The Montreal Convention does not cover your invoice

When an overcharge is found on an air freight invoice, the first question is whether it is already too late. And this is where the wrong time limit is usually quoted.

What is in the Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention governs the liability of the air carrier. It provides that notice of damage to the cargo must be given immediately and no later than fourteen days from receipt, and in the case of delay — within twenty-one days from the day on which the cargo was placed at the disposal of the consignee. For an action a two-year limit is set.

These limits are short and strict, which is why they are rightly well known. But they apply to what they were created for: the cargo. Damage, loss, delay.

What is not in the Montreal Convention

An invoice overcharge is not carrier liability for the cargo. It is a charging matter — performance of the contract, not carriage. If you were charged for 312 kg and the shipment is 287 kg by its dimensions, that is neither damage nor delay. It is an incorrectly calculated amount.

The Montreal limits therefore do not apply to a dispute over an overcharge. That matters in both directions: a dispute cannot be refused on the ground that fourteen days have passed, and you should not assume that you have two years either.

What actually applies

Three things, and they have to be checked in this order.

First — your contract with the forwarder. Most forwarding contracts contain a clause that invoices are to be disputed within a certain number of days from receipt, after which they are deemed accepted. That period is usually weeks. It is contractual, which means you signed it, and it certainly does apply.

Second — if you are a forwarder disputing an airline’s charges, the dispute procedure of the CASS settlement system applies. It is tied to the settlement periods, and its window is short as well.

Third — if the contract says nothing, the general limitation periods for obligations under the law applicable to the contract apply. That is the longest option, but it is residual: it applies only where the contract has no clause.

The practical consequence

In air freight the window for a historic audit is not one year, as in CMR carriage, and not three, as in the refund of the German road toll. It is the one set by your contract, and it is often weeks.

That means checking air freight invoices retrospectively has limited value. You will find part of the findings but will not be able to use them, because the contractual period for disputing has passed.

And it means that in air freight, checking invoices before payment is not a convenience. It is the only way to make use of the errors found at all.

What to do first

Open the forwarding contract and find the clause on the period for disputing invoices. It is usually one sentence in the section on payment. Write that number down.

If it is, say, ten days, that means your invoice checking process has to be faster than ten days — or it has no legal value.

If there is no such clause, that is good news, and it is worth not changing it at the next renewal of the contract.