GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT - HERON

 

Preamble

 

1.1 These General Terms and Conditions of Contract govern, unless otherwise specified and expressly agreed upon in a written agreement between the parties, the obligations arising from contracts entered into with Heron (Xi'an) Log Limited or Heron Log Limited (Hong Kong SAR), or from acts or actions carried out by the latter, its employees, agents, or representatives. For the purposes of this document, both entities will be collectively referred to as "Heron."

 

Scope of Application

 

2.1 These general conditions apply to all contracts entered into with Heron as a freight forwarder, its employees, agents, or representatives, and to all assignments given to it, even if not preceded by an offer. The general conditions also apply to obligations arising from acts or actions carried out by Heron or its employees, agents, or representatives.

 

2.2 These general conditions govern all relationships with clients arising from the contract or the assignment of the shipment to Heron as defined above, including all actions and claims, even of an extra-contractual nature.

 

2.3 Unless otherwise explicitly agreed, each contract will be subject to the version published on the website www.heronlog.com at the time of the conclusion of the contract (or the assignment of the shipping task to Heron), which the client is required to become familiar with in advance through the link provided at the bottom of communications.

 

2.4 This text of the General Terms and Conditions of Contract drafted in the Italian language will be decisive and prevailing over the same text translated into different languages.

 

Subject of the Mandate

 

3.1 Heron, by virtue of the mandate received, will, according to Article 1737 of the Italian Civil Code, enter into the transport contract and carry out related operations, acting with the necessary discretion, with the option to group the goods with others (unless otherwise ordered in writing), always operating with the utmost diligence, acting as a freight forwarder and not as a carrier or combined transport operator.

 

3.2 For this reason, the conditions, regulations, and rules governing the transport contract will be those applied by maritime or air navigation companies or by land, rail, river, multimodal, or other nature carriers, Italian or foreign, whose services are requested by Heron on behalf of the client and under the mandate received.

 

Obligations, Responsibilities, and Exclusions of Liability of the Freight Forwarder

 

4.1 Heron, as a freight forwarder, is responsible for the execution of the mandate received for the conclusion of transport contracts with carriers on behalf of the client, as well as for any ancillary obligations.

 

4.2 Heron undertakes to execute the mandate entrusted to it with the diligence of a good freight forwarder, in accordance with Article 1737 of the Italian Civil Code and subsequent articles.

 

4.3 Heron assumes no responsibility for the interpretation of instructions transmitted verbally or by telephone by the principal, unless confirmed in writing.

 

4.4 Heron assumes no responsibility for the consequences that may arise from the principal sending incorrect, unclear, insufficient, or late documents or instructions.

 

4.5 In the event the customs value is not provided by the principal, Heron or its agents or employees may proceed to make the customs declaration based on the data and documents provided, and the principal declares and undertakes to indemnify and hold harmless Heron, its agents, and employees from any claims that may be made by control offices or any other competent authority.

 

4.6 Heron reserves the right, as required by law under Article 1717 of the Italian Civil Code, to substitute others for itself in the execution of the mandate.

 

4.7 Heron is not obligated to verify whether carriers or other entities involved in the shipment or the means used by them are adequately insured or certified.

 

4.8 Heron is not obligated to check or draw the principal's attention to legal or regulatory impediments regarding the shipment, including, by way of example, import, export, or transit restrictions.

 

4.9 Heron, as a freight forwarder, is not obliged to verify the existence, integrity, and adequacy of the packaging of goods entrusted to it for shipment and is not liable for damages of any kind suffered by unpackaged goods or insufficiently or inadequately packaged goods.

 

4.10 Heron is not responsible for the compliance of the goods subject to the mandate with national or foreign regulations.

 

Customer Responsibility and Insurance

 

5.1 The principal assumes all civil and criminal liability resulting from the declaration of the contents of the goods or packaging. Furthermore, the principal assumes all liability for damages and consequences that may result from their hazardous or illegal characteristics.

 

5.2 The principal may request insurance for the goods entrusted to Heron under the general conditions of the policy and premium defined in the request for a quote or acceptance of the assignment.

 

5.3 In the event of an insurance request, the principal must specify in the request for a quote or acceptance of the assignment the total value of the goods, with details for each package, including cost accessories (price paid or payable for the goods, packaging and transport expenses, insurance, customs duties, and charges, additional expenses), and must indicate the total value, including the impact of additional expenses, of the goods to be covered by the requested insurance policy.

 

5.4 In the event of a claim, the principal undertakes to provide Heron with all relevant documentation and proof necessary for the management of the claim and bear the costs.

 

Limitations of Liability

 

6.1 In the case of proven liability of Heron as a freight forwarder, this liability will be limited to direct material damages, expressly excluding any liability for indirect damages and losses of any kind, regardless of whether such damages or losses were foreseeable or not at the time of the assignment of the mandate to Heron or the transport contract or any other act or action carried out by Heron on behalf of the client.

 

6.2 Under no circumstances will Heron be liable for damages resulting from acts or omissions of carriers, depositaries, or agents or commissioners appointed by it, or for damages resulting from acts or omissions of recipients of goods or third parties of any nature.

Force Majeure

 

7.1 Heron is not responsible for losses, damages, or delays caused by events beyond its control, including but not limited to strikes, riots, civil disturbances, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, acts of public authorities, acts of police forces, or other authorities, interruptions of public utility services, electrical or network failures, technical issues, etc. In such cases, Heron is not obliged to compensate for damages or pay any compensation to the client.

 

Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

 

8.1 These general conditions and the contracts to which they apply are governed by:

the laws of the People's Republic of China, in the case of contracts entered into with Heron (Xi’an) Log Limited;

the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in the case of contracts entered into with Heron Log Limited (Hong Kong SAR).

 

8.2 For any disputes arising from the application of these general conditions or the contracts underlying them, the exclusive jurisdiction shall be:

the Court of Xi’an, in the case of Heron (Xi’an) Log Limited;

the competent courts of Hong Kong SAR, in the case of Heron Log Limited (Hong Kong SAR).

 

These are the new General Terms and Conditions of Contract of Heron, valid from the date of their publication on the website www.heronlog.com. The client is required to familiarize themselves with these terms before entering into any contract or entrusting shipping tasks to Heron.