Forwarder issues transport document undertaking carriage of goods
CIFFA Section 4.
Where requested by the Customer the Company may
(a)issue a transport document or electronic record by which it as principal undertakes carriage of particular goods; or
(b)guarantee in writing proper performance of the terms of any contract between the Customer and a third party whose services the Company has engaged on behalf of the Customer. As guarantor the Company is liable only to the same extent as the third party whose actions have been guaranteed, as may be limited by the conditions on which that party customarily offers its services.
Where it issues a transport document or electronic record, or provides a guarantee, the rights and obligations of the Company will be governed by the special conditions therein in addition to these Conditions. In the event of any inconsistency the special conditions prevail.
FIATA Model Rules Section 7.1.
The Freight Forwarder's liability as Carrier
The Freight Forwarder is subject to liability as principal not only when he actually performs the carriage himself by his own means of transport (performing Carrier), but also if, by issuing his own transport document or otherwise, he has made an express or implied undertaking to assume Carrier liability (contracting Carrier). However, the Freight Forwarder shall not be deemed liable as Carrier if the Customer has received a transport document issued by a person other than the Freight Forwarder and does not within a reasonable time maintain that the Freight Forwarder is nevertheless liable as Carrier.
NCBFAA Section 17. Preparation and Issuance of Bills of Lading.
Where Company prepares and/or issues a bill of lading, Company shall be under no obligation to specify thereon the number of pieces, packages and/or cartons, etc.; unless specifically requested to do so in writing by Customer or its agent and Customer agrees to pay for same, Company shall rely upon and use the cargo weight supplied by Customer.
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Peter Jones' Commentary:
See also CIFFA 2005 Section 1 that provides that a forwarder is an agent unless it issues a transport document evidencing its obligation to assume responsibility for carriage to destination, or performs the service itself.
A guarantor has an obligation that is very similar to the assumption of responsibility as principal. CIFFA members can guarantee the performance of their subcontractors on the basis of the terms on which those subcontractors offer their services. CIFFA members are not obliged to give a guarantee, and will probably only do so in where they have recourse against the provider of those services. The result is that a forwarder in Canada has the same sort of legal liability as a French commissionaire de transport.
The NSAB Conditions also impose carrier responsibility where a forwarder issues its own transport document.
The NCBFAA Conditions clearly contemplate that the forwarder may issue bills of lading. The Conditions do not state what role the Company assumes in issuing this document, but the inference is clear that the nature of that role is to be judged solely with reference to the contents of the document.
A forwarder who runs an NVOC service that
(a) is advertized to the public,
(b) has scheduled "sailings", or closing dates for container shipments,
(c) publishes a tariff of freight and other charges, and
(d) issues a bill of lading or other transport document by which it undertakes the carriage,
is a principal to the transport arrangements and contractual carrier responsible for the goods in accordance with the terms and conditions of the transport document it has issued. However, if the forwarder engages in the activities under paragraphs (a) - (c) may be obligated to issue a bill of lading in its name, and its failure to do so is not a defence to a claim that it has acted as carrier.
See the provisions of Clause 3 B of the CIFFA Conditions. The forwarder may act as agent in another capacity, i.e. arranging customs clearance and local delivery.