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The setup is as follows. Two private individuals sent a package across international borders via some shipping company. The shipping company asked the sender to fill out some paper work and pay fees for the import regulations. The package was then shipped and delivered to the recipient. A few days after receiving the package the recipient received a letter from the shipping company asking them to pay an import tax plus a handling fee for the shipping company. Does the shipping company have any legal claim to thes fees from the recipient?

I believe the shipping company had to pay the import tax and handled the import. But I don't see how they have any claim on the recipient, unless they can somehow claim that accepting the package establishes some kind of delivery contract with them. Presumably the sender should have paid these fees, but if the shipping company didn't charge them when the package was sent, it seems to me they screwed up and have to eat the cost themselves.

Sender is outside the EU, receiver is inside in case this makes a difference.

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  • "The shipping company asked the sender to fill out some paper work and pay fees for the import regulations." Did the sender pay those fees? If not, did the sender make the recipient aware that the recipient would need to pay?
    – Iñaki Viggers
    Commented Dec 29, 2021 at 11:24
  • @IñakiViggers The sender paid all fees the shipping company requested.
    – quarague
    Commented Dec 29, 2021 at 11:33
  • They don't need legal rights. They have economic power over the recipient who might not get a valuable shipment if the recipient doesn't pay even if the shipper is acting unlawfully or without a contractual basis.
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Dec 29, 2021 at 17:04

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Does the shipping company have any legal claim to thes fees from the recipient?

No. There is no contract between the recipient and the company. In fact, the company's attempt to charge twice for the same service is unlawful.

The company's requirement for the sender to fill out paper work and pay fees reflects that the fees are part of a contract to which only the company and the sender are parties. The recipient is merely a beneficiary of that contract, and as such he has no duty to provide any consideration for the benefit of the company.

Additionally, the company's failure at delivery to inform the recipient about any pending fees further weakens the allegation that the recipient ever had any obligation toward the company. The company prevented the recipient from making an informed decision when receiving the package, which implies that the sole interaction between company and recipient (i.e., the delivery) falls short of formation of contract.

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