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1. Application
1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) shall apply to all agreements between GLS and an entrepreneur within the meaning of § 14 German Civil Code (BGB) for the national and international transports of parcels. Supplementary to these GTC apply:
- the guideline for regular senders https://www.gls-pakete.de/en/glossary/downloads#guideline-regular-senders,
- the NC goods guideline https://www.gls-pakete.de/en/glossary/downloads#nc-goods-guideline,
- for senders of pharmaceutical goods and medical products the conditions for the transport of pharmaceuticals, which GLS provides separately or on request.
1.2 As far as - in the following order - mandatory legal regulations (in particular in case of cross-border transports of the CMR or the Montreal Convention), individual agreements including product and service descriptions contained therein or these GTC do not contain any deviating provisions, the provisions of §§ 407 et seq. German Commercial Code (HGB) on the freight contract shall apply. The application of the German Freight Forwarders’ Standard Terms and Conditions (ADSp) is excluded. The inclusion of GTC of the sender is expressly contradicted. Tacit receipt of such GTC or tacit provision of services shall not be deemed as consent of GLS with the validity of the sender’s GTC.
2. Scope of Service and Hindrances
2.1 GLS carries out parcel transportations as provider of mass parcel transport services. Depending on the agreement, the parcels are either picked up by GLS or handed over by the sender at the responsible GLS outbound depot. GLS will then transport the parcels to the destination and deliver them to the consignee in accordance with clause 3.
2.1.1 A transportation as economical and fast as possible is achieved by standardised operations. The parcels are transported as consolidated shipment and sorted within the depots and reloading points with automatic conveyers. The parcels are scanned regularly when received at the outbound depot, when running through a reloading point, when received at the inbound depot, at the transfer to the delivery driver as well as upon delivery to the consignee, whereby date and time are registered. Further interface documentation is not carried out. GLS is entitled to use subcontractors to provide the services.
2.1.2 In the event that the sender transfers parcel data to GLS via remote data transmission, the transfer of data shall not be deemed as prima facie evidence for the fact that the parcels listed in the electronic shipping list have actually been handed over to GLS. GLS is not obliged to compare the submitted parcel data with the parcels actually handed over, unless otherwise explicitly agreed. Therefore, missing notification to the sender about discrepancies shall neither be deemed as acknowledgement of the shipping list nor of receipt of the respective parcel.
2.1.3 Due to the operational provision of logistics resources by GLS, the non-availability of notified parcels pursuant to clause 2.1.2 during pickup or handover shall not be deemed as termination of the sender in accordance with § 415 par. 1 HGB. This does not apply if the termination is based on reasons which are attributable to GLS.
2.2 GLS is not committed to conduct examinations or to execute measures for the conservation or improvement of the goods and its packing.
2.3 Instructions which have been issued by the sender after handing over of the parcels need not be complied with. §§ 418 par. 1 to 5 and 419 HGB shall not apply.
In case it becomes impossible to dispatch or deliver fixed date and express parcels, the sender will immediately be notified in order to obtain his instruction. In case it is impossible to receive such instruction within reasonable time, GLS shall be entitled to take actions which are suitable and reasonable with respect to the interests of the sender, in particular, GLS shall be entitled to return the parcel to the sender. The sender shall indemnify GLS for the necessary expenses or shall pay a reasonable remuneration for the necessary actions, if the impossibility of dispatch or delivery is not attributable to GLS.
2.4 For the time of their duration, performance hindrances which are not attributable to GLS, relieve GLS from all obligations whose completion was made impossible through these.
3. Delivery Times and Delivery
3.1 Delivery times are not agreed unless otherwise determined in the context of specific products or services. The delivery of parcels which arrive until 5 p.m. at the GLS outbound depot is generally carried out on working days except Saturdays within Germany within 24 hours (estimated time of delivery) free to the door of the consignee. The estimated delivery times for the international parcel dispatch can be found at https://www.gls-pakete.de/en/glossary/standard-delivery-times. Compliance with estimated delivery times is not part of the agreement and is neither assured nor guaranteed. If GLS informs the consignee on behalf of the sender about the anticipated parcel delivery time this also does not constitute a guaranteed delivery time.
Delivery shall be governed by the following provisions if and insofar as no product or service specific agreements exist.
3.1.1 GLS carries out at the maximum two delivery attempts. For fixed date and express parcels a second delivery attempt shall be made only upon corresponding agreement with the sender or the consignee.
3.1.2 Delivery can be carried out at commercial consignees at the goods receiving department. The delivery at P.O. boxes or similar special addresses shall be excluded.
3.1.3 In the interest of a parcel delivery as fast as possible, parcels may, if the consignee is not met in person at the first delivery attempt, be handed over to a person present in the flat or shop of the consignee or, if this should not be possible, to a neighbour of the consignee, if with respect to the specific circumstances it is to be assumed that such person is entitled to accept the parcel. Neighbour shall be defined as a person who lives or works in the same or next building. If this should not be possible, parcels may be stored at a GLS Parcel Shop in the vicinity for collection by the consignee. The consignee will be notified via a notification card which is filled in and laid into his receive station (generally the letterbox) at the same time, where and within which time he can collect his parcel. An alternative delivery can be limited or excluded within the scope of the services offered by GLS accordingly.
3.1.4 When a parcel is delivered, the person accepting the parcel confirms the receipt on the handheld scanner or as the case may be in an individual case on the delivery note list. The digitally available signature is used as proof of delivery. However, GLS is free to prove the delivery in any other suitable form.
3.1.5 In case the consignee granted GLS a permission to deposit the parcel, the parcel is deemed to be delivered when deposited at the place defined in the permission.
3.2 If the sender hands over parcels to GLS using the FlexDeliveryService, i.e. with parallel transmission of the consignee’s e-mail address, the consignee after being contacted by GLS has the possibility to directly influence the delivery of the parcel. Towards GLS instructions of the consignee are deemed to be instructions of the sender. The parcel is delivered when delivered according to the instructions of the consignee taking into account clauses 3.1.1 to 3.1.5 above.
3.3 If parcels cannot be delivered in the manner set forth in clauses 3.1.1 to 3.1.5 to the consignee or to any other person in clause 3.1.3 or after expiry of the retention period in a GLS ParcelShop and also cannot be returned to the sender because he can still not be determined or he refuses to take back the parcel, GLS shall be entitled to exploit the parcels after a 90-day period. The period begins at the time undeliverability is ascertained. Parcels which cannot be exploited may be destroyed by GLS.
4. Transportation Exclusions (Prohibited Goods)
The goods and parcels listed below shall be excluded from transportation by GLS:
4.1
- parcels whose value exceeds € 5,000.00,
- all parcels with a total value of more than € 25,000.00 handed over by a sender on one day at a shipping location or a GLS outbound depot for delivery to the same consignee,
- goods which are insufficiently packed,
- goods which require special handling (e.g. being particularly fragile or have to be trans- ported upright or only lying on a certain side),
- perishable or temperature sensitive goods, remains, blood reserves, organs, live animals,
- prescription drugs and drugs which must be transported separately from other goods (e.g. from tyres, hazardous goods), vaccines, insulin and narcotics,
- precious metals and stones, watches, jewellery and pearls, objects of art, collector’s items and antiques with a value of more than € 750.00 per parcel,
- goods which possess a low value themselves but whose damage or loss could cause high consequential damages (e.g. tender documents, volumes with sensitive data),
- phone cards, SIM cards and prepaid cards (e.g. for mobile phones),
- money and documents with monetary value (e.g. stamps, securities, acceptance bills, savings books),
- firearms and essential weapon parts according to § 1 of the German Weapon Law (WaffG) as well as ammunition,
- hazardous goods of classes within the meaning of the statutory dangerous goods reg- ulations – except the classes permitted within the scope of national dangerous goods shipping in accordance with clause 8 of these GTC – and waste according to the German Circular Economy Act (KrWG),
- parcels whose content, external quality, dispatch or storage violates a legal or public authority prohibition including applicable export or import regulations; these include parcels whose content violates legal provisions on the protection of intellectual property including forged or unlicensed copies of goods (counterfeiting),
- goods or parcels the sending of which are prohibited under all applicable sanctions laws, for example because of their contents, their intended recipient or the country to or from which they are to be sent. Sanctions laws include all laws, regulations and orders imposing sanctions (including trade restrictions and economic sanctions) on countries, individ- uals or entities, including without limitation those imposed by the United Nations, the European Union and the member states of the European Union,
- parcels classified as carriage forward.
4.2 Furthermore, parcels shall be excluded from transportation which have a weight of more than 40 kg (EuroExpressParcel and GlobalExpressParcel more than 50 kg, GlobalBusinessParcel more than 30 kg), a combined length and girth of more than 3 m, a length of more than 2 m, a height of more than 0.6 m or a width of more than 0.8 m
4.3 Additionally excluded shall be
4.3.1 from transportation abroad:
- hazardous goods of all kinds,
- tobacco products and liquors,
- personal effects and carnet ATA goods,
- tyres, if Sweden is the destination country.
4.3.2 from transportation as fixed date and express parcels:
- pharmaceutical goods and medical products,
- hazardous goods of all kinds.
4.3.3 from airfreight:
- prohibited articles according to the regulation (EC) No 300/2008 of 11th March 2008 and its implementing rules as amended from time to time.
4.4 The sender is obliged to control the compliance with the transportation exclusions before consignment of parcels. GLS exclusively accepts closed parcels for transportation. Upon suspicion of such exclusions and in statutorily permitted exceptional situations GLS shall be entitled to open and to check the parcels.
4.5 If the sender assigns GLS with the transport of parcels, whose transport is prohibited according to clauses 4.1 – 4.3 and without prior approval of GLS, the sender shall be liable in accordance with the legal provisions for all claims, costs and expenses, including but not limited to expenses for appropriate measures in order to eliminate or avoid danger (e.g. securing, intermediate storage, return, disposal, cleaning, etc.) suffered by GLS or third parties which result from the assignment contrary to the transport exclusions. Nevertheless in case of violation against clause 4.2 GLS shall be entitled to carry out the transportation and to demand a general reimbursement of expenses in the lump sum of € 50.00. The sender is explicitly allowed to verify that the expenses were not incurred, or that they were significantly less than the lump sum stated above. GLS reserves the right for evidence of higher expenses.
4.6 Individual labels or signs which are affixed to a parcel and which indicate a composition according to clauses 4.1 – 4.3 shall, in particular because of the service description in clause 2.1.1, not be sufficient to alert GLS to a consignment contrary to a transportation exclusion. GLS has no means to provide a special handling. Consent of a carrier or its agents or a tacit acceptance of a parcel does not represent approval of GLS.
5. Sender’s Obligations
5.1 Each parcel must bear or be accompanied by the duly completed documents filled out by the sender and approved by GLS. The sender shall be liable for the consequences of any errors in their completion. The sender shall ensure, when handing over the parcel, that only one undamaged and from GLS approved parcel label is attached to the largest side of the parcel and is easily visible. A parcel number shall only be used singularly. Used parcel labels, addresses or miscellaneous old signs must be removed.
5.2 If the sender does not comply with his obligations according to clause 5.1 GLS is at its discretion entitled to unload, to store, to secure or to return the parcel without the need for indemnifying the sender and the sender is liable for any expenses or costs due to this action
5.3 The sender is responsible for a proper and, with regard to the scope of service, sufficient inner and outer packaging, which withstands the strain of transport, whereby the packaging must ensure that on the one hand the goods themselves are protected against loss and damage and that on the other hand persons carrying out the transportation and other parcels transported are not endangered. The packaging must in particular ensure that an access to the parcel’s content is not possible without leaving a clear trace on the outside of the parcel. The guideline of regular senders of GLS will assist the sender in this matter.
5.4 The order for the transportation abroad includes the assignment of GLS to administer customs clearance, if without clearance the transportation would not be possible. It is the responsibility of the sender to submit all papers required for the customs clearance to GLS without request. The distribution of costs for customs clearance, customs duties and taxes follows the chosen postage. If due to return of export parcels further freights, customs, taxes or other contributions will be charged, the sender shall pay these costs, unless GLS is liable for the return. In case of transports to other EU countries the sender has the obligation to ensure that all necessary documentation needed for VAT tax exemption for intra-community transports is fulfilled
6. CashService
6.1 GLS offers the service CashService enabling the possibility to deliver parcels cash on delivery. The preparation and registration of CashService parcels is carried out by the sender according to the guidelines of GLS. In case several parcels are handed over to GLS for delivery to the same consignee cash on delivery, every parcel has to be declared separately as a CashService parcel. For each CashService parcel an additional fee will be charged.
6.2 The amount to be collected must be entered on the appropriate designated GLS form. The amount to be collected shall be limited for the individual parcel to a maximum of € 2,500.00. If several parcels are handed over on the same day to GLS for the transport to the same consignee, then the sum of the amounts to be collected must not exceed € 9,999.99. If parcel data is transferred via remote data transmission, the amount being submitted electronically shall be binding. If the amount to be collected is indicated in digits and in words, the digits shall prevail in case of doubt. For export parcels with a destination outside the euro area, the amount shall be declared in the currency of the destination country.
6.3 Any CashService offered to the sender of the CashService parcel are offered on the basis and understanding that GLS will act as the sender’s cash collection agent only and GLS does not have the authority to bind the sender, or to conclude an agreement with the consignee of the CashService parcel on behalf of the sender. The sender shall perform its anti-money laundering obligations as required by applicable law and/or regulation.
7. Guaranteed24Service and Express
7.1 With the Guaranteed24Service parcels will be delivered within Germany (except German islands) on the next working day (Monday – Friday) after pickup respectively handover, provided that the parcel has been consigned to the GLS outbound depot until 5 p.m. on the day of pickup or handover.
7.2 Express parcels will be delivered within the agreed time. Deliveries to German islands are not possible. Before an express order is issued by the sender he must ensure that the target destination is feasible by using the shipping planner on the GLS website https://gls-group.com/DE/en/shipping-planner. Express orders concerning invalid target destinations are excluded.
In case the agreed delivery time should be exceeded by more than 15 minutes, GLS compensates, subject to the extent of the delay, the surcharge which was paid for the service, less VAT provided that GLS was responsible for the delay. Apart from that the clauses 10.1 and 10.2 shall remain unaffected.
7.3 Due to the fact that parcel delivery is handled differently by the organizers of trade fairs, the delivery time cannot – subject to special agreement in an individual case – be guaranteed for parcels addressed to trade fairs.
8. HazardousGoodsService
8.1 GLS provides exclusively in inner-German traffic the forwarding of hazardous goods of the classes 2 (excluding the classification code 1-3, 4F, 9 and toxic gases), 3, 4.1 (excluding the classification code SR and FO), 5.1 (excluding packing group I and the classification code O3, OT1, OF, OS, OW, OTC), 8 and 9 (excluding the classification code M1 up to M3, M8 to M10) according to the enclosures A and B of the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) and the Hazardous Goods Regulation Road, Railroad and Domestic Shipping (GGVSEB).
8.2 The sender is responsible, that upon the handing over of hazardous goods to GLS the relevant legal regulations with regard to declaration, packaging, enclosure of the transport papers and written instructions etc. are observed, even if these obligations apply to the one who in fact hands over the hazardous goods.
Upon the handing over of hazardous goods the bar coded hazardous goods label, stipulated by the GLS system has to be attached according to valid reference-list by the sender.
8.3 If the sender violates the obligations specified in clause 8.2 culpably, he is liable for the resulting damage.
9. Transportation Fees, Reimbursement of Expenses
9.1 The prices and surcharges agreed between GLS and the sender apply. If the dimensional weight (based on 1 m³ = 166.67 kg) exceeds the real weight, GLS can carry out a separate subsequent billing. If a parcel has to be returned to the sender for reasons not attributable to GLS, GLS invoices the sender once more the transportation fee.
9.2 Invoices of GLS are to be paid immediately and without deduction. The set-off with counter claims by the sender is forbidden, unless they are undisputed or legally stated. Invoices of GLS are considered as having been approved three months after receipt of the invoice. This consequence will be pointed out on each invoice additionally.
9.3 If transportation fees, costs pertaining to customs clearance (in particular customs duties and taxes), other costs or expenditures have to be paid by a foreign consignee, or were caused by him, then the domestic sender has to substitute to GLS the amounts which were not settled by the foreign consignee upon the first request.
9.4 If the sender instructs GLS to receive incoming parcels or to import a parcel arriving from abroad, GLS has the right, but not the obligation to advance freight charges, cash on delivery fees, customs duties, taxes and other charges as well as expenses. The sender is obliged to refund these expenses.
10. Liability
10.1 GLS is liable for loss or damage of parcels up to the amount of 8.33 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund per kg of the parcel’s gross weight. GLS is not liable for consequential damages or loss, e.g. losses of a purely commercial nature like loss of turnover or earnings, missed profits, cost of replacements or losses attributable to delay in customs clearance or airfreight completion. Liability for delay – as far as delivery times are agreed – in the event of domestic transports is limited to three times the amount of the transportation fee; in the event of international transports to the amount of the transportation fee being paid for the respective parcel.
10.2 If the sender takes out no transport insurance, GLS compensates the value of the goods beyond the limitation of liability according to clause 10.1, sentence 1 up to an amount limited to:
- the purchase price or
- for second-hand goods the current value or
- for goods dispatched on occasion of an auction the auction price
depending on which amount is the lowest in the individual case, however limited to an amount of up to € 750.00 (for CashService parcels limited to the amount of € 2,500.00) per parcel.
Retention agreed between the insurer of the sender and the sender leads to the applicabilty of this clause 10.2 if this has been agreed between GLS and the sender.
10.3 For the products GlobalBusinessParcel and GlobalExpressParcel the liability of GLS shall follow the provisions of the Montreal Convention. Liability is limited to the amount of 22 SDR per kg of the parcel’s gross weight. The same shall apply within the scope of the product EuroExpressParcel to certain destination countries marked in the valid price list.
10.4 The statutory regulations for damage notification periods, the division of damage and special reasons for the exclusion of liability shall remain unaffected.
10.5 If GLS or GLS IT Services GmbH (“GLS IT”) have granted the sender the right to use shipping-software for the time of the cooperation and if such software has been installed as the case may be GLS and GLS IT shall in case of negligently caused damage to property and financial loss only be liable in the event of a breach of a material contractual obligation, but the amount of liability shall be limited to the damage foreseeable and typical for the agreement at the time of its conclusion; material contractual obligations are those whose performance characterises the agreement and on which the sender may rely. GLS or GLS IT shall not be liable for the loss of the sender’s data and its recovery if such loss would have been avoidable had the sender observed appropriate backup procedures.
11. Exclusion of Further Claims of the Sender
The passing on of fines to GLS, which the sender is obligated to pay to third parties, is excluded.
12. Severability/Jurisdiction
12.1 If any provision of these GTC should be invalid or non-enforceable, this shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.
12.2 The exclusive venue for litigation with traders, public corporations or special funds under public law shall be Bad Hersfeld/Hessen.
Status as of: January 2022
- This translation of the GTC is made for convenience reasons only. For all disputes arising from or in conjunction with the GTC of GLS, only the text of the corresponding German version of the GTC of GLS shall be legally binding. -