction, private treaty or otherwise, and the proceeds of sale shall be applied in satisfaction of firstly, the costs and expenses of the sale or disposal and secondly, the sums due to the Company without any liability whatsoever on the part of the Company to the Customer. For the avoidance of doubt, in the event that the proceeds of sale are insufficient to satisfy all sums due to the Company, the Company shall be entitled to recover from the Customer all sums which remains outstanding.
    2. Notwithstanding Clause 21 (a) above, when the Goods are liable to perish or deteriorate, the Company's rights to sell or dispose of the Goods shall arise immediately upon any sum becoming due to the Company subject only to the Company taking reasonable steps to bring to the Customer's attention its intention of selling or disposing of the Goods before doing so.
  4. The Company shall be entitled to retain and be paid all brokerages, commissions, allowances and other remunerations agreed to be customarily retained by or paid to freight forwarders.
  5. The Company shall have the right to enforce against the Customer and Owner jointly and severally any liability of the Customer under these Conditions or to recover from them any sums to be paid by the Customer which upon demand have not been paid.
Containers
  1.  
    1. If a Container has not been packed nor stuffed by the Company, the Company shall not be liable for loss of or damage to the contents thereof if caused by: -
      1. the manner in which the Container has been packed or stuffed;
      2. the unsuitability of the contents for carriage in Containers unless the Company has approved their suitability;
      3. the unsuitability or defective condition of the Containers provided that where the Container has been supplied by or on behalf of the Company, this paragraph shall apply only if the unsuitability or defective condition:-
        1. arose without any negligence on the part of the Company; or
        2. would have been apparent upon reasonable inspection by the Customer or Owner or person acting on behalf of either of them; or
        3. arose as a result of the peculiarity of the Goods and such peculiarity is not made known to the Company; or
        4. the Container not being sealed at the commencement of any carriage except where the Company has agreed in writing to seal the Container.
    2. The Customer shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Company against all liability, loss, damage, costs and expenses arising from one or more of the matters provided for in 24 (a) above.
    3. Where the Company is instructed to provide a Container, in the absence of any specific request in writing, the Company is not under an obligation to provide a Container of any particular type of quality.
Limitation of Liability
  1.  
    1. Except insofar as otherwise provided by these Conditions, the Company shall be relieved of liability for any loss or damage if and to the extent that such loss or damage was caused by: -
      1. the act or omission of the Customer, or person other than the Company acting on behalf of the Customer, or of the person from whom the Company took the Goods in charge;
      2. insufficiency of the packing and/or marks and/or labels and/or numbers save where the Company had undertaken to carry out the packing, application of marks or labeling or numbering of the Goods;
      3. handling, loading, stowage or unloading of the Goods by the Customer or any person acting on behalf of the Customer;
      4. inherent vice of the Goods;
      5. strike, lock out, stoppage or restraint of labour, the consequences of which the Company was unable to avoid by the exercise of reasonable diligence;
      6. any cause or event which the Company was unable to avoid and the consequences whereof the Company was unable to prevent by the exercise of reasonable diligence.
    The burden of proving that the loss or damage was due to one or more of the above causes or events shall rests upon the Company.
Amount of Compensation
  1. Except in so far as otherwise provided by these Conditions, the liability of the Company howsoever arising and notwithstanding that such liability shall have arisen from the neglect or default of the Company or for any other matter or things, shall not exceed: -
    1. in respect of all claims other than those subject to the provisions of Clause 27 (b) below, the lesser of : -
      1. the value of the Goods lost, damaged, misdirected, misdelivered or in respect of which a claim arises; or
      2. RM5.00 per gross kilogram of the said Goods
      3. not exceeding RM 100, 000 in any event whatsoever in respect of any one claim, and
    2. in respect of claims for delay where not excluded by the provisions of these Conditions, the amount of the Company's charges for the services in respect of the Goods delayed.
  2. For the purposes of Clause 27 and Clause 28, the value of the Goods: -
    1. shall be calculated by reference to the invoice value of the Goods plus freight and insurance if paid; and
    2. if there is no invoice value for the Goods, shall be calculated by reference to the value of such Goods at the place and time when they are delivered to the Customer or Owner, their assignees or such persons as instructed by the Customer or should have been delivered. The value of the Goods shall be fixed according to the current market value or commodity exchange price or if there is no current market price value or commodity exchange price, by reference to the normal value of Goods of the same kind and quality.
  3. By special arrangement agreed in writing, the Company may accept liability in excess of the limits in sub-clauses above upon the Customer agreeing to pay the Company's additional charges for accepting such increased liability.
    1. The Company shall be discharged of any liability whatsoever unless: -
      1. notice of any claim is received in writing by the Company or its agents within 14 days after the date specified in ( b ) below; and
      2. suit is brought in the proper forum and written notice thereof received by the Company within 9 months after the date specified (b) below.
    2. The date referred to in Clause 29 (a) above shall: -
      1. in the case of damage to Goods, the date of delivery of the Goods, and in the case of the loss of the Goods, the date the Goods should have been delivered;
      2. in the case of delay or non-delivery of the Goods, the date that the Goods should have been delivered; and
      3. in any other case, the event giving rise to the claim.
 
Total 6 Chapters Back: Chapter 2 & 3 Read next: Chapter 5
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