ADSp 2003, 2016 or 2017 – which version is valid?

The German Freight Forwarders’ Standard Terms and Conditions (ADSp) are a joint body of recommendations for shipping industry associations and freight forwarders. However, given that there are (at least) three versions – namely, ADSp 2003, ADSp 2016 and ADSp 2017 – many companies struggle to clearly identify the ADSp on which they should base their services.

In 2015 negotiations on a new version of the ADSp, which had last been amended in 2003, failed. The shippers’ associations then presented their own terms and conditions alongside the German Transport and Storage Conditions (DTLB) and recommended that they be incorporated. At the end of 2015, the German Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association followed suit and presented its own terms and conditions, resulting in the ADSp 2016. After a rapprochement between the parties in 2016, the ADSp 2017 was again recommended for joint application on 1 January 2017. However, the previous versions (ADSp 2003 and ADSp 2016) could still be used.

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