1. What risks does a freight forwarder need to bear? Whether a freight forwarder is engaged in business activities as an agent, as a carrier, warehousing custodian, other independent operator, or as a mixed operator When engaging in business activities as a comprehensive logistics service provider, violations of relevant contracts signed with customers and subcontractors and infringement of third party property and personal rights will inevitably occur, and must be carried out in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and relevant contract terms. It stipulates that freight forwarders shall bear corresponding legal responsibilities for the consequences of the above-mentioned actions. These responsibilities are all legal liability risks faced by freight forwarders. Specifically, they include: 1. Cost losses caused to the client due to negligence in arranging transportation, mis-issuing, mis-shipping, mis-delivering, delaying transportation of goods, omissions, incorrect preparation, and issuance of transportation documents and documents; 2. Due to entrusted packaging and reinforcement of goods 3. Loss of the client’s goods due to improper temporary storage; 4. Loss of the client’s goods due to careless selection of carriers and warehousing custodians; 5. Loss of the client’s goods due to negligence in delivering and receiving goods. Failure to obtain evidence of the condition of the goods at that time, resulting in the loss that the consignor cannot claim from the responsible person; 6. Loss of the consignor's goods due to errors in packing, unpacking, and consolidating operations; 7. Damage to other people's containers and ancillary equipment due to one's own fault Damage; 8 Due to errors in customs declaration, inspection and inspection, violation of import and export control regulations or requirements of customs, commodity inspection, animal and plant inspection, and quarantine authorities, additional taxes and fees are levied and corresponding fines imposed by relevant authorities; 9 Due to errors in insurance agency , missing insurance, wrong insurance, incorrect declaration, causing the client to be unable or difficult to obtain compensation from the insurance company; 10. personal injury or property loss to a third party due to infringement.

2. Legal risks in logistics transportation 1. Risks of the contracting entity and its solvency. In practice, logistics companies often ignore the contracting entity and its solvency when signing contracts. Some companies are simply handbag companies or do not have logistics qualifications. After the logistics company handed over the goods to the company for transshipment, the goods were damaged, lost, or even misappropriated by the company. The loss is difficult to recover, but the logistics company has to bear the liability for compensation to the client. . Some contracts or waybills only fill in the driver's name or license plate number. If the goods are damaged or lost during transportation, and the driver has limited or no ability to compensate, and the logistics company cannot find evidence to prove that the driver has the right to sign contracts on behalf of other companies, the loss will be Very difficult to recover. 2. The shipper increases the carrier's liability risk. In order to better protect its own interests, shippers often set some clauses to increase the carrier's liability when formulating transportation contracts. Logistics companies are eager to get business and ignore contract review, making themselves bear excessive contractual obligations and liability for breach of contract, and suffer big losses when losses and disputes occur. 3. Risks of shipper's delivery instructions: Some shippers do not list the consignee on the freight contract or consignment note, and designate the consignee only after the goods are delivered; some only write the consignee's abbreviation or phone number; some only specify the consignee's name or phone number; Temporary change of consignee before delivery. In these cases, the carrier should retain relevant evidence of the shipper's delivery instructions, such as telephone recordings, written instructions, etc. Otherwise, once the shipper does not recognize the instructions and sues the carrier for wrong delivery, the carrier will immediately face liability. 4. Risks of road traffic accidents and ship collisions. Some logistics companies have signed anchorage agreements with natural persons to conduct anchorage operations and transportation. According to relevant regulations, if a road traffic accident occurs to a motor vehicle operated by an affiliate, the affiliated person and the affiliated unit shall bear joint liability for compensation. Therefore, when the affiliated vehicle suffers a traffic accident and causes losses and the right holder demands compensation, the affiliated person, as a natural person, often has limited solvency, and the logistics company will face compensation risks. Although there are currently no very clear laws and regulations on the liability for ship call operations, there are many cases in judicial practice that have ruled that the caller and the callee are jointly and severally liable. 5. Risks of unclear packaging terms: Some logistics companies generally write words such as "ordinary packaging", "general packaging", "customary packaging" in packaging terms. Such descriptions are very unclear and prone to disputes. Details such as packaging materials, packaging specifications, packaging methods, packaging descriptions, cost burdens, as well as specific requirements for handling and stacking should be clearly agreed in the packaging terms. 6. Risk of misdelivery of goods. If the goods are delivered to others by mistake, the logistics company shall be liable for compensation. Therefore, when delivering goods, logistics companies should hand over the goods to the consignee in strict accordance with the provisions of the contract or waybill, and pay attention to checking their relevant identity documents. The consignee is also required to sign and stamp, and the person entrusted by the consignee should be asked to provide a power of attorney. 7. Risks of failure to inspect and notify in time. According to legal provisions, the consignee must inspect the goods and raise objections in a timely manner when receiving the goods. If there is no on-site inspection and confirmation of the quality and quantity of the goods when receiving the goods, it will be difficult to prove the shortage or damage of the goods afterwards. Therefore, logistics companies, as consignees, should pay attention to inventory and inspection when receiving goods from other companies. If they find that the goods do not match the documents, they should require written confirmation from the delivery party. Otherwise, it will be difficult to prove after receiving the goods and they will have to bear the liability for compensation. 8. Risk of damage caused by loading and unloading If the goods are damaged during loading and unloading, the party responsible for loading and unloading shall be responsible for compensation. Therefore, it is very important to clarify in the loading and unloading clause which party bears the responsibility for loading and unloading.

If there is no agreement in the contract, in the logistics business, part of the loading and unloading work is usually the responsibility of the carrier. Therefore, logistics companies, as carriers, should pay attention to safe operations and be cautious when getting on and off the ship (ship), entering and exiting the warehouse, and transferring and transporting goods to avoid accidents. Bear liability for compensation for damage caused by loading and unloading. During the loading and unloading process, logistics companies may not only cause loss of goods, but may also cause personal injury accidents, causing injuries to porters or other personnel and bearing compensation liability. Therefore, logistics companies should strengthen safety awareness, improve safe operation management systems, and implement safety assessments to reduce the chance of safety accidents. 9. Risk of unclear acceptance of stored items. According to the provisions of Article 907 of the Civil Code, the custodian shall inspect and accept the stored items. In the warehousing business, if the custodian fails to check and verify the goods one by one according to the variety, quantity, quality, etc. listed in the goods documents, and a dispute arises when the goods are found to be inconsistent with the documents when they leave the warehouse, the warehousing company may be liable for compensation. . 10. Risk of deterioration of stored goods Disputes often arise if goods deteriorate during storage. According to Article 912 of the Civil Code: "If the custodian discovers deterioration or other damage to the stored goods, he shall promptly notify the depositor or warehouse receipt holder." Therefore, the custodian should pay attention to The obligation to notify in a timely manner and take effective measures to stop losses when necessary. 11. Risk of fraud by the depositor In practice, the depositor may use a variety of means to defraud the custodian, such as falsely claiming that the storage fees are borne by other units; falsifying the quality of the goods, passing them off as good, or concealing defects in the goods; making false claims. Quantity of goods, etc. When it was time to pick up the goods, they were required to deliver the goods according to the warehouse receipt, or they demanded compensation on the grounds that the warehousing company had changed the goods or used the goods without authorization. There are even cases where dangerous goods or other chemicals that require special storage are deliberately concealed in order to save costs, resulting in the loss of other goods and causing the warehousing company to compensate other stockholders. 12. Risks in the processing link For goods that require simple processing, sorting, and packaging by logistics companies, there may be risks of unclear delivery and acceptance of goods, subcontracting risks, and risks of personal injury compensation for temporary employees. Therefore, goods must be inspected in time when receiving them. Otherwise, if there are quality problems after receipt, it will be difficult to prove that there are quality problems in the goods themselves, and the logistics company will be liable for compensation. At the same time, logistics processing falls within the scope of processing contract specifications. Article 253 of the Contract Law stipulates: The contractor shall complete the main work himself, otherwise the ordering party may terminate the contract. If losses are caused by unauthorized subcontracting, the subcontractor shall bear liability for compensation. Therefore, once a logistics enterprise needs to subcontract, it should obtain the consent of the client. In the logistics processing link, some auxiliary work is often handed over to temporary workers. If the employment relationship is temporary, and the employee causes an injury accident at work, the logistics company, as the employer, must bear the liability for compensation, so the logistics company hires temporary workers. Moving goods or doing some simple processing work may result in economic losses of tens or even hundreds of thousands.

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