Checking subcontractors is worthwhile in one’s own interest

The District Court of Cologne confirms 449 cases of violation of client responsibility according to § 7c of the German Goods Transport Act (GüKG) established by BALM. High fines were imposed.

(Köln) A freight forwarding company from southwestern Germany had commissioned two foreign carriers with a total of 449 transports within a few months, which were carried out in violation of the cabotage rules. Specifically, the carriers had not previously conducted cross-border transports or had failed to observe the four-day cooling-off period after three cabotage transports.

All commercial clients of transport services are obliged to ensure that the contractors they commission have a valid authorization (e.g., community license, short: EU license) and that this is not used in an impermissible manner.

Whether the cabotage rules were observed by the two carriers was not sufficiently checked or otherwise ensured by the commissioning freight forwarding company.

Fines for companies and managing directors

The District Court of Cologne penalized the impermissibly conducted transport services with the confiscation of 72,700 EUR and fines against the responsible managing director totaling 17,928 EUR.

Excerpt from the information sheet on client responsibility

To fulfill its obligations under § 7 c GüKG, the client must generally take all reasonable steps to ensure that the executing carrier has a permit or authorization under the GüKG and the necessary work permits or driver certificates for the deployed driving personnel. This applies especially when a forwarding or freight contract is concluded for the first time with a company whose required permits, authorizations, approvals, or certificates are not known to be in place.

Information sheet on client responsibility: Download here

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