Carriage Of Goods By Land:

The Carriers Act, 1865 and the railways Act, 1890 apply to carriage of goods by land. Carriers act applies only to common carriers as distinguished from private carriers.

A common carrier may be any individual, firm or company, which transports goods as regular business for money, over land or inland waterways. A private carrier, carries his own goods and may occasionally carry goods for selected persons. He is not covered by the Carriers Act but by the Indian Contract Act.

Rights, Duties and Liabilities of a Common carrier.

Duties:

To receive and carry goods from all corners, indiscriminately, To carry the goods safely, To carry by his customary route without deviating from it unnecessarily, To obey instructions of the consignor, To deliver the goods within the agreed time at the stipulated place.
 

Rights:

The common carrier has the right to refuse carriage of goods in the following circumstances:

If he has insufficient or no room in his carrier, If the goods are of a type other than what he professes to carry,
If the goods are not required to be carried by his customary route or to his usual destination. If the goods are dangerous to carry or expose him to risk. If the goods to be carried are not offered at a reasonable time and in reasonable manner. If the consignor is not prepared to pay reasonable amount in advance.

Liabilities:

A common carrier is an insurer of goods, but there are certain exceptions to this rule. He is not liable for any loss or damage to goods caused by an act of God or natural calamity, like the vehicle being struck by lightening.
He has no liability in case of injury caused by "enemies of the state.  E.g. foreign with whom the country may be at war. He cannot be held responsible for loss due to any inherent vice or natural deterioration of goods in transit. For e.g. evaporation of liquids, deterioration of fruit etc. He is not liable for any loss due to neglect on the part of consignee. Such as defective packing of goods.


Scheduled And Non Scheduled Goods:

Goods are classified into scheduled and non-scheduled categories. Goods of high value are termed as scheduled goods. For e.g. gold coins, precious stones, currency notes, work of art, articles of ivory or sandalwood. etc. The carrier can charge extra for carrying such costly articles provided their value exceeds Rs. 100 and will be liable for loss or damage only if the value and description of goods has been disclosed by the consignor in advance or if the loss is due to a criminal act of the carrier, his agents or servants. Other types of goods are called non-scheduled goods.

Carriage Of Dangerous Goods:

It is the duty of the consignor to warn the carrier when dangerous goods such as explosives, acids or poisons are booked for carriage. In the absence of such warning, the consignor will be responsible for any probable adverse consequences.

Railways:

The Indian Railways Act, 1890 lays down the duties and liabilities of the railway administration as a career of goods. These are similar to the duties and liabilities of common careers.

Railways Liability:

Railways are liable for loss, destruction or non-delivery of goods arising from any cause except the acts of God, war or public enemies, fire, explosion or any unforeseen risk, arrest, restraint or seizure under legal process, restrictions imposed by the Central or State Govts, natural deterioration or wastage due to inherent defect, vice or quality of goods; latent defects, and any act of omission or negligence on the part of consignor or his agents.

Carriage Or Goods By Sea:

Goods transported by sea are governed by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925 and the (Indian) Bills of Lading Act, 1856. Besides, the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and the Marine Insurance Act, 1963 are also applicable. Here we shall confine our discussion to the first two of the above mentioned Act. A contract of carriage of goods by sea is called a contract of affreightment and the consideration for carriage is called the freight. A contact of affreightment may take the form of a Charter Party where an entire ship is hired, or a Bill of Lading, where the goods are to be carried in a general ship which can be used for this purpose by any person. In both these contracts, the ship owner as the carrier undertakes the responsibility of carrying the goods of the consignor safely and securely to the destination.

Conditions Implied:

In a contract for carriage of goods by sea, the following conditions are implied:

Seaworthiness - This means that the ship is reasonably fit to encounter the 'perils of the sea'. This is an absolute undertaking warranted by the ship-owner. Seaworthiness is a relative term meaning that the ship is fit to undertake the particular voyage and to carry the particular cargo.

Commencement of Voyage: The ship shall be ready to load the cargo and commence the voyage agreed on without undue delay and shall also complete the voyage with all reasonable dispatch.

Non-deviation of Voyage: It means that if the ship does not carry out the voyage by the prescribed or usual route in the customary manner, the contract becomes void from the beginning of the voyage, no matter when and where the deviation from the usual route took place.

Dangerous Goods not to be Shipped:  If the shipper ships dangerous goods and if on account of this, the chartered suffers any damage, he can recover the same from the shipper.

Delivery Of Goods:

The prime duty and obligation of a carrier by sea is to deliver the goods to the holder of the bill of lading, provided proper payment of freight has been made. Bill of lading is commonly drawn in a set of three copies, one of which is sent to the consignee, the second is for the ship's master and the consignor retains the third.

Passenger Ticket:

The Passenger Ticket issued by a carrier must show (I) the place and date of issue, (II) places of departure and destination, (III) the agreed stopping place, (IV) the name and address of the carrier, and (V) the statement that the carriage is subject to the liabilities mentioned therein. The absence or loss of passenger ticket does not affect the validity of the contract of carriage, but if the carrier accepts a passenger without a ticket, he cannot enjoy the benefit of limiting his liability.

Limitation Of Carrier's Liability:

In India the liability of internal or domestic carriers (e.g. Indian Airlines) for passengers and their baggage has been fixed as follows:

In the case of passengers 2,50,000/- francs* per passenger ;
For registered baggage and cargo 250* francs per kilogram, and
For articles in the charge of the passenger himself 5000* francs per passenger.

As per international regulations and for the purpose of ascertaining liability the prevailing exchange rate is used by courts.

A carrier cannot reduce his liability but may undertake a higher liability by a special agreement. In the case of damage, the person entitled to delivery must complain to the career forthwith after discover of damage and at the latest within 3 days from the date of receipt of luggage. In case of delay in delivery of goods the complaint must be lodged within 14 days from the date on which the goods have been actually delivered.