Terms & Conditions

ARTICLE 1. RIETVELD LOGISTICS TERMS & CONDITIONS – SCOPE OF APPLICATION

1.1 These general terms & conditions, hereinafter: the “RLG Conditions”, apply to any and all services, activities, offers and agreements of Rietveld Logistics Group.
1.2 “Rietveld Logistics Group” shall include:

1. Rietveld Holding B.V.;
2. Rietveld Oosterhout B.V.;
3. OMS op- en overslag B.V.;
4. Oosterhout Modal-shift Solutions B.V.;
5. Rietveld Transport en Logistics B.V.;
6. Rietveld Transport B.V.;
7. OCT B.V.
8. OCT Beheer B.V.
9. Rietveld Onroerend Goed B.V.
10. Rietveld Materiaal B.V.
11. Rietveld Customs B.V.;
12. All other companies that are members of the Rietveld Logistics Group, including the enterprises affiliated and/or associated with these companies.

“Customer” is the contractual counterparty of Rietveld Logistics Group and any affiliate of this counterparty that is somehow involved in the contract, or the services or activities performed.

1.3 The applicability of other terms and conditions, including the general terms and conditions used by Customer, are explicitly rejected unless these conditions are mentioned in these RLG Conditions or have been explicitly accepted by Rietveld Logistics Group in writing.

ARTICLE 2. SERVICES AND APPLICABLE CONDITIONS AND REGIMES

2.1 In addition to the RLG Conditions, the following regimes apply to the activities specified therein, if and in so far as Rietveld Logistics Group actually carries out those activities. The regime pertaining to the most relevant activity of Rietveld Logistics Group for potential liability applies to the potential liability of Rietveld Logistics Group.

1. Domestic road transport: the General Transport Conditions 2002, version 2015 (AVC);
2. International road transport: the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road done at Geneva on the 19th of May 1956 as amended by the Protocols of 1978 and 2008);
3. Inland waterway transport: Budapest Convention on the Contract for the Carriage of Goods by Inland Waterway (CMNI), signed in Budapest on 22 June 2001;
4. Rail transport: the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF), signed in Bern on 9 May 1980, as amended by the Protocol of Vilnius of 1999, and its Appendix B, being the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of International Carriage of Products by Rail (CIM);
5. Air Transport: the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (the Montreal Convention) done at Montreal on 28 May 1999;
6. Terminal activities: the VITO Conditions;
7. Forwarding and customs broker activities: the Dutch Forwarding Conditions 2018 (FENEX);
8. Cold-storage and freezing warehousing: General Storage Conditions of the Association of Dutch Cold-Storage and Freezing Warehouses (NEKOVRI – CONDITIONS);
9. Warehousing and all other activities not mentioned above: the Logistics Service Conditions 2014 (LSC 2014). Warehousing activities shall include any warehousing (storage) for longer than 24 hours.

2.2 If the transport services include carriage by multimodal transport modes (combined transport), each part of the carriage shall only be governed by the regimes applicable to that part of the carriage as set out in Article 2.1 a) – d).

2.3 In the event that the possible liability of Rietveld Logistics Group could relate to several activities or if in any other way, there is uncertainty about the specific activity that could relate to the liability at hand, it is at Rietveld Logistics Group’s discretion to determine which of the above-mentioned regimes or general terms and conditions apply, except for any mandatorily applicable laws and conventions.

2.4 For customs services, the sole counterparty of Customer shall be Rietveld Customs B.V., which shall undertake the customs services at the risk and expense of Customer.

2.5 In the event of any conflict between a provision in the RLG Conditions and a provision in any of the aforementioned regimes or conditions, including, but not limited to provisions in respect of jurisdiction, the provisions in the RLG Conditions shall prevail, as far as the provisions in the applicable regime do not apply mandatorily.

2.6 The Customer is obliged to indemnify Rietveld Logistics Group for any claim submitted by a third party or authority to Rietveld Logistics Group in connection with services performed for the Customer, in so far as the claim exceeds the limited liability of Rietveld Logistics Group under the RLG Conditions, including the applicable liability regimes.

ARTICLE 3. PERFORMANCE OF THE AGREEMENT

3.1 In the event of temporary Force majeure, agreements shall remain in force, but Rietveld Logistics Group’s obligations shall be suspended for the duration of the Force Majeure circumstance. “Force majeure” has the meaning of circumstances preventing Rietveld Logistics Group, its employees, or any other third party engaged by Rietveld Logistics Group from performing, which circumstances they could not have avoided or the consequences of the same were unavoidable for them. Force majeure circumstances shall include, but shall not be limited to, heavy weather, war, riot, uproar, natural and nuclear disasters, terrorist activities or attacks, fire, technical problems to means of transport, closure or blockades (temporary or permanently) of ports, roads, inland waterways or railway lines, shunting areas, yards or terminals, strikes or similar labour actions, people trying to gain or having gained access to means of transport, containers, premises or warehouses, cyberattacks and cybercrime, the consequences of epidemic or pandemic and any measures, restrictions or prohibitions imposed by any authorities.

3.2 Unless otherwise explicitly agreed between Rietveld Logistics Group and the Customer in writing, Rietveld Logistics Group is entitled to make use of group companies, subcontractors, or other third parties or persons for the performance of agreements and any other activities for the Customer.

ARTICLE 4. LIABILITY OF RIETVELD LOGISTICS GROUP

4.1 In as far as no other liability regime applies pursuant to Article 2 of these RLG Conditions, the liability of Rietveld Logistics Group towards the Customer is limited to EUR 5,000.- for each incident or series of incidents resulting from the same cause, up to a maximum aggregate amount of EUR 25,000.- for each Customer per calendar year, unless the Customer proves that the damage or loss was the result of willful intent or deliberate recklessness on the part of Rietveld Logistics Group and/or its management. For activities to which the VITO conditions apply pursuant to article 2.1 e), the limitations mentioned in this article 4.1 characterise as maximum liability amount agreed upon between the parties within the meaning of Article 4.4 of the VITO conditions.

4.2 Unless the Customer proves that the damage or loss was the result of willful intent or deliberate recklessness on the part of Rietveld Logistics Group and/or its management, Rietveld Logistics Group shall never be liable for:

1. Any consequential and/or indirect damage (including, but not limited to lost profit, damage or loss as result of delay, return transport costs, product recalls, or demurrage and detention costs); and
2. Any damage or loss resulting from Force majeure circumstances.

4.3 The period of liability of Rietveld Logistics Group commences at the time that Rietveld Logistics Group, its employee, servant, or agent becomes in effective control of the goods and ends at the time that Rietveld Logistics Group, its employee, servant, or agent loses the actual effective control of the goods.

4.4 In the event of any alleged damage due to non-compliance by Rietveld Logistics Group, its employees, servants, or agents with temperature instructions, Rietveld Logistics Group shall only be liable – subject to the other liability provisions in these RLG Conditions and/any other regime or conditions as referred herein – in case the Customer proves that there is a substantial change in the physical condition of the goods and that such damage actually results from the failure by Rietveld Logistics Group, its employees, servant or agents.

4.5 All claims of the Customer against Rietveld Logistics Group shall lapse by the mere expiry of a period of 12 months unless Rietveld Logistics Group and the Customer have agreed in writing on an extension of the time limit. The aforementioned period commences on:

1. In the event of a total loss or damage to the goods, the day on which the goods will be or should have been delivered by Rietveld Logistics Group, or
2. In case of all other claims, the day on which the claim becomes due and payable.

 

ARTICLE 5. PAYMENT OF INVOICES

5.1 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, payment must be made by the Customer into Rietveld Logistics Group’s bank account within 30 days of the invoice date.

5.2 The Customer is not entitled to suspend or set off any payments.

5.3 Rietveld Logistics Group shall have a right of retention, a right of pledge and a lien or similar right in respect of the goods, monies and any documents relating thereto which Rietveld Logistics Group holds or will hold for whatever reason, for any and all sums and claims, including – but not limited to – the rates, demurrage, detention, costs, dues, taxes, tolls, fines, penalties or claims for damages or indemnity, payable by the Customer or the owner of the Goods to Rietveld Logistics Group, or in any other way related to the services, activities, offers and agreements of Rietveld Logistics Group. Rietveld Logistics Group may also exercise the aforementioned rights for the sums the Customer or the owner of the goods still owes to Rietveld Logistics Group in relation to previous services, activities, offers and agreements.

5.4 The Customer shall not be entitled to exercise a right of retention or pledge.

ARTICLE 6. CONFIDENTIALITY

6.1 The Customer is obliged to keep confidential any and all data, information and documents relating to the services or activities carried out by Rietveld Logistics Group which it will come to have in its possession, except and in so far as there exists a statutory obligation to disclose, and in this respect, the Customer shall comply with all the applicable regulations and privacy legislation.

6.2 The Customer is obliged to indemnify and compensate Rietveld Logistics Group with respect to any and all costs, liabilities, fines, payments or other costs incurred by or imposed on Rietveld Logistics Group, its employees or auxiliary persons, as a result of a breach of the obligations arising from paragraph 1 of this article.

ARTICLE 7. APPLICABLE LAW AND COMPETENT COURT

7.1 The laws of the Netherlands apply to all legal relationships between Rietveld Logistics Group and Customers or third parties.

7.2 Any dispute between Rietveld Logistics Group and Customers relating to agreements, services or activities of Rietveld Logistics Group shall be exclusively brought before the court in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This jurisdiction clause applies to contractual and non-contractual claims.

7.3 Any dispute between Rietveld Logistics Group and third parties relating to services or activities of Rietveld Logistics Group shall be exclusively brought before the court in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

7.4 If mandatory law should preclude the exclusive nature of the jurisdiction clause in paragraph 2 or 3 of this article, this jurisdiction clause will confer additional jurisdiction on the court referred to hereinabove.