International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has announced the revision of limits of liability under Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99). The new revision will be effective from 28th December 2019.
Under the said convention, the limit of liability for transportation of air cargo under Article 22, Paragraph 3 has been revised from 19 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to 22 SDR.
Mr Keshav Tanna, Director, Links Forwarding says, “ICAO, which revises the limits of liability in every 5 years, has taken a fair call by revising the limit from 19 SDR to 22 SDR depending on the cost of inflations.”
He further adds, “Air cargo fraternity, while amending their new airway bills should be aware of the revised limits which will naturally change the contract of carriage. Also, the liability agents of freight forwarders should be aware of the change so that they can align their premiums or insurances accordingly.”
Earlier, ICAO had revised the limits in 2009 (17 SDR) and then the next revision (19SDR) came in the year 2014.
MC99 which was enforced in 2003 has been rectified by 136 states till now. It permits the substitution of air waybills by other means preserving a record of carriage and simplifies claims handling. Also, there is less litigation for airlines, making a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
