Terms & Conditions

1. Scope & Application

These Standard Trading Conditions apply to all business undertaken, advice provided, and services performed by LE Consulting (“the Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), whether acting as an agent or as a principal freight forwarder, logistics provider, customs broker, or warehouse keeper.

No servant, agent, or representative of the Company has authority to alter, waive, or vary any provision of these Conditions unless such variation is confirmed in writing signed by a director or officer of LE Consulting.

2. Definitions

In these Conditions, the following terms have the meanings assigned below:

• “Customer”: Any person, firm, or corporation at whose request or on whose behalf the Company provides services, including shippers, consignors, consignees, cargo owners, and their lawful agents.
• “Goods”: Any cargo, merchandise, machinery, raw material, or property accepted by the Company for transport, handling, customs clearance, or storage, including any container, trailer, pallet, or transport unit not supplied by the Company.
• “Carrier”: Any ocean carrier, airline, trucking operator, railroad, or intermediary hired to perform carriage of Goods.
• “Transport Document”: Any Bill of Lading (ocean, house, or through), Sea Waybill, Air Waybill (MAWB/HAWB), Consignment Note (CMR), or multimodal transport document issued in respect of the Goods.
• “Dangerous Goods”: Cargo classified as hazardous, noxious, flammable, radioactive, or environmentally damaging under the IMDG Code, ICAO Technical Instructions, IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, ADR, or applicable local law.

3. Scope of Services & Company Status

The Company provides comprehensive freight logistics solutions, including but not limited to:

• Ocean freight forwarding (Full Container Load / Less than Container Load);
• Air freight cargo handling and express charter forwarding;
• Domestic and cross-border road trucking and multimodal rail freight;
• Warehousing, cross-docking, palletization, and distribution management;
• Customs brokerage, classification, import/export documentation, and tariff compliance;
• End-to-end supply chain coordination and freight consultancy.

Except where the Company expressly issues its own Bill of Lading or House Air Waybill naming itself as the carrier, the Company acts as an agent for the Customer in procuring carriage, storage, and handling with independent third-party carriers and warehouse operators. Contracts procured by the Company on behalf of the Customer are subject to the terms and limitations of liability of those respective carriers and operators.

4. Quotations, Pricing & Surcharges

All quotations provided by the Company are estimates based on prevailing carrier rates, currency exchange rates, fuel indices, port tariffs, and government regulations at the date of issuance.

Unless otherwise specified in writing:

• Quotations are subject to acceptance within thirty (30) calendar days from issuance;
• Quotes exclude unexpected carrier surcharges, including Bunkering/Fuel Surcharges (BAF), Currency Adjustment Factors (CAF), Peak Season Surcharges (PSS), War Risk Surcharges, and port congestion fees;
• Quotes exclude customs duties, import VAT/GST, inspection fees, quarantine charges, storage, demurrage, detention, and physical examination costs assessed by terminal operators or customs authorities;
• Quotations are based on the weights, dimensions, and descriptions provided by the Customer. The Company reserves the right to re-weight and re-measure any shipment, and invoice on actual or chargeable volumetric weight according to standard IATA / ocean freight conventions.

5. Customer Obligations & Warranties

The Customer expressly warrants and guarantees that:

• It is either the legal owner of the Goods or authorized by the lawful owner to accept these Conditions;
• All descriptions, values, weights, piece counts, serial numbers, tariff classifications, and particulars supplied to the Company are accurate, complete, and true;
• All Goods have been properly, securely, and adequately packed, stowed, labeled, and marked to withstand the ordinary risks of multimodal transit, handling, and climatic changes;
• The transport of Goods complies with all applicable export controls, import regulations, economic sanctions, trade embargoes, and laws of all origin, transit, and destination jurisdictions;
• The Customer shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company against all losses, damages, fines, expenses, and legal fees arising from any breach of these warranties or inaccurate declarations.

6. Dangerous Goods & Restricted Cargo

The Customer must notify the Company in writing prior to tendering any cargo containing Dangerous Goods, hazardous substances, lithium batteries, perishable foodstuffs, temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, or high-value items (bullion, precious stones, currency, negotiable bonds).

Any Dangerous Goods tendered without prior written agreement and full regulatory documentation (such as a Shipper's Declaration of Dangerous Goods and Safety Data Sheet / SDS) may be unloaded, destroyed, or rendered harmless at any time without compensation to the Customer and at the Customer's sole expense and liability.

7. Customs Clearance, Duties & Taxes

Where the Company undertakes customs clearance on the Customer's instructions, the Company acts solely as a customs broker / agent. The Customer remains the ultimate importer or exporter of record.

The Customer is solely liable for all customs duties, tariffs, excise taxes, VAT, penalties, storage costs, and ancillary levies imposed by customs authorities or border agencies. If the Company advances funds on the Customer's behalf to facilitate release of cargo, the Customer must immediately reimburse the Company upon receipt of invoice, together with any applicable outlay and administrative fees.

8. Invoicing, Payment Terms & General Lien

Unless credit terms are agreed in writing under a formal credit agreement, all freight charges, customs duties, disbursements, and fees are due in full upon issuance of invoice without deduction, abatement, or set-off.

Interest on Late Payments: Overdue amounts accrue interest at the rate of 1.5% per month (or the maximum rate permitted by law) from the due date until full payment is received. The Customer is also liable for all legal costs and collection agency fees incurred in recovering overdue balances.

General & Particular Lien: The Company has a general and continuing possessory lien on all Goods and related documents in its possession or control for all sums owed by the Customer, whether relating to the current shipment or prior accounts. If any balance remains unpaid twenty-one (21) calendar days after written notice, the Company may sell or dispose of the Goods and apply the proceeds toward the debt.

9. Limitation of Liability & International Conventions

The Company's liability for loss, damage, misdelivery, or delay of Goods is strictly limited by statute and international conventions:

• Ocean Carriage: Governed by the Hague Rules or Hague-Visby Rules. Liability shall not exceed 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per gross kilogram of Goods lost or damaged, whichever is higher (or $500 per customary freight unit under US COGSA, where applicable).
• Air Carriage: Governed by the Montreal Convention 1999 or Warsaw Convention. Liability is capped at 22 SDR per gross kilogram.
• Road Transport: Governed by the CMR Convention (or applicable domestic motor carrier statutes), capped at 8.33 SDR per kilogram.
• Warehousing & Storage: Liability for loss or damage during warehousing is limited to $0.50 per pound or $50 per package, unless a higher value is declared in writing prior to receipt and additional storage charges are paid.

Consequential Loss Exclusion: IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF MARKET, LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, LOSS OF REVENUE, OR PLANT DOWNTIME, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE COMPANY HAD KNOWLEDGE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS.

10. Cargo Insurance

Carriers and logistics operators carry strictly limited legal liability. The Company does not insure cargo unless specifically instructed in writing by the Customer and agreed upon terms and premium payment.

The Company strongly advises every Customer to procure comprehensive, first-party All-Risks Marine / Cargo Insurance covering the full commercial value of the Goods plus freight and duty from origin to final destination. The Company can arrange cargo insurance through reputable underwriters upon timely written request.

11. Claims Notice & Time Limits

Any claim against the Company must be notified in writing within strict time windows:

• Apparent Loss or Damage: Must be recorded on the delivery receipt at the time of taking delivery and confirmed in writing to the Company within three (3) calendar days.
• Non-Apparent / Concealed Damage: Must be reported in writing with photo evidence within seven (7) calendar days of delivery.
• Non-Delivery / Loss: Must be reported within thirty (30) calendar days from the scheduled delivery date.

The Company shall be discharged from all liability whatsoever unless legal proceedings are commenced and served within nine (9) months from the delivery of the Goods, or the date when the Goods should have been delivered.

12. Force Majeure & Routing Discretion

The Company and its underlying carriers shall not be liable for any delay, failure in performance, diversion, or loss resulting from events beyond reasonable control (“Force Majeure”), including acts of God, storms, typhoons, earthquakes, war, piracy, civil commotion, strikes, lockouts, labor disputes, port congestion, canal blockages (e.g., Suez, Panama), epidemics, pandemics, cyber attacks, or sovereign acts of governments.

The Company reserves reasonable discretion as to the choice of carrier, route, multimodal combination, transshipment hub, and handling procedure unless specific routing has been explicitly agreed in writing.

13. Demurrage, Detention & Abandoned Goods

The Customer is responsible for ensuring timely pickup of import cargo and prompt return of empty shipping containers to designated carrier depots within the tariff free-time period.

All demurrage, detention, chassis rental fees, port storage, and terminal re-handling charges caused by delayed customs clearance, missing documentation, or failure to collect cargo are for the Customer's sole account. If cargo is not claimed within twenty-eight (28) days of arrival at destination, the Company may declare the cargo abandoned and store, sell, or dispose of it at the Customer's expense.

14. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Conditions, all quotations, bookings, and disputes arising out of or in connection with the Company's services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction where the contracting office of LE Consulting is registered.

Any legal dispute, controversy, or claim shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of that jurisdiction, without prejudice to the Company's right to commence enforcement proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction where the Customer or its assets may be found.

15. Legal Contact Information

For questions concerning these Standard Trading Conditions, contract agreements, or claim notices, please contact our legal and compliance department: