Consignment arrived: Delivery against cost security under Article 13 CMR

Once the consignment has arrived at the place of delivery, the consignee may rely on Article 13 CMR to demand delivery and the second copy of the consignment note. If the carriage costs are disputed, the carrier must deliver when the consignee provides security for the total amount shown by the consignment note.

The security does not decide whether the claimed amount is ultimately correct. It addresses the delivery situation in which the consignee wants to take over the goods while the amount or basis of individual charges remains disputed. The specific consignment, consignment note and requested amount must therefore be reviewed together.

This article covers delivery after arrival, payment or security for the costs shown by the consignment note, and the consignee’s right to enforce contractual rights in its own name after an established loss or failure to arrive within the relevant period. Damage reservations, the amount of loss and a carrier’s lien are separate issues.

After the goods have arrived at the place designated for delivery, the consignee may demand that the carrier hand over the second copy of the consignment note against an acknowledgement of receipt and deliver the goods. Article 13 paragraph 1 CMR links this right to arrival at the designated place of delivery.

The first review should therefore record the actual location, the designated place of delivery and the time of arrival. An announcement that the goods are arriving, or information that the vehicle is nearby, does not by itself establish that the place referred to in Article 13 CMR has been reached.

The acknowledgement of receipt forms part of the handover. It should identify the specific consignment and should not conceal the actual sequence through a broad or unclear wording. Any discrepancy should be recorded separately at delivery.

A consignee exercising the rights under Article 13 paragraph 1 CMR must pay the total amount of the costs shown by the consignment note. The first step is therefore to identify which costs the consignment note records for the specific consignment and which amount is actually being demanded.

If those costs are disputed, the carrier must deliver when the consignee provides security. The security relates to the total amount of the costs shown by the consignment note. It resolves the handover situation, but it does not automatically decide whether every charge is finally justified.

The file should separate three levels: the cost entry in the consignment note, the amount disputed by the consignee and the security offered or provided. A message that refers to security only in general terms should be supplemented with its amount, form and connection to the specific consignment.

If the loss of the goods has been established or the goods have not arrived within the period provided for in Article 19 CMR, the consignee may enforce rights under the contract of carriage in its own name against the carrier. Article 13 paragraph 1 CMR attaches this possibility to the loss status or failure to arrive.

This situation must be distinguished from ordinary delivery after arrival. Where the goods are present, the first issues are handover, the consignment note and the costs. If the goods are missing or the relevant period has expired, the file must show the loss status and the claim that follows from it.

The consignee should not therefore infer an established loss from every delay. The file should record the agreed and actual delivery dates, enquiries to the carrier, search messages and the information showing the loss or the failure to arrive within the relevant period.

The consignment note, carriage order, cost statement and communications about delivery belong in one file. The acknowledgement of receipt, delivery record, payment records and, where relevant, the statement offering security should be preserved as well.

Each cost item should be linked to the specific consignment. For a collective invoice or charges added later, explain which amount is shown by the consignment note and which item was requested only later. This makes the scope of the payment duty under Article 13 paragraph 2 CMR reviewable.

For a possible loss, add the consignment data, search communications and records showing the scheduled delivery period. The file should distinguish the evidence of the carriage sequence, the loss status and the later legal assessment.

Article 13 CMR addresses the consignee’s position at delivery and, under specific conditions, the enforcement of contractual rights in the consignee’s own name. A reservation concerning visible damage answers a different question: it records the condition of the goods and does not replace the review of the costs or the consignee’s position.

A possible right of retention or lien asserted by the carrier must also be kept separate from the cost security under Article 13 paragraph 2 CMR. The security rule concerns a dispute over the costs shown by the consignment note and the obligation to deliver. Other security rights require their own assessment.

For further work, record four points separately: the condition of the goods, the consignment-note costs, the security offered and any asserted security right. This prevents a dispute about damage or payment from being mixed with the right to delivery.

Start with a short timeline: designated place of delivery, expected arrival, actual location, attempted handover and cost demand. Mark whether the goods are present, whether a loss has been established or whether the relevant period for arrival has expired.

Then arrange the consignment note, cost statement and acknowledgement of receipt. In a cost dispute, record the amount, objection and form of the offered security separately. In a possible loss, add the search communications and records concerning the relevant period.

Where the carrier and consignee disagree about delivery, costs or loss status, the complete carriage file should be reviewed as one sequence. The article on consignee acceptance and reservations addresses the separate documentation of the goods’ condition at handover.

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