OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA 4h Year No. 46 ADDIS ABABA - 191h June , 1998 CONTENTS Council of Ministers Regulations No. 37/1998 Freight Forwarding and Ship Agency Licence Issuance Council of Ministers . Regulations Page 766 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS REGULATIONS NO . 37/1998 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS REGULATIONS TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF FREIGHT FORWARDING AND SHIP AGENCY LICENCE These Regulations are issued by the Council of Minis ters pursuant to Article 5 of the Definition of powers and Duties of the Executive Organs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Proclamation No. 4/1995 and Article 47 of the Commercial Registration and Business Licensing Proclamation No. 67/1997 . Short Title These Regulations may be cited as the “ Freight Forwar ding and Ship Agency Licence Issuance Council of Ministers Regulations No. 37/1998 . " In these Regualtions : 1 ) " Freight Forwarding ” means the representation of a consignor or consignee locally or internationally in fulfilling customs , port and other formalities for import and export cargo at port and includes the transportation and delivery of same ; 2 ) “ Freight Forwarder ” means a person who is liceri sed under these Regulations to carry out freight forwarding ; Unit Price INegarit G.POBox 80,00 1 ] The African Law Archive No. 46 19 June , 1998– Page 767 3 ) “ Port ' ' means the area or place to be designated by the Federal Revenues Board as such ; 4 ) “ Customs Clearance ” means a process of fulfilling customs ' formalities for import and export cargo on behalf of consignor or consignee within customs station ; 5 ) “ Customs Formalities ” means any custsoms operations carried out in connection with impor tation , exportation or transit of goods from the time of arrival at the customs port until released from the customs control ; 6 ) “ Port Clearance ” means a process of fulfilling port's formalities for import and export cargo on behalf of consignor or consignee within port area until the imp cargo is brought out from the port or the export cargo is loaded onto the ship ; 7 ) “ Groupage / Consolidation ” means the grouping together of several compatible consignments into a full container load ; 8 ) “ Person ” means any natural or juridcal person ; 9 ) “ Protective Agency ” means the representation ofa shipowner to protect a shipowner's interest and to supervise the work carried out by the ship's agent when the owner's ship is in port ; 10 ) “ Ship ” means any kind of floating object used for maritime transport and includes vessel ; 11 ) “ Shipping Agency ” means the representation of an owner , charterer or operator of a ship in canvassing and booking cargo or passenger and providing services to the ship inland and at port as necessary and includes the coordination of stevedoring and shorehandling services ; 12 ) “ Shipping Agent ” means a person who is licensed under these Regulations to carry out shipping agency ; 13 ) “ ' Licence ” ' means a business licence issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to carry out freight forwarding and / or shipping agency ; 14 ) “ Foreign Trade Auxiliary ” means Commercial Agents , Commercial Brokers and Commission Agents as defined under Articles 44-62 of the Commercial Code . The Functions of the Freight Forwarder The functions of the freight forwarder include the following : 1 ) port clearance ; 2 ) customs clearance ; 3 ) groupage / consolidation ; 4 ) warehousing and delivery services ; 5 ) cargo handling equipment services ; The African Law Archive 19 June , 1998- ~ Page 768 6 ) transport services , where the freight forwarder provides such services himself ; 7 ) transport the cargo using other transporters , where himself or scargo owner do not have transport services ; 8 ) fumigation services ; 9 ) packing services ; 10 ) preparation and issuance of relevant documents ; 11 ) compliance with foreign trade regulation and letter of credit instructions ; 12 ) choice of the most suitable carrier and conclusion of the contract of carriage ; 13 ) follow up movement of cargo ; 14 ) consultancy services in freight forwarding . The Functions of the Shipping Agency The functions of the shipping agency include the following : contact various shipowners and obtain advance information of sailing schedule of cargo discharging and loading vessels ; 2 ) prepare daily fleet position and distribute to shippers and importers ; 3 ) provide cargo canvassing , booking and coordination services ; 4 ) organize the arrival and departure arrangements of ships and ensure that the country's foreign trade cargo be transported by sea - worthy vessels ; 5 ) follow that export goods have arrived at port before arrival of loading vessel and ascertain that the goods are properly loaded ; 6 ) notify importers of the arrival of their goods to effect delivery ; 7 ) assist the appropriate bodies in order to avoid or minimize congestion of port and delay of services ; 8 ) assist in chartering sea - worthy ships ; 9 ) collect freight , prepare statement of account and disbursement account ; 10 ) coordinate stevedoring and provide cargo super intendancy services ; 11 ) provide or arrange ships husbandry services like provision of food , water , etc. , to the ship ; 12 ) provide crew change and repatriation services ; 13 ) issue bill of lading , delivery order and prepare other shipping documents ; 14 ) facilitate settlement of claim by cargo owners ; 15 ) provide protective agency services ; 16 ) monitor movements of containers . The African Law Archive 19 June , 1998- Page 769 5. Requirement of Licence 1 ) A person may perform the business of freight forwarding and / or shipping agency services only upon acquiring a licence pursuant to . these Regulations . 2 ) A person who has been rendering shipping agency services and freight forwarding services under Foreign Trade Auxiliary licence may not continue providing said services unless he obtains licence under these Regulations . 3 ) A person who acquires the licence as freight forwar der under these Regulations is deemed to have acquired customs clearence licence . 6. Requirements for Obtaining Licence 1 ) For freight forwarding or shipping agency licence , the applicant shall have : ( a ) . Ethiopian nationality or be a person from a country having relevant reciprocal agreement with Ethiopia ; ( b ) a minimum captial of Birr : 1,500,000 ( one million and five hundred thousand ) for freight forwarding agency ; 1,000,000 ( one million ) for shipping agency ; 2,200,000 ( two million and two hundred thousand ) for both agency services ; ( c ) himself the qualification or qualified personnel with the knowledge and experience in inter national transport particularly shipping , as evidenced by certificate of competency issued by the Ministry of Transport and Com munications ; ( d ) an office equipped with telephone , fax , telex and other relevant modern facilities ; ( e ) submit Articles of Association and Memoran dum of Association , if it is a company . 2 ) The applicant for freight forwarding in addition to the certificate mentioned in sub - Article ( 1 ) ( c ) of this Article , shall submit a certificate of competence from the Customs Authority to carry out customs clearing activity . 3 ) The applicant already with a licence for customs clearing is not required to submit the said certificate of competence . 7. Responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and Com munications 1 ) The Ministry shall issue directives with regard to the requirements set in Article 6 sub - Article ( 1 ) ( c ) here in - above . 2 ) The applicant shall be issued with the certificate of competence where he fulfills the requirements under Article 6 sub - Article ( 1 ) ( c ) of these Regulations . 8. Responsibility of the Ministry of Trade and Industry The Ministry shall issue the licence for shipping or freight forwarding agency upon fulfilment of the requirements under Article 6 here - in - above . rchive The African Law Archive WPC 2oPTŮ 9. Responsibility of the Cutoms Authority The Customs Authority shall issue the certificate of competence of customs clearing agent , regarding freight forwarding , pursuant to sub - Article ( 1 ) ( c ) of Article 5 of the Council of Ministers Regulations No. 10. Responsibility of the National Bank of Ethiopia 1 ) The issuance of bill of lading under Article 4 ( 13 ) is subject to the directives to be issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia . 2 ) The National Bank of Ethiopia shall also issue directives with respect to the control of foreign currency transactions by the freight forwarding and shipping agency services . 11. Suspension and Cancellation of Certificates of Com petence Where the freight forwarder or the shipping agent fails to abide by the rules and conduct of the trade , the authority that issued the certificate ( s ) of competence may suspend or cancel the cer tificate ( s ) and same shall be made known to the Ministry of Trade and Industry . 12. Liability of the Freight Forwarder or the Shipping Agent 1 ) The Freight Forwarder or the Shipping Agent shall out his duties with due diligence . 2 ) He shall be liable for defaults in the performance of his duties , in particular he shall be liable for loss of or shortage of or damage to the goods or delay in delivery of the goods . 13. Applicability of other Laws Commercial Registration and Business Licensing Proclamation No. 67/1997 ; the Re - establishment and Modernisation of Customs Authority roclamation No. 60/1997 and other relevant laws shall be , mutatis mutandis , applicable to matters provided for in these Regulations . Effective Date These Regualtions shall come into force as of the 19th day of June , 1998 . Done at Addis Ababa , this 19th day of June , 1998 . PRIME MINISTER OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA The African Law Archive