The General Terms for the Provision of Forwarding and Carriage Services (OWSU) of OTSL Sp. z o.o. are in force from 20.10.2025. The full text of the document is published below; you can download the PDF version using the button above. By accepting a forwarding (transport) order, the Principal confirms that they have read and accept these terms.
The Polish-language version of this document is the legally binding one. This is an informational translation of the full text.
General Terms for the Provision of Forwarding and Carriage Services by OTSL Spolka z o.o.
In force from 20.10.2025
§ 1. General provisions, concepts and definitions
1.1. Forwarder (Carrier/contractor) – OTSL Sp. z o.o., ul. Batalionow Chlopskich 71, 25-671 Kielce, within its enterprise engaged in forwarding and the professional carriage of goods (things) to order, together with entities dependent on it or acting on its instructions and under its direction, also referred to as a party.
1.2. Principal – the entity ordering from the Contractor/Forwarder the carriage of things for remuneration within a set time and on an indicated route, also referred to as a party.
1.3. Forwarding (transport) order – a paid contract between the Forwarder and the Principal setting out all the material conditions of the carriage of goods.
1.4. Loader/Unloader – the entity indicated in the order which releases/loads/transships the shipment at the account and risk of the Principal.
1.5. Consignee/Unloader – the entity indicated in the order which receives/unloads the shipment delivered by the contractor of the ordered service, carrying out the unloading at the account and risk of the Contractor.
1.6. Place of loading – the place indicated by the Principal in the order at which the shipment is to be released for carriage or loaded.
1.7. Place of unloading – the place indicated by the Principal in the order to which the shipment is to be delivered and made available for unloading (unloaded).
1.8. Consignment note (CMR note) – proof of dispatch of the goods, for the correct completion of which the Principal is responsible, containing the data indicated in Art. 38, 39 of the Act of 15 November 1984 Transport Law, Dz.U.2024.0.1262 as amended, or in Art. 6 of the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR Convention) drawn up in Geneva on 19 May 1956, Dz. U. of 1962 No. 49, item 238, corr. Dz. U. of 1995 No. 69, item 352 as amended, and all other data necessary for carriage or customarily recognised.
1.9. logistician (dispatcher, OTSL driver) – an employee of the Contractor.
1.10. GTC – the General Terms for the Provision of Forwarding and Carriage Services of OTSL Sp. z o.o.
1.11. Electronic communication – OTSL Sp. z o.o. agrees to and permits the use of all means of electronic communication in contacts with business partners in order to speed up processing. However, the party that has chosen such a form of communication is obliged, before accepting the transport order, to indicate the e-mail addresses for communication and to notify OTSL immediately of any changes of e-mail addresses, messengers, correspondence addresses, etc., under pain of being charged for the resulting negative consequences for OTSL.
§ 2. Scope of application
2.1. Every forwarding order or other transport service performed by OTSL sp. z o.o. and its dependent entities is performed in accordance with the following GTC.
2.2. By accepting a forwarding/transport order, the Principal simultaneously confirms that they have read and accept the following terms.
2.3. The GTC bind all parties to the order and are of overriding nature.
2.4. In relation to generally applicable legal norms, the norms contained in these GTC are of a severable nature, and a finding that any of them is invalid does not affect the binding force of the remainder (severability clause).
2.5. On receiving the OWSU the Principal confirms that all other terms, rules, provisions, etc. presented in the course of performing the forwarding (transport) order by parties other than OTSL Sp. z o.o. lose validity or require the prior express written consent of a person authorised to represent OTSL Sp. z o.o. in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Code (CC), the Act of 23 April 1964 Civil Code, Dz.U. 1964 No. 16 item 93 as amended, and the Commercial Companies Code (CCC), the Act of 15 September 2000 Commercial Companies Code, Dz. U. 2000 No. 94 item 1037 as amended.
§ 3. Rules for providing services
3.1. Before commencing performance of a forwarding (carriage) order, the Principal is obliged to notify the Forwarder of the type, quantity and weight of the goods carried and the manner of their packing, as well as of all other requirements or material information concerning the goods carried and the vehicle requirements. The Principal alone is responsible for the above information, its accuracy and the resulting consequences.
3.2. In the absence of other written arrangements, for the correctness of which the Principal is responsible, the Principal is in each case also regarded as the owner (holder) of the goods, otherwise the sender of the goods within the meaning of the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR), drawn up in Geneva on 19 May 1956 (Dz. U. of 1962 No. 49, item 238 as amended), until the goods are unloaded and the carriage is completed.
3.3. International carriage performed by OTSL Sp. z o.o. takes place exclusively under the rules of the CMR Convention and the OTSL GTC. All changes and arrangements which are not contrary to the CMR Convention require the consent of an authorised person on the part of OTSL in writing under pain of nullity. Changes to the conditions of the forwarding/transport order, including the time and place of carriage or the amount of the freight, after OTSL has confirmed the order, require the separate consent of a person authorised to represent OTSL in writing under pain of nullity.
3.4. Domestic and cabotage carriage, regardless of the country of destination, performed by OTSL takes place under the rules of Polish law (transport law, the Act of 15 November 1984 Transport Law, Dz.U. 1984 No. 53 item 272 as amended) and OTSL, subject to the application of point 6.2.
3.5. Proof of dispatch of the goods and performance of the order is, in addition to a correctly completed forwarding (transport) order, also a correctly completed and signed consignment note (CMR note), for the content of which the Principal is responsible. The negative consequences arising from incorrect completion of the order or the CMR note burden the Principal alone.
3.6. Before commencing performance of the transport order, the Principal is obliged to provide the Forwarder/Carrier and their employees with all other documents and permits necessary for the carriage of the goods, and to cover the costs associated with their issue or the costs arising from their absence. Should such costs arise, the Principal authorises the Forwarder/Carrier to issue them an appropriate invoice without their signature.
3.7. Delays or default arising after acceptance of the order through the fault of the Sender/Consignee of the goods or the Principal must be reported without delay to the Contractor. In such cases the Contractor reserves, in addition to the right to compensation for the resulting damage, also the right to withdraw from the contract through the fault of the Sender/Consignee/Principal if the delay exceeds 6 hours. In such a situation the Principal loses the right to any further claims against the Forwarder/Carrier. Withdrawal by the Forwarder/Carrier from the contract takes place after issuing the Principal a written statement indicating the reason for withdrawal.
3.8. The Contractor/Forwarder/Carrier is not liable for physical and legal defects associated with the goods carried. All damage arising on this account burdens the Principal.
3.9. The Principal is obliged, in accordance with the CMR Convention, to enable the driver (an employee of the Contractor) to take part in the loading and unloading of the vehicle. Where this is not possible, the Contractor will inform the Principal and make an appropriate entry in the consignment note/CMR note or send appropriate information by electronic communication, and all negative consequences of this omission will burden the Principal.
3.10. On accepting the load for carriage, the Contractor is obliged only to a cursory check of the conformity of the data and quantity resulting from the consignment note/CMR note with the actual state of the loaded goods and their physical features visible to the driver representing the Contractor. The Contractor/Forwarder/Carrier is not liable for hidden defects of the goods or such defects as its driver was unable to detect with the naked eye.
§ 4. Procedure in the event of claims and complaints
4.1. Where it becomes necessary to conduct complaint proceedings, the Principal, the Contractor (or the Sender/Loader/Unloader), as well as other persons taking part in the transport process, are obliged to proceed in accordance with the rules described in the Act of 15 November 1984 Transport Law, Dz.U.2024.0.1262 as amended, and in the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR Convention) drawn up in Geneva on 19 May 1956, Dz. U. of 1962 No. 49, item 238, corr. Dz. U. of 1995 No. 69, item 352 as amended.
4.2. Where the Contractor finds defects, faults, shortages or discrepancies in the quantity of goods against the state declared in the consignment note/CMR note, the driver or another person acting on behalf of the Contractor makes an appropriate entry in the consignment note/CMR note and draws up a loss report/damage report. Where this is not possible, the Contractor informs the Principal/Sender/Consignee, who is obliged to accept and confirm such information.
4.3. In the situation described in point 4.2, the parties are obliged to draw up a loss report/damage report. The absence of such a report burdens the party that did not consent to or take part in drawing it up, or that made it impossible to jointly check and count the goods.
4.4. Where a shortage of goods is found during unloading, the Consignee/Sender is obliged, jointly with a representative of the Contractor, to count the actual state of the goods and draw up a joint loss report.
4.5. Drawing up a joint loss/discrepancy report according to the template presented by OTSL takes place under pain of the Principal/Consignee being charged for the losses arising on this account and of the possible disregard of other evidence in the event of a court dispute (evidentiary agreement).
4.6. Where it is impossible to draw up a joint report through the fault of the Forwarder/Carrier, the Principal is obliged to document in detail and in the form of a report all losses arising from destruction of the goods, theft, improper loading by the sender/another entity, loading of damaged pallets, noticed damage or non-conformity of the actual state with that entered in the transport document, delays and others.
4.7. The Principal fulfils the obligation set out in point 4.6, among other things, by taking numerous, clear photographs of the damaged goods, obtaining documents from the police/the perpetrator and forwarding them without delay to the Forwarder/Carrier, and by full cooperation with them in order to minimise any damage.
§ 5. Interest, compensation and contractual penalties
5.1. In the event of withdrawal by the Principal from the contract before its performance, the Forwarder/Carrier has the right to charge a contractual penalty of up to 50% of the anticipated freight.
5.2. Where the Principal provides incorrect or significantly divergent material data concerning the goods, the place of loading/unloading, etc., the Forwarder/Carrier has, in addition to the right to withdraw from the contract and to pursue due compensation, also the right to charge a contractual penalty of up to 50% of the anticipated freight.
5.3. The Contractor/Forwarder/Carrier reserves the right to charge a contractual penalty for delay in loading/unloading from the 60th minute of delay at EUR 100/h for each further hour of delay, up to a maximum of the amount of the freight for that order planned in the transport order. The contractual penalty also covers all delays arising through the fault of the Principal resulting from failure to provide or incorrect completion of the documents necessary for the correct and timely performance of the transport order.
5.4. The Contractor reserves the right to charge interest for delay in payments from the 7th day of delay at the maximum interest rate on the overdue amount for each day of delay up to and including the day of payment. The amount of the daily interest for delay is the maximum interest amount specified in the provisions on maximum interest resulting from the content of Art. 481 of the Civil Code, the Act of 23 April 1964 Civil Code, Dz.U.2024.1061 as amended.
5.5. In the event of delay in payment, the Contractor reserves the right to charge, without demand, compensation for the costs of recovering the receivables specified in the Act of 8 March 2013 on counteracting excessive delays in commercial transactions (Dz. U. 2013 item 403 as amended).
§ 6. Right of lien / detention of the shipment
6.1. The Contractor/Forwarder/Carrier reserves the right to exercise the right to detain the shipment or part thereof, as well as the right of lien on the shipment or part thereof, in order to secure all due claims to which it is entitled against the Principal, in particular on account of the carriage, forwarding and other services provided in connection with the performance of carriage contracts.
6.2. The legal basis for this entitlement is in particular: Art. 57 of the Act of 15 November 1984 — Transport Law (Dz.U. 2024, item 1262 as amended), Art. 790 et seq. of the Act of 23 April 1964 — Civil Code (Dz.U. 1964 No. 16 item 93 as amended), and, for international carriage — the provisions of the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) in connection with the application of Polish law in the scope not regulated by the Convention.
6.3. The right of lien covers not only receivables arising from the carriage of the given shipment, but also other due receivables of the Contractor against the Principal, arising in connection with earlier forwarding, carriage or other transport services.
6.4. The Contractor is entitled to detain all or part of the shipment, to the extent sufficient to secure the receivables pursued together with the interest and costs due, until they are fully satisfied.
6.5. The Contractor will inform the Principal of the exercise of the right of lien or detention of the shipment in writing or electronically, indicating the amount of the receivable and the detained part of the shipment.
6.6. In the event of failure by the Principal to pay voluntarily within the time limit specified in the Contractor’s notice of detention, the Contractor is entitled to pursue its claims from the object of the lien in accordance with the applicable law.
6.7. The Contractor is entitled to exercise the right of lien or detention of the shipment also where ownership of the shipment belongs to a third party, provided that the shipment was released to the Contractor by the Principal or by an entity acting in its name or on its behalf (extended lien clause).
6.8. The Principal declares that it is entitled to dispose of the goods being the object of carriage and that it consents to the establishment of the right of lien or detention by the Contractor in accordance with § 6 of the GTC.
§ 7. Dispute resolution, jurisdiction agreement
7.1. For the resolution of any disputes between the parties, alongside the CMR Convention, Polish law applies exclusively.
7.2. The court competent to resolve disputes between the parties will be exclusively the court having local and subject-matter jurisdiction for the Forwarder/Carrier/Contractor (contractual jurisdiction).
7.3. Without the prior written consent of the Contractor, the Principal may not make any assignment of any receivables arising from or connected with the performance of forwarding/transport orders by OTSL (contractual prohibition of assignment).
7.4. Without the prior written consent of the Contractor, the Principal may not make any set-off of any receivables arising from or connected with the performance of forwarding/transport orders by OTSL (contractual prohibition of set-off).
The OWSU are in force from 20.10.2025.