General Terms – Customs Brokerage
These Terms apply to all services that Icetransport ehf. manages as a custom broker for customer, whether or not the services are payed for.
Goods that are transported to and from the country must be cleared through customs according to current Customs Act provision at any given time. When goods are cleared through customs the formalities/preparation of documents that the Customs Act requires in order for the goods to be authorized to be delivered for domestic use, for transit or for exportation.
1. Definitions
In these terms following terms shall have this definition:
“Import charges” mean all customs duties and other taxes, fees and cost and interest and other charges that falls on wages that must be payed when goods are cleared for customs when imported or exported.
“The Company” means Icetransport ehf. ID no. 541298-3049, Selhella 7, 221 Hafnarfjördur, Iceland and its subsidiary/affiliated company, as well as any person acting as an employee, agent or otherwise in the interest of the Company or its subsidiary.
“Subsidiary” means other companies the Company owns and/or owns a majority in and/or controls a majority of the votes at any given time.
“SDR” is an international unit of account used by the International Monetary Fund, which shall be converted into Icelandic currency according to the exchange rate on the date when payment takes place.
„Customs Act“ means Customs Act No. 88/2005, as amended, as well as regulations, rules and other administrative instructions issued on the basis of the aforesaid Act.
„Customs documentation“ means custom declaration and other files and documents needed to be submitted for customs clearance as specified in Custmos Acts, whether by letter or in electronic form.
“Goods” mean any object or objects registered in single customs declaration and can be a subject to customs treatment according to the customs tariff.
“Customer” means a person or legal entity and applies to a party who has requested the Company to act on his behalf before the customs authorities in order to perform the services that the company is permitted to perform as a customs broker under the the Customs Act as well as any person acting as an employee, agent or otherwise in his interest.
“Invoice” means the invoice a Customer delivers to the Company in the beginning to determine the customs value of the goods concerned.
“Services” mean all work or a part of work which the Company manages for a Customer and falls within the role of acting before the customs authorities and performing the services specified in Article 4.
2. Scope of Application
These terms, including exemption from liability, defences, rights and limitations of liability, apply in all legal actions against the Company whether or not the claim rely upon a contract or in tort and even if the liability is a result of intention or gross negligence or rejection of contract or significant defaults.
These Terms shall govern the legal relationship between the Customer and the Company as well as the legal relationship between the owner of goods, which the Company has undertaken to clear through customs, and the Company if the owner is not also a customer.
3. Agency
Since the Company is a licensed customs breaker according to the current Customs Act the Company is authorized under the Customs Act to act as an agent for its customers before the customs authorities at customs clearance of goods transported into and out of Iceland.
The Customer gives the Company full and unexclusive power to act on his behalf before the customs authorities in conformity with the provisions of the Customs Act, to sign a binding guarantee on the customs declaration of goods cleared through customs in the name of the Customer and to request the debiting of import charges to the Customer in conformity with the Customer’s permissions from the customs authorities for delayed payment of import charges when requesting that the Company handles customs clearance on the Customer’s behalf.
4. The Company’s services
The Company’s services as a customs broker in accordance to the powers conferred according to Article 3 are limited to the following services, as appropriate and as requested by the Customer in each case:
- Advice in the preparation of customs documentation, such as tariff classification and calculation of import charges.
- Customs declaration for importation and exportation.
- Request for electronic customs clearance of goods using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI customs clearance).
- Payment of import charges on behalf of the Customer.
The above enumeration is considered thorough and is delimited by the Company’s obligations as a customs broker in conformoity to the current Customs Act.
The Company is obligated to provide the services it takes on for a Customer in a sensible and careful and way and to maintain confidentiality. The Company is also obligated to fulfil the conditions of the Customs Act for granting an operating license for customs brokerage.
The Company is obligated to send the Customer a copy of all customs documentation for review no later than fifteen (15) days after a request for customs clearance has been sent to the Directorate of Customs.
The Company evaluates whether customs documentation and the supporting documents and other information supplied by the Customer as ground for customs declaration meet the conditions of the Customs Act. The Company will request the missing the documents or new documents replacing those which did not meet the conditions of the Customs Act if the Company concludes that the documents and information do not meet the conditions. A request for customs clearance will not be carried until such documents or information have been presented to the Company.
The Company will immediately notify the authorities if it finds out that the Customer has intentionally presented incorrect or unsatisfactory data or information, the Company will immediately notify the authorities accordingly.
5. Liability of the Company
The Company is liable in conformity to the general rules of tort law for Customer’s direct loss which can be attributed to either intention or gross negligence on the part of the Company or persons for whom the Company is responsible, with the exceptions stated in these Terms. The party claiming that the Company bears liability is responisble for proofing the Company’s liablility.
6. Exemption from Liability
6.1. Relief from Liability
The Company is not under any circumstances liable for any damage that may be linked to the reasons following:
- Incorrect or inaccurate data or information from the Customer
- Data or information that the Customer has a kept from the Company.
- If the transaction value of goods is not considered to comply with the provisions of Section V of the Customs Act.
- If a binding opinion on tariff classification has been requested in accordance to Article 21 of the Customs Act and a decision on a binding opinion on tariff classification is cancelled by the Directorate of Customs or amended following a complaint to the State Customs Board.
- If The Customer does not fulfill information obligation with respect to the customs authorities or is reluctant to provide the assistance that he is required to provide to the customs authorities under the Customs Act.
- Defaults by the Customer on import charges, penalty interest or other costs and/or other charges.
- Violations by the Customer or persons acting on his behalf of the provisions of these Terms and/or powers conferred and/or the parties’ agreement.
- Intention or negligence of the Customer or persons acting on his behalf.
- Force Majeure, which cannot be foreseen or prevented.
6.2. Delays and/or Deferments
The Company is not under any circumstances liable for any direct, indirect or consequential damages, loss or costs caused by delays or delayed customs clearance.
6.3. Indirect or Consequential Damages
The Company is not under any circumstances liable for any direct or consequential damages or any loss of profit.
7. Limitation of Liability.
If it should come to that the Company is liable due to the customs clearance of goods the indemnity shall not be higher than the equivalent of five times the fee of the Company for customs clearance of the goods concerned.
If it’s not possible to verify the Company’s fee and therefore the above-mentioned limitation amount, indemnity shall not be higher than the equivalent of SDR 500 for any damage or additional damages if their cause is the same.
8. Customer’s own fault
If it is proofed that the Customer or a person acting on his behalf has imparted in the loss by intention or negligence indemnity to the Customer will be reduced or dismissed.
The Customer shall always be obliged to take measures to limit his loss in accordance to general rules of tort law.
9. Interest
Before judgment has been passed by a court no interest will be paid on claims made against the Company.
10. Obligations of the Customer
The Customer guarantees that he is the owner or the rightful holder of the goods, or that he is fully authorized by the owner of the goods, for which customs clearance is requested.
The Customer is responsible for making certain all the the requirements of domestic and foreign law, rules and administrative instructions applicable to the goods and the services, which he requests the Company to do are met as appropriate.
The Customers is responsible for making sure that all information and documents he presents to the Company are accurate and correct, whether the information and documents are in electronic or in written form.
The Company bases it’s services on the information and documents the Customers presents tot the Company.
The Customer must review and examine all customs documentation, whether in writing or in electronic form, that the Company sends to him pursuant to Article 4 and make sure it is correct. If the customs documentations are not accurate or correct the Customer has to let the Company know without any delay and advise the Company regarding the items that need correcting. The information and documentation are assumed to be correct as well as that the Costumer has approved the relevant tarrif classification and customs clearance of the goods if the Customer does not submit any reflections on the tariff classification of goods under specific tariff headings in accordance to the customs tarrif within ten (10) days of receipt of the customs documentation. The customer is responsible for delivering these Terms to his employees, agents or others working for him.
11. Payment of import charges on behalf of the Customer
The Company is under no circumstances obliged to pay any import charges for the Customer. The Company is not obliged to pay import charges for the Customer unless the Customer has provided the Company with sufficient funds to cover such payments in advance. The Company decides the amount payed to the Customer each time in accordance to the above.
12. Liability of the Customer
The Customer guarantees that he has a valid permission from the customs authorities for delayed payments of import charges. The Customer guarantees that he will notify the Company in a confirmable manner of any changes that may be made to the permit and/or if the permit expires during the term of agency in accorandance to Article 3 of these Terms.
If import charges are in default or if the customs authoritites refuse permission for customs clearance the Customer has to notify the Company without any dealy in a confirmable manner.
If the information and/or data that Customer presented to the Company turn out to be incorrect, misleading, incomplete or not in accordance with law the Customer bears objective liability for all direct and indirect damages that the Company might make itself subject to.
The Customer is with out any expections liable for the payment of import charges and/or other charges in accorande to the Customst Act. If the Company has to pay for import charges or any other charges deciced by the customs authorities or the courts because of incorrect tarrif classification or liability pursuant to the Customs Act or other incidents the Customer has to recoup the Company such charges or payments as well as the maximum legal penalty interest. The Customer has to indemnify the Company for the damages and costs, including legal fees, that the Company has made itself subject to because of such payment and keep the Company indemnified from any consequences. The start of the limitation period for such a recourse claim is based on the date when the Company pays the aforementioned charges.
13. Fee
The Customer has to pay the Company fee for the services and work the Company provides the Customer with. The Customer also has to pay the Company back all the cost the Company has payed on the Customer’s behalf. The fee and its payment is based on the terms of the Company’s list of tarrifs of applicable at any given time unless otherwise agreed. If the fee and/or cost outlay have not paid by the due date the Company has authority to charge the Customer penal interest from the due date and collection costs.
14. Notice of Damage; Expiry
The Customer has to send the Company notice in writing regarding any damage that he believes the Company is responisble for as soon as the Customer notices the damage and no later than within ten (10) days have past since he knew about the damage or could have known about it. In the notice mentioned here above it has to stated clearly goods involved, the amount of the compensation claim, if possible, and the reason for which the Company is held liable for the incident in question, if appropriate. The Customer’s right to claim compensation from the Company expire due to indifference if notice of damage is not made in accordance with the foregoing.
All claims against the Company will be cancelled due to expiry within one (1) year of the date on which a customs declaration was dispatched to the customs authorities, whether by EDI transmission or by other means or, if not appropriate, from the date on which the relevant service was performed despite the above provision of notice.
In other respects, the general rules of the applicable Act on the Expiry of Debts and Claims apply to the expiry of claims under these Terms.
15. Termination of Business
If the Customer default his obligation significantly in accorande with these Terms or of a contract and/or powers pursuant to them the Company can terminate the parties’ contract and/or mandate for customs clearance without notice.
The Company has authority to terminate the parties’ contract and/or mandate for customs clearance with a notice of fifteen (15) days if the defaults are not significant and a notice stating that shall be sent to the Customer in confirmable manner. In the notice the Customer is urged to rectify this shortcoming within the period specified above and if not the contract will be cancelled along with all obligations and any liability of the Company.
In other cases the Company has authority to terminate the parties’ contract and/or mandate for customs clearance with a notice of thirty (30) days.
16. Delivery of Notices
If these Terms or the parties’ contract and/or mandate for customs clearance state that one of the parties have to send the other a notification, regardless of what it is called, then it shall be sent in a confirmable manner to the addresses supplied by the parties, or to their legal domicile as registered when the notice was dispatched.
The notification shall have its intended significance and legal effect, even if it arrives garbled, too late or not at all to the recipient.
17. Laws and Jurisdiction
These Terms and the parties’ contract and/or mandate for customs clearance shall be governed by Icelandic law. Any disputes regarding these Terms and the parties’ contract and/or mandate for customs clearance shall be brought before the District Court of Reykjavík.
18. Term of validity
These Terms on customs brokerage are valid from June 1st 2013. The Company reserves the right to make amends to these Terms at any time. Amendments to the terms shall take effect as of the date on which amended terms are published on the Company’s website.
