The IRU Goods Transport Council has revised the IRU’s General Conditions for International Carriage of Goods to better reflect the latest economic, legal and contractual developments in hauliers’ operating environment.

Geneva – The IRU’s Goods Transport Council today adopted “Revised IRU General Conditions for International Carriage of Goods and related Outline Agreements” and “Guidelines for Transport Operators on Insurance Matters” to further harmonise and simplify international road freight  transport operations and to assist goods transport operators in protecting their legal interests within their contractual relations, in light of the significant changes to the economic, legal and contractual environment for road transport operators that occurred over the past ten years. 

The President of the IRU’s Commission on Legal Affairs, Prof. Isabelle Bon-Garcin, stressed, “Through the IRU General Conditions and Outline Agreements, goods road transport operators and their clients will have at their disposal easy-to-use tools that will increase transparency and certainty in their contractual relations”.

The new General Conditions include provisions related to new security regulations deriving from the implementation of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards, such as requirements relating to Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status, as well as the increasing use of electronic consignment notes and electronic communications to submit customs declarations.

The General Conditions also incorporate the principle of passing on to the client the variable costs, such as fuel, road taxes and tolls. For increased transparency, the General Conditions provide a cost estimate template listing the services included, and provide for additional services not initially foreseen.

Furthermore, the IRU’s Goods Transport Council approved Guidelines on insurance matters to assist road transport operators in their negotiations with insurance companies to prevent a lack of coverage, overlapping insurance coverage, as well as to better address exceptional risks and situations.

The President of IRU Goods Transport Council, Pere Padrosa, concluded, “in this difficult economic climate, the use of the revised IRU General Conditions and Outline Agreements as well as the IRU Revised set of Guidelines will help road transport operators better protect their legal and financial interests and, as such, contribute to the sustainability and profitability of their businesses”.

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Press contact: Juliette Ebélé, +41 22 918 27 07, Press@iru.org