Freight claim: preparing invoices and records

A freight claim cannot be enforced on the basis of an invoice alone. The order, actual carriage, consignment note, delivery, agreed freight and any objections must fit together. Organising these records early makes it easier to see whether the invoice is supported and which points still need clarification.

This article is for carriers, forwarding agents and businesses preparing or reviewing a freight invoice. It focuses on documenting the service and matching the records to the transport. It does not deal with the general collection of any unpaid invoice, but with the transport-law core of a freight claim.

The freight claim deadline check and the shipment documents checklist can help you prepare the file. They provide structure, but they do not replace a review of the specific contract and complete transport records.

Under section 425 of the Austrian Commercial Code, a carrier is a person who undertakes to carry goods by land, river or another inland waterway. The first question is therefore who became the contracting party, which route and service were agreed, and who actually performed the carriage. In a forwarding arrangement, it may also be necessary to distinguish an agent arranging the shipment from a forwarding agent acting as carrier.

The invoice should describe the agreed service in a reviewable way. A collective description such as “transport according to order” may be unclear where several shipments, stages or customers are involved. Use the shipment reference, order, consignment note, collection and delivery points, and the agreed tariff or price arrangement as stable identifiers.

The overview of forwarding and logistics contracts explains the role distinction. For the freight claim, however, the individual order remains decisive. Not every logistics invoice is subject to the same transport-law rules.

Break down the price according to the agreement. In addition to the freight itself, the file may contain ancillary charges, customs disbursements, agreed surcharges, waiting time or additional instructions. Whether an item is owed depends on the order, terms and actual performance. A later addition without an identifiable basis is open to challenge.

Match each invoice item to its supporting record. The freight may be supported by the order and tariff. An additional service may require a documented instruction, time record or cost agreement. Credits, partial payments and set-offs must be reflected in the current balance.

The due date should not simply be inferred from the invoice date. Check the payment term, agreement, billing practice and any condition linked to delivery. Where the contract is unclear, a due date should not be replaced by an unsupported assertion.

Section 426 of the Austrian Commercial Code lists important consignment-note details, including carrier, consignee, delivery place, description of the goods, supporting documents, freight and special agreements. For international road carriage, Article 6 CMR also covers the parties, taking-over and delivery, goods, packages, weight and carriage costs. These details help connect the invoice with the specific shipment.

The consignment note does not automatically prove every invoice item. Under Article 9 CMR it serves, unless rebutted, as evidence of the conclusion and content of the carriage contract and of the carrier taking over the goods. The freight claim still requires a clear record of the service performed and the price agreed.

The file should therefore contain the order, confirmation, tariff or price agreement, consignment note, delivery note, receipt, status messages and correspondence about changes. The consignment note documentation topic provides a broader guide to the relevant records.

Objections by the customer or consignee can affect a freight claim. Preserve the delivery date, recipient, receipt, visible condition and any reservations together. Where several packages are involved, the records should show whether all or only some packages were affected.

Article 30 CMR contains rules for reservations concerning loss and damage in international road carriage. Visible damage should be recorded no later than delivery with a reservation of its general nature. For damage that was not externally apparent, the written notice period of seven days in that provision must be checked, excluding Sundays and public holidays. For delay, Article 30(3) CMR provides for a written reservation within 21 days.

These provisions do not automatically decide every objection to a freight invoice. The type of carriage, contract and alleged loss must be kept separate. An invoice may be fully, partly or only provisionally payable while a damage issue is clarified. The file should make that distinction visible.

An unpaid freight amount and alleged cargo damage are different questions. The freight claim concerns the agreed payment for carriage. Damage concerns liability for loss, damage or delay and the resulting calculation. Both may arise in the same business relationship, but they should not be set off without a legal and accounting review.

Section 429 of the Austrian Commercial Code generally makes the carrier liable for loss, damage or delay between taking over and delivery unless the circumstances could not have been prevented by the care of an ordinary carrier. For the CMR, Articles 17 and 23 may be relevant. Neither rule automatically proves a freight payment claim or an opposing damage claim.

Keep the invoice, damage notice, photographs, consignment records, repair or goods records and partial payments separate. The carrier liability and cargo damage overview helps with the initial distinction.

For claims arising from carriage governed by the CMR, Article 32 generally provides a one-year limitation period. In cases of wilful misconduct or equivalent fault under the law of the court seised, the period is three years. The starting point differs depending on whether the claim concerns damage, delay, total loss or another matter.

Under Article 32(2) CMR, a written claim suspends limitation until the carrier rejects it in writing and returns the attached documents. Receipt of the claim and response must remain provable. A further claim about the same matter does not suspend limitation again. These rules do not replace an individual deadline review and cannot simply be applied to every freight invoice.

Section 414 of the Austrian Commercial Code contains a separate rule for claims against a forwarding agent concerning loss, shortage, damage or delayed delivery. Whether that rule, the CMR or another regime applies depends on the parties’ roles and applicable law. The deadline check helps structure the relevant dates.

Keeping only the invoice: The invoice states the amount claimed, but does not by itself prove the order, performance, delivery or objections.

Combining several shipments: Without a shipment reference and itemised allocation, the service billed remains unclear.

Adding surcharges later: Each additional item needs an agreement or a traceable basis in the transport record.

Confusing receipt and reservation: A signature does not automatically confirm defect-free goods or the full invoice amount.

Treating damage notice as an automatic payment stop: Freight, damage and any counterclaim require separate legal and accounting review.

Recording only a date in the calendar: Keep the claim, receipt, response and returned documents. The date alone does not explain the limitation calculation.

Create a short chronology for each shipment. Start with the order and price arrangement, then add taking-over, consignment note, status, delivery, invoice, payment term, partial payments and objections. Mark open points instead of filling gaps from memory.

Then prepare an invoice schedule. Each item should be traceable to an agreement or documented transport event. If the freight or a cargo-damage issue is disputed, keep the complete correspondence, records and written claims with proof of receipt.

You can receive further legal information from the firm through BRANDaktuelle Rechtsnews. If the claim is disputed, the carriage is cross-border or a time limit is approaching, the transport file should be reviewed promptly.