Chapter VII Freight Forwarding Business

①The term "freight forwarder" as used in this Chapter means a person in the business of commissioning the transportation of goods in its own name.

②Unless otherwise provided in this Chapter, the provisions on commission merchants prescribed in Article 551 apply mutatis mutandis to freight forwarders.

If, between the receipt of goods and their delivery to the consignee, those goods are lost or damaged or something occurs that causes them to be lost or damaged, or if their arrival is delayed, a freight forwarder is liable to compensate for the resulting loss or damage; provided, however, that this does not apply if a freight forwarder proves that it did not neglect to exercise due care in performing acts in commissioning the transportation, such as the receipt, storage, or delivery of the goods, or the choice of carrier.

①A freight forwarder may claim remuneration immediately upon delivery of the goods to a carrier.

②If the amount of freight charges is specified in a freight forwarding contract, the freight forwarder may not claim any additional remuneration separately unless there is a special agreement to the contrary.

A freight forwarder may retain goods only against the remuneration, ancillary costs, and freight charges and other such money advanced which are receivable for the goods, until the freight forwarder is paid for these in full.

①A freight forwarder may transport goods personally. In this case, the freight forwarder has the same rights and obligations as a carrier.

②If a freight forwarder prepares a bill of lading or multimodal bill of lading at the request of a consignor, the freight forwarder is deemed to transport the goods personally.

The provisions of Article 572, Article 577, Article 579 (excluding paragraph (3)), Article 581, Article 585, Article 586, Article 587 (limited to the parts concerning the application mutatis mutandis of the provisions of Article 577 and 585), and Article 588 apply mutatis mutandis to the freight forwarding business. In this case, the term "preceding carrier" in Article 579, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "preceding freight forwarder or carrier," and the phrase "goods are delivered" in Article 585, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "goods are delivered to the consignee.".