General Terms and Conditions - Customs Brokerage

The terms of customs brokerage are primarily intended to ensure that the rights and obligations in the agreements between Express Customs Brokerage and their clients are clear.

These terms become effective when a customs clearance mandate is provided.

These terms and conditions apply to all customs brokerage services that Express provides for a customer, whether or not the service is paid for.

Goods imported into and exported from the country shall be cleared through customs in accordance with the provisions of the applicable customs laws in force at any given time. Customs clearance of goods consists of completing the formalities/documentation required by customs laws in order to authorize the release of goods for domestic use, transit, or export.

1. Definitions

In these terms, the following terms have the following meaning:
„Import duties“ are all duties and other taxes, fees, and charges, and interest and costs that fall on such charges to be paid at the time of customs clearance of goods on importation or exportation.
„Subsidiary“ are other companies that the company wholly owns and/or holds a majority stake in and/or controls a majority of the voting shares at any given time.
„The Company“ is Express ehf., registration number 540478-0589, Fálkavelli 7, 235 Keflavíkurflugvöllur, Iceland, and its subsidiaries, as well as any person who acts as an employee or agent, or otherwise acts for the benefit of the company or its subsidiaries.
„SDR“ is an international unit of value used by the International Monetary Fund. The unit of value is to be calculated in terms of the currency of the country in question at the daily exchange rate prevailing at the time of payment.
„Customs Law“ are the Customs Act No. 88/2005, as amended, regulations, rules, and other government ordinances issued pursuant to the aforementioned law.
„Customs documents“ means customs declaration and other documents that must be submitted for customs clearance as provided for in laws and government regulations, in written or electronic form.
„Product“ is any item or items that are declared in a single customs declaration and can receive customs treatment in accordance with the tariff schedule.
„Businessman“ is an individual or a legal entity and refers to the person who has requested that the company act on their behalf before the customs authorities to perform the services the company is licensed to provide as a customs broker under the Customs Act. The definition also applies to any person who acts as an employee or agent or in any other way on his behalf.
„Product invoice“ is the commercial invoice that a trader provides to the company at the beginning to determine the customs value of the respective goods.
„Service“ are all works or parts of works that the company undertakes for a client and which fall within its role of acting before the customs authorities and providing the services referred to in Article 4.

2. Scope

These terms, including the disclaimers of liability, defenses, rights and limitations of liability, shall apply in any legal action against the company regardless of whether the claim is based on contract or tort and even if liability may have arisen from intent, gross negligence, repudiation of contract, or material breach.

These terms and conditions shall govern the legal relationship between the customer and the company. They also apply to the owner of the goods that the company clears through customs and to the company if the owner is not also the customer.

3. Agency

Since the company is licensed as a customs broker under the applicable customs laws, it is authorized by law to act as an agent for its clients before the customs authorities for the customs clearance of goods imported to and exported from Iceland.

The trader grants the association full and unlimited authority to act on their behalf before the customs authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Code, to sign a binding declaration of liability on a customs declaration for goods cleared through customs in the name of the trader. The company is also authorized to request a chargeback from the customer for import duties on the goods cleared in the customer's name, in accordance with the payment terms the customer is granted by the customs authorities when requested requests that the association handle customs clearance on behalf of the customer.

4. Services of the Association

1. The company's services as a customs broker under an agency agreement pursuant to Article 3 are limited to the following services, as applicable and as requested by the client from time to time:
Consultation on the preparation of customs documentation, such as tariff classification and calculation of import duties.
2. Customs declaration for imports and exports.
3. Request for customs clearance of goods via computer-to-computer document transmission (SMT customs clearance).
4. Payment of import duties on behalf of the customer.

The above list is exhaustive and is limited to the duties of the company as a customs broker under the applicable customs laws.

The company commits to providing the services it undertakes for a client in a proper and diligent manner and to maintaining confidentiality. The company also commits to fulfilling the requirements of customs law for the issuance of a customs brokerage license.

The company undertakes to send the client a copy of all customs documents for review no later than fifteen (15) days after the request for customs clearance has been submitted to the customs officer.

The company assesses whether the customs documents and the supporting documents and other information provided by the customer for the purpose of customs declaration comply with the provisions of the Customs Act. The Association will request any missing information or new data from the trader if it determines that the submitted documents and information are insufficient. A request for customs clearance cannot be processed until the Association has received the required, sufficient documentation and information.

If the company becomes aware that a customer has intentionally provided incorrect or insufficient data or information, the company will immediately report it to the authorities.

5. Liability of the Association

The company shall be liable for damages under the general rules of tort law for a customer's direct damages attributable to the company's or its agents' intent or gross negligence, with the exceptions set forth in these terms and conditions. The burden of proof for liability rests with the party alleging that the company is liable.

6. Disclaimer of Liability

6.1. Reasons for non-liability
The company shall under no circumstances be liable for damages resulting from the following causes:

1. Incorrect or inaccurate data or information from a customer.
2. Data or information that a business partner has withheld from the company.
3. If the transaction value of a good is not considered to meet the provisions of Chapter V of the Customs Code.
4. If a binding tariff classification opinion has been requested pursuant to Article 21 of the Customs Act, and the determination of binding tariff classification is withdrawn by the Customs Director or modified following an appeal to the National Customs Council.
5. If a trader fails to fulfill their obligation to provide information to the customs authorities or evades providing the assistance they are required to provide under customs law.
6. Customer's failure to pay import duties, late fees, or other costs and/or other charges.
7. Breach by the customer, or persons acting on their behalf, of the provisions of these terms and/or the agency agreement and/or the agreement between the parties.
8. Negligence or intent of the customer or persons acting on their behalf.
9. Uncontrollable external events that are unforeseen and cannot be prevented (Force Majeure).

6.2. Delays and/or delay
Under no circumstances shall the company be liable for any direct, indirect, or consequential loss, cost, or damage resulting from delays or delays in customs clearance.

6.3. Indirect or consequential damage
The company shall under no circumstances be liable for indirect or consequential damages or loss of profits.

7. Limitation of Liability

If the association becomes liable for damages in connection with the customs clearance of goods, such damages shall not exceed five times the association's fee for the customs clearance of the said goods.

If the company's liability cannot be verified and, therefore, the above-mentioned limit amount applies, compensation shall not be higher than SDR 500 (five hundred) for any single damage or for multiple damages of the same origin.

8. Customer's Own Fault

If it is proven that the customer or someone acting on their behalf was responsible for the damage due to intent or negligence, the customer's compensation will be reduced or canceled.
A trader must always limit their losses in accordance with the general rules of tort law.

9. Interest rates

Claims against the company do not bear interest until the judgment is rendered.

10. Customer's Obligations

The trader warrants that he is the owner or rightful holder of the goods, or that he has full authority from the owner of the goods that are to be cleared through customs.

The customer is responsible for complying with all domestic and foreign laws, regulations, and any instructions from authorities regarding the product and the services requested from the company.
A trader is responsible for ensuring that all data and information they provide to the company are correct and accurate, whether the data and information are in electronic or written form.

The company relies on this data and information when providing its services to a client.
The trader must review all customs documents, both written and electronic, that the company sends them in accordance with Article 4 and ensure that they are correct. If the customs documents are not accurate or correct, the trader must immediately notify the company and advise them on the necessary corrections.

If a trader does not object to the tariff classification of a product under a specific tariff code in the customs tariff within ten (10) days of receiving the customs documents, it will be assumed to be correct, and the trader will be deemed to have accepted the said tariff classification and customs clearance of the product. The trader is responsible for making these terms known to their employees, agents, or others acting on their behalf.

11. Payment of import duties on behalf of a customer

The Company is under no circumstances obligated to advance freight charges for a customer. The Company has no obligation to pay freight charges on behalf of a customer unless the customer has previously provided the Company with sufficient funds to make such payments. The Company shall determine the amount to be paid to the Customer in accordance with the foregoing. The Company shall keep the funds separate in its accounting. If there is any surplus remaining after import duties and other claims that the company may have against the customer have been paid, the surplus shall be refunded to the customer.

12. Customer's Responsibility

The trader guarantees that they have a valid license from the customs authorities for a payment deferment of import duties. The trader undertakes to notify the company in a verifiable manner of any changes made to the license and/or if the license expires during the validity of the mandate pursuant to Article 3 of these terms.

If there is a default on import charges or if customs clearance is denied by the customs authorities, the trader must notify the company of this immediately with verifiable proof.

If information and/or data provided by a customer to the company is incorrect, misleading, insufficient, or not in accordance with the law, the customer shall bear objective liability for damages for all direct or indirect loss incurred by the company. Otherwise, the customer shall be liable for damages to the company in accordance with the general rules of tort law.

The trader is invariably liable for the payment of customs duties and/or other charges under customs law. If the Company is required to pay import duties or any other payments pursuant to a decision by customs authorities or courts due to incorrect tariff classification or liability under customs law or other events, the trader shall reimburse the Company for such duties or payments, together with the highest permissible late fees. The customer must also reimburse the company for any damages and costs, including legal fees, incurred by the company as a result of such a payment and indemnify the company from all consequences thereof. The limitation period for such a claim shall begin on the day the association pays the aforementioned fees.

13. Compensation

The client shall pay the association a fee for the work and services the association provides to the client. The client shall also reimburse the association for all costs the association has paid on the client's behalf. The fee and its payment shall be based on the company's applicable fee schedule at all times, unless otherwise agreed upon. If the fee and/or incurred costs have not been paid by the due date, the company is entitled to charge the client late fees from the due date and collection costs.

14. Notices of loss; negligence

A customer must send the company a written notice of any loss they believe the company is responsible for as soon as the customer becomes aware of the loss, and in any case no later than ten (10) days after they knew or could have known about the loss. The notification described above must clearly state the product in question, the amount of the compensation claim if applicable, and the reasons for holding the company liable for the incident, if applicable. The customer's right to claim damages from the company for the incident shall lapse due to negligence if the damage is not reported in accordance with the foregoing.

All claims against the company shall become time-barred within one (1) year from the date the customs declaration was sent to the customs authorities, whether by SMT transmission or otherwise, or, if not applicable, from the date the relevant service was rendered, notwithstanding the foregoing provisions.

Otherwise, the general rules of the applicable Act No. 150/2007 on the Limitation of Claims shall apply to the limitation of claims under these terms.

15. Termination of the business relationship

If a client materially defaults on its obligations under these terms or the agreement, and/or an agency based on the terms, the company is authorized to terminate the agreement between the parties and/or the customs clearance agency without notice.

The Company is authorized to terminate a contract and/or agency agreement for customs clearance with fifteen (15) days' notice if the defaults are not material, and such notice must be sent to the client in a verifiable manner. The notice requests the client to remedy the deficiency within the specified period, and if they fail to do so, the contract will be terminated, and the association will be released from all obligations and liabilities.

In other circumstances, the company is authorized to terminate a party's contract and/or customs clearance agency agreement with thirty (30) days' notice.

16. Sending notifications

If these terms or an agreement between the parties and/or a customs clearance mandate provide that either party shall send the other party a notification, whatever that notice may be, shall be sent by a verifiable means to the address that the parties have provided or their legal residence, as it is registered at the time the notice is sent.

The notification has the meaning and legal effect intended for it, even if it is delivered distorted, too late, or not at all to the recipient.

17. Laws and Jurisdiction

Icelandic law applies to these terms and conditions, the contract between the parties, and/or the customs clearance mandate. Legal actions regarding these terms and conditions, the contract between the parties, and/or the customs clearance mandate shall be brought before the Reykjavik District Court.

18. Period of validity

These terms and conditions for customs brokerage are effective as of November 1, 2022. The company reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. Changes to the terms shall be effective as of the date the revised terms are posted on the company's website.