A person or company agrees to carry goods or people from one place to another in return for a payment are known as a contract of carriage. The party who undertakes to carry the goods or people for payment is called the carrier. Carriage means the acts of carrying goods from one place to another. It is a branch of a business carriage is the most important basis for the management and regulation of a business properly. It is the factor of a business which helps to mobilize labor, tools and machinery. Modern business is based on system of exchange or transportation. The term 'carriage' means transporting goods or passengers from one place to another that may be within or outside the country. The law which regulates the relationship between the carrier and the owner of goods is called; law of carriage. In a broad interpretation of law of carriage, it includes carriage through land, water, sea or air. The receipt issued by the carrier to the owner of goods at the time of delivery of goods (to the carrier) is recognized as proof of contracts between the owner and the carrier.
Contract of carriage, means; a contact between a carrier and owner of goods for the purpose of carrying goods from one place to another is called the contract of carriage.
According to the Contract Act of Nepal, 2056 Sec. 65 (1), "A contact relating to carriage shall be deemed to have been concluded if it provides for the transportation of goods from one place to another."
Sec. 65(2) sates, "The receipt of the transporter (carrier) issues to the owner of goods for transportation should be recognized as proof of contract between them."
The Act has made provisions only for land transport and not for marine and air transport as the Act states; the term transporter means a person operating a transport service through land, internal water ways or rope ways or through animals or any other means other than air or marine transport.
Thus, the Act, carriage includes only the act of carrying goods from a place to another for money and it includes only land transport other than marine and air transport. The person or firm who receives the goods for the purpose of carriage or transportation as a profession is called carrier. Sec. 65 of NCA expressly declares that the person employed for carriage on wage, or agent or person acting under him are not the carrier for the purpose of the Act. In other words, any natural person or legal person or firm who does the profession of carrying goods as a business is carrier.
Features of Carrier
A carrier has the following features:
- A carrier may be any person or firm or organization.
- A carrier carries goods or passengers.
- Generally a carrier acts for fare or money.
- A carrier acts within the country or abroad.
- Providing carriage service at a proper place and time is the major duty of a carrier.
- Goods or passengers are carried through land, sea or air carriers.