The CMR note done right: who is liable for damage, and what to do about reservations

What the carrier checks on taking over

Art. 8 requires the carrier, on taking over the goods, to check:

• the accuracy of the statements in the note about the number of packages, their marks and numbers;
• the apparent condition of the goods and their packaging.

If he has no reasonable means of checking, he enters reasoned reservations in the note — not a bare "goods not checked", but the reason. Reservations about apparent condition do not bind the sender unless he has expressly agreed to be bound by them in the note.

Who is liable for damage

• The carrier is liable for total or partial loss of the goods and for damage to them, occurring between the time of taking over and the time of delivery, and for delay in delivery (art. 17(1)).
• He is relieved where the loss, damage or delay was caused by the wrongful act or neglect of the claimant, by an instruction of the claimant not resulting from the carrier's own fault, by inherent vice of the goods, or by circumstances the carrier could not avoid and the consequences of which he was unable to prevent (art. 17(2)).

How much is paid

Basis of calculation

the value of the goods at the place and time they were accepted for carriage, fixed by the commodity exchange price or, failing that, the current market price (art. 23(1) and (2))

Cap

8.33 SDR per kilogram of gross weight short (art. 23(3))

On top of the value

the carriage charges, customs duties and other charges incurred in respect of the carriage — in full on total loss, proportionally on partial loss (art. 23(4))

Above the cap

a declared value for the goods in the note (art. 24) or a special interest in delivery (art. 26), against an agreed surcharge

No cap at all

wilful misconduct, or default treated as equivalent to it: the carrier can no longer rely on the limits of the Convention (art. 29)

On a 24-tonne curtainsider, the 8.33 SDR/kg cap works out at roughly 200,000 SDR. If the goods are worth more, the difference is not covered by CMR liability — it is covered by cargo insurance, taken out before loading.

Reservations: the deadlines that end the right

Art. 30 distinguishes between what can be seen at unloading and what cannot.

Apparent loss or damage

the reservation is made at delivery, with the driver present. Taking delivery without reservations is prima facie evidence that the goods were received in the condition described in the note

Loss or damage that is not apparent

reservations sent in writing within 7 days of delivery, Sundays and public holidays excepted

Delay in delivery

no compensation is payable unless a written reservation was sent within 21 days of the goods being placed at the disposal of the consignee

In calculating these periods the date of delivery, of checking, or of the goods being placed at the consignee's disposal is not counted. The parties must give each other every reasonable facility for making the necessary investigations and checks (art. 30(5)).

What to actually write in the remarks box

A useful reservation says what, how much, and how. "With reservations" on its own means nothing.

• What you found: "3 pallets with torn wrap, boxes crushed on the top layer".
• The quantity affected: the number of packages or pallets, not "partly".
• That you photographed it, with the date and time.
• The driver's signature and name next to the entry — a reservation the carrier never saw is easy to contest.

How long you have to claim

• The period of limitation is one year, or three years in the case of wilful misconduct or default treated as equivalent to it (art. 32(1)).
• It runs from the date of delivery in the case of partial loss, damage or delay.
• In the case of total loss, from the thirtieth day after the expiry of the agreed time limit or, where no time limit was agreed, from the sixtieth day after the carrier took over the goods.