In order to reasonably agree on the objection and claim clauses, the following matters need to be noted:
(i) Claim evidence should be agreed upon in accordance with the principle of fairness and reasonableness
In the objection and claim clauses of international sales contracts, it is usually stipulated that a commodity inspection agency agreed upon by both parties shall issue an inspection certificate as the basis for the delivery of goods, settlement of payment and handling of claims. It can be seen that choosing a fair and authoritative inspection agency to issue a certificate that is binding on both parties is related to the vital interests of the parties to the contract. A company in my country once agreed in an import contract for the purchase of equipment: “After the goods arrive, the China Commodity Inspection Bureau will conduct a preliminary inspection. If the buyer claims, the seller has the right to appoint an inspector from a foreign commodity inspection agency to confirm the claim. The inspector’s inspection result is final and binding on both parties.” This provision obviously violates the principle of fairness and reasonableness. Later, due to the poor quality of the goods, the equipment could not operate normally, but the buyer could not recover the loss through the claim channel.
(ii) The length of the claim period should be reasonable
The length of the claim period is related to the interests of both parties. If the claim period is too long, the liability period of the breaching party will inevitably be extended, thereby increasing its burden; if the claim period is too short, the party in compliance may not be able to exercise the right to claim and suffer greater losses. Therefore, when the two parties to the transaction agree on the claim period, they must make reasonable arrangements according to the characteristics of different types of goods, combined with factors such as transportation, inspection conditions and the time required for inspection. For transactions of some mechanical, electrical, instrument and other equipment with relatively complex performance and quality assurance period, since the quality assurance period needs to be added to the contract, the claim period can be appropriately extended. In addition, without affecting the exercise of the claim right by the party in compliance, the claim period can be appropriately shortened.
(III) Attention should be paid to the connection between the claim clause and the inspection clause
The objection and claim clause is closely related to the commodity inspection clause. For example, the deadline for the buyer’s claim is related to the validity period for the buyer to re-inspect the goods. Therefore, when agreeing on the claim period, factors such as inspection conditions and the length of the deadline must be considered. In order to make the two clauses consistent and more reasonable, and to avoid disconnection or contradiction, in some sales contracts, these two clauses are sometimes combined and called “Inspection & Claim Clause”.