1.1     The object of the Agreement is to establish uniform principles and practices for the handling of interline cargo claims whenever such claims between carriers refer to losses of shipments carried or contracted to be carried by two or more parties hereto, so as:

1.1.1  to secure and preserve harmonious relationships in claims matters among carriers, and between carriers and the public; and

1.1.2  to effect prompt and equitable apportionment among carriers of amounts paid and expenses incurred in the settlement of claims; and thereby

1.1.3  to effect and maintain a prompt and efficient service to the public in connection

     with the investigation and settlement of air cargo claims.1.2  To that end it is agreed that claims and legal actions filed with or commenced against parties hereto relating to the carriage of interline cargo shall be handled and disposed of in accordance with the procedure hereinafter set forth unless an interested carrier receiving the claim hereinafter referred to as the 〝Claim Receiver〞）is prepared to pay the claim on his own account without recourse against any other party hereto.

Section 2 ----  Definitions

2.1        As used herein, the term:

〝LOSS〞shall mean the total or partial loss or destruction of, or damage or delay to , a shipment; 

〝CONCEALED LOSS〞shall mean a loss which was not discovered until after delivery to the consignee or his representative or to Customs authorities at ;

〝INTERESTED CARRIER〞shall mean a party hereto which issued an air waybill covering a shipment in respect of which a claim has arisen, or which participated or contracted to participate in the carriage of such shipment;

〝RESPONSIBLE CARRIER〞shall mean an interested carrier which is wholly or partially responsible for having caused a loss;

〝CLAIM〞shall mean a demand in writing, by or on behalf of a shipper or consignee for damages for the loss（including concealed loss）of a shipment which occurred during the time the shipment was in the custody （as defined by applicable law）of an interested carrier.

Section 3 ---- Handling of Claims Not in Litigation

3.1        PRELIMINARY

3.1.1.        As soon as reasonably possible after the receipt of a claim, the claim receiver shall notify each of the other interested carriers of the nature of the claim, the name or names of the claimants, the amount involved, and the number of the air waybill, and shall also furnish any other information in the possession of the claim receiver which is necessary to enable each such carrier to determine its interest in the claim.

3.1.2        In the event that claims are filed with two or more parties at or about the same time, the party which first carried the shipment involved shall be deemed to be the claim receiver. In the event that prior to the completion of the investigation and disposition of a claim by a claim receiver as hereinafter provided for, a substantially identical claim shall be filed with another party hereto, such claim shall be referred to the original claim receiver for disposition in accordance with these procedures.

3.1.3        Before proceeding to process a claim pursuant to the procedures hereinafter provided, the claim receiver shall demand from the claimant the following:

3.1.3.1  a statement setting out the grounds on which the claim is based;

3.1.3.2  proof of the amount of the loss and how the amount was computed, such as the original or a certified copy of the invoice or other satisfactory evidence of the value for all the goods in the shipment; and

3.1.3.3  the air waybill or a photostatic copy thereof.

3.1.4.        The claim receiver shall reject any claim in respect of which the claimant has failed either to furnish all such data and information or to satisfy the claim receiver that such data and information are not available to the claimant.

3.1.5.        If it appears from the air waybill that the shipment with respect to which the claim has been made has been insured under the issuing carrier's open policy insurance, the claim receiver shall refer the claim to the issuing carrier and so notify the claimant.

3.2               CLAIMS NOT EXCEEDING USD 100（OR ITS EQUIVALENT）

3.2.1        The following procedure shall govern the handling and disposition of any claim not exceeding USD 100 or its equivalent at the rate of exchange provided for in currently effective IATA Resolutions:

3.2.1.1  investigation and disposition of the claim shall be the sole right and obligation of the claim receiver. The claim receiver shall use its best efforts, without necessarily having  to carry out a full investigation as to which of the interested carrier is responsible for the loss, to determine whether the claim is valid.  If it determines that the claim is valid, it shall settle the claim on the most favorable terms it is able to arrange.  If  the claim receiver determines that the claim is not valid, it shall reject the claim and shall notify all other interested carriers accordingly.  If the claim is subsequently refiled with any other interested carriers, such carrier shall refer the claim to the original claim receiver for disposition;

3.2.1.2  no settlement shall be made in excess of the declared value for carriage specified in the air waybill or, if no declaration of value for carriage has been made in the air waybill, in excess of USD 20 per kilogram;

3.2.1.3  where the claim receiver has determined that the claim is valid and has made payment in terms of 3.2.1.1, the following procedure shall apply;

3.2.1.3（a）where the claim relates to a concealed loss and the claim receiver is satisfied that it will not be possible to ascertain the responsible carrier, it shall bill all  the other interested carriers, charging each of them in the proportion which each such carrier's share of the air transportation revenue bears to the total air transportation revenue received or receivable by all such carriers,

3.2.1.3（b）in all other cases the claim receiver shall follow the investigation procedure outlined under 3.3 and, in the light of such investigation, shall determine the responsible carrier or carriers and make billing accordingly.  If in the case of concealed loss it is not possible, after such investigation, to determine the responsible carrier, the claim receiver shall act in accordance with 3.2.1.3（a）.

3.3            TOTAL CLAIMS EXCEEDING USD 100（OR ITS EQUIVALENT） 

3.3.1        The following procedure shall govern the handling and disposition of claims exceeding USD 100 or its equivalent at the rate of exchange provided for in currently effective IATA Resolutions:

3.3.1.1  the claim receiver shall investigate the handling of the shipment while in its possession.  If the claim receiver is solely responsible, it shall so notify the other interested carriers〈s）and dispose of the claim as it sees fit; otherwise, it shall pass the claim file and the results of its investigation to such other interested carrier as it considers to be the proper party next to deal with the matter.

3.3.1.2  Each carrier receiving the claim file shall acknowledge receipt of the file, shall investigate its own handling of the shipment and, unless it accepts responsibility for the claim, shall transmit the complete claim file, with the results of its investigation（including any relevant carrier documents）to the interested carrier whom it considers to be the proper party next to deal with the matter.  The complete claim file shall be returned to the claim receiver by the first carrier agreeing to accept sole responsibility for the claim or, if no carrier so agrees, by the last carrier receiving such file;

3.3.1.3  In the event a carrier other than the claim receiver agrees to accept sole responsibility for the claim, the claim receiver shall so notify the other interested carrier（s）and dispose of the claim in agreement with the carrier that has agreed to accept responsibility;

3.3.1.4  If the claim receiver determines, after investigation as aforementioned, that the claim is unfounded, it shall reject the claim, notifying all other interested carriers accordingly;

3.3.1.5  If the claim receiver determines that the claim is valid but no carrier has agreed to accept responsibility, the following procedure shall be followed;

3.3.1.5（a）the claim receiver shall request advice from the interested carriers as to whether settlement should be made and, if so, in what amount,

3.3.1.5（b）if any of the interested carriers requests that the claim be settled, the claim receiver shall then undertake negotiations with the claimant for the purpose of determining the amount the claimant will accept in settlement.  The claim receiver shall then submit a statement of the said amount for approval to all the interested carriers.  If settlement in the said amount is approved by the interested carrier or carriers, and agreement is reached between the carriers as to the method of sharing the loss, the claim receiver shall settle the claim accordingly,

3.3.1.5（c）in the absence of agreement as to the amount to be paid in the settlement of the claim and the apportionment thereof, the claim receiver or any interested carrier may pay the claim as its own risk and proceed against any other interested carrier or carriers in terms of 6.6,

3.3.1.5（d）if neither the claim receiver nor any other interested carrier desires to avail itself of any right conferred on it by 3.3.1.5（c）, the claim receiver shall reject the claim;

3.3.1.6  the claim receiver may settle the claim on the most favorable terms it is able to arrange, if having investigated the handling of the shipment and initially referring the claim to the head office of the other carrier, and having followed up with the other carrier thirty（30）days later, such carrier fails to respond within sixty（60）days.  In such cases, the claim receiver shall so notify the other carrier of disposal of the claim and is entitled to bill the other carrier under the provisions of 6.3;

3.3.1.7  the settlement of claims shall be negotiated solely by the claim receiver unless it transfers this function to another carrier（s）and has （have）agreed to accept responsibility for the claim.

Section 4 ----  Legal actions 

4.1        As soon as practicable after the commencement of a legal action involving an interline Cargo claim, the defendant carrier or carriers shall notify each of the other interested carriers of the nature of the action, including the names of the parties and the court, the amount involved, the date when appearance and answer must be made or entered and the number of the air waybill, and shall also furnish all other information necessary for each such carrier to determine its interest in the action.

4.2        If a defendant carrier accepts sole responsibility for the loss, it shall notify the interested carriers accordingly and shall dispose of the action as it sees fit.  Such notice shall constitute a waiver by such defendant carrier of any claim for contribution by other interested carriers.

4.3        Except as provided in 4.2, the defendant carrier shall undertake an investigation of the validity of the claim in accordance with the procedures procedures prescribed in 3.3.1, to such extent as may be considered practicable under the circumstances and with due regard to any investigation that may already have been carried out in terms of that paragraph. If the action is not settled, the defendant carrier shall endeavour to obtain the agreement of the responsible carriers as to how and by whom the defense of the action shall be conducted.  If such agreement is not reached reasonably prior to the time the defendant carrier must proceed with the defence of the action, the defendant carrier shall proceed to defend the action unless another interested carrier makes a timely offer to, and does assume the conduct of such defence, the form of such assumption（including the indemnities）to be agreed between the defendant carrier, the responsible carriers, and the carrier making such offer.

4.4        Where an action relating to a loss, for which one or more other interested carriers may be responsible, has been defended, the carrier defending the action shall have the benefit of the following rights of recourse;

4.4.1  if the defence of the action has been successful, each such carrier shall be charged such share of the total amount of the reasonable expenses and attorney's fees incurred in defending the action as may be agreed or, in default of agreement, a share which bears the same ratio to the total of such expenses and fees as such carrier's share of the air transportation revenue bears to the total air transportation revenue received or receivable by all such carriers;

4.4.2  If the defence of the action has been unsuccessful, the amount of the judgment and the reasonable expenses and attorney's fees incurred in connection with the defence of the action shall be charged to each responsible carrier as agreed, or in connection with a concealed loss, in the ratio which the air transportation revenue received or receivable by it bears to the total air transportation revenue received or receivable by all responsible carriers.  However, if the judgment exceeds an amount which the claim receiver or a defendant carrier had advised would be acceptable to the plaintiff in settlement, those responsible carriers that agreed to bear their proportionate share of such settlement shall be charged only such proportionate share of the amount paid, together with expenses incurred to the date of such agreement: the balance of the judgment debt shall be charged to the responsible carriers that declined so to agree in the ratio which the respective air transportation revenue received or receivable by them, bears to the total air transportation revenue received or received by all responsible carriers. 

Section 5  ----  Salvage  

5.1        When a partially damaged shipment, the delivery or return of which has been rejected by the consignee or shipper, has been sold, and a claim is made in connection with such shipment, the net proceeds of the sale, after deduction of necessary expenses, shall be divided amongst the interested carriers by whom such claim or any judgment flowing there from has been paid, in the same proportion as the share payable by each of them bears to the total amount of such claim or judgment.

Section 6 ----  General

6.1         All notices required to be given hereunder to any interested carrier shall be in writing and shall be furnished to such carrier at its head office or to such other office as has been designated by carrier in writing for this purpose.  If a carrier fails without reasonable excuse to notify another interested carrier in a accordance with these procedures, such carrier shall be liable to the other carrier for any damage incurred as a result of such failure.

6.2        Every party hereto shall, upon the written request of a carrier handling a claim or defending an action in accordance with these procedures, furnish all information and data in its possession relating to such claim or action, and shall render all reasonable assistance requested in connection with the settlement of such claim or action or the defence of such action.

6.3        If a carrier fails to answer a request of another carrier made in accordance with these procedures within reasonable time, such failure shall be deemed to be an acquiescence in whatever decision arising out of the subject matter of such request the request the requesting carrier may make.

6.4         Upon the settlement of a claim or an action or upon payment of a judgement resulting from an action covered by this Agreement, the carrier processing the claim or defending the action, as the case may be, shall use its best efforts to obtain from the claimant or the plaintiff a release or（insofar as applicable law shall permit）a satisfaction of judgment having the effect of releasing each and every interested carrier from liability or responsibility to all parties in interest for the loss to which the settlement or the judgment relates.

6.5         Any determination by a claim receiver as to whether a claim fails under 3.2 or 3.3 of this Agreement , if made in good faith and on reasonable grounds, shall be conclusive.

6.6         Any dispute between or among parties to this Agreement arising from or in connection with the application of the procedures set forth herein, shall be referred to arbitration in accordance with the IATA Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreement --Cargo.

6.7         Any interested carrier having, in respect of a loss paid pursuant to this Agreement, a right of indemnification or recovery against a third party（other than the insurer of such carrier）, shall use its best efforts to enforce such right and all amounts thus obtained shall be allocated amongst the responsible carriers in the same proportion as they shared in the payment of the loss.

6.8         Nothing in this Agreement , nor any act or omission of any party hereto shall confer on any third party（including any claimant）any rights which such party would not otherwise have had.

Section 7 ----Execution and Withdrawal

7.1       This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which shall be taken to constitute one original instrument.  Any air carrier which is party to the IATA IATA Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreement--Cargo may become a party hereto by executing a counterpart to this Agreement and depositing it with the IATA Senior Director, Industry Automation and Financial Services thirty（30）days after the date of notice of such deposit by the Senior Director, Industry Automation and Financial Services, such a depositing carrier shall be considered to be bound hereby in respect to each air carrier that has similarly deposited an agreement and with which it is in agreement under the IATA Interline Traffic Agreement -- Cargo.

7.2         A party hereto may withdraw from this Agreement by giving thirty（30）days' written notice of such withdrawal to the Senior Director, Industry Automation and Financial Services and all parties hereto.  The termination of the Agreement shall not affect the handling of claims received by or notified to the party withdrawing from the Agreement before the date of termination.

7.3         This Agreement supersedes any provision in conflict herewith in the IATA Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreement --  Cargo and other prior agreements between parties hereto on the same matter.

………………………………………………………………………

                （Witness）

By………………………………………………………………………

                （Signature） 

………………………………………………………………………

                （Name of Airline） 

………………………………………………………………………

                （Title）

RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 1672 

CARGO-FACT MESSAGE STANDRDS

（CARGO FACT）

CSC（15）1672

Where Members use the United Nations/Electronic Data Interchange Administration, Commerce and Transport/EDIFACT）syntax rules and message components to develop messages for the interchange of cargo data between themselves and third parties, including customs administrations, the messages shall be composed in accordance with the IOTA Cargo-FACT Message Manual（Cargo-FACT）set forth in Attachment ‘A’.

COMPANY PRACTICE

Few of us like to deal with claims, so here are some useful rules on how to protect yourself from unnecessary damage:

	Make sure to take out a cargo insurance for the cargo you expect depending on the Incoterms agreed.
	If you do not know how to arrange a cargo insurance Mantraco will be glad to handle this for you upon receipt of a written request.
	Remember an ALL RISK insurance does not cover every risk!
	Make sure that you know the conditions of carriage and liabilities of the NVOCC who is responsible for your goods. It may be difficult to recover money from an unkown NVOCC that is not represented by a first class agent in your home country.

If you are facing a damage, make sure, that you

	(or your warehouse) make a written exception (note of reserve) on the delivery document, to be signed also by the Carrier and/or stevedores or landing authority at delivery of goods, should the damage be apparent or within three days should there be a concealed loss and/or damage.
	hold the carrier (possibly not only the NVOCC, but also the actual carrier), the forwarder, the shipper and the warehouse and any other party possibly involved in the transport, liable for damage by registered letter.
	do not get upset, when the carrier rejects the claim. This is part of his standard claim-procedure!
	do NOT DEDUCT your claim from freight and or duty charges payable to the carrier or the forwarder.
	inform your insurance company in accordance with the conditions of your insurance policy.
	invite every party involved in the transport chain to make a survey on the damaged cargo, by stipulating a date and place at which the cargo/equipment will be available for inspection. If you are not aware of any survey-inspector indicated by the insurers you should ask the intervention of the nearest LLOYDS AGENT to effect a survey (this survey inspector is also called Average Agent).

IMPORTANT: The Insured, the consignee or others on their behalf, are always bound to protect the recovery action of the Insurers in respect of those who are responsible for the loss and/or damage and to interrupt the period of prescription according to the terms of Law.

Your Insurance will require the following documentation:

	Survey Report
	Insurance policy or insurance certificate (original duly endorsed)
	Bill of Lading (in airfreight: Airwaybill)
	Loading reports
	Shipping instructions
	Copy of the claim letter to the carrier's agent
	Original reply to claim letter
	Copies of letters in which you hold the carrier responsible
	Commercial invoice (the insurance does not pay more than the actual damage)
	Packing list (incl. list of weights)
	Carrier's short delivery certificate or letter
	Any other document in respect of the loss and/or damage which may facilitate the adjustment of the claim.

Don't trust people who promise that they will not damage your goods during transportation. Trust the people who assist you in reducing your risk and choose reliable business partners!

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