Terms & Conditions

1. Parties, Scope and Acceptance

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern cargo shipping, packing, storage, customs-coordination, collection, delivery and related services supplied by LTC Express Cargo SARL, trading as LTC Express (“LTC”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

The Customer is the person who books, requests, pays for or tenders a Shipment, whether acting personally or for another person. The Customer confirms that they have authority to give instructions concerning the Shipment and to accept these Terms for themselves and, to the extent legally permitted, for the Sender, owner and Recipient.

These Terms become binding when the Customer accepts a quotation or booking, tenders a Shipment, pays a Charge, or otherwise instructs LTC to begin the service after having a reasonable opportunity to review them. Website browsing alone does not create a shipping contract.

The contract for a particular Shipment comprises these Terms, the accepted quotation or booking confirmation, any shipment receipt issued by LTC and any expressly incorporated service-specific terms. If they conflict, the booking confirmation prevails for the relevant Shipment, followed by these Terms, unless mandatory law requires otherwise.

The version provided or made available when the booking is accepted governs that Shipment. Later changes do not apply retrospectively unless required by law or expressly agreed.

2. Definitions

Groupage (or Consolidated Shipment) means a shipment consolidated with other customers’ shipments in a shared container. Groupage is the default service for individual customer shipments to the Philippines, at LTC’s published rates.

Dedicated Container means an entire shipping container reserved for one Customer, arranged on a bespoke written quotation. Destination, packing arrangements, delivery scope and customs responsibilities are agreed with the Customer per booking.

3. LTC’s Role and Services

LTC contracts with the Customer as principal to provide the door-to-door service described in the booking confirmation. LTC may subcontract any transport, customs, warehousing, packing or delivery activity to Carriers and Agents. Subject to these Terms and mandatory law, LTC remains responsible to the Customer for the contracted service even where part of it is subcontracted.

The exact service, route, Shipment units, stated price and any special handling must appear in the quotation or booking confirmation. LTC is not required to provide a service that was not agreed in writing.

LTC may select and change the route, Carrier, Agent, port, warehouse, mode of transport or operational sequence where reasonably necessary, provided the change does not materially deprive the Customer of the agreed service. LTC will inform the Customer of a material change where reasonably practicable.

LTC provides two service models. The default is Groupage: individual boxes and barrels consolidated with other customers’ shipments into a shared container to the Philippines, at LTC’s published rates. Alternatively, a Customer may book a Dedicated Container reserved exclusively for their goods; this is priced by written quotation and may include destinations beyond the Philippines. For Dedicated Container bookings, packing services for the Customer’s goods are available at additional cost, quoted separately. Delivery scope and customs arrangements for a Dedicated Container are agreed with the Customer per booking.

4. Quotations, Rates and Charges

A quotation is based on the information supplied by the Customer and remains valid for one week, unless it states otherwise. Before acceptance, LTC may withdraw or correct a quotation containing an obvious error.

For groupage (consolidated shipments to the Philippines), the price is calculated using the agreed standard box size (Small, Medium, Jumbo or Barrel) and the destination zone (Metro Manila, Luzon, or Visayas / Mindanao), at LTC’s published rates. Irregular-dimension items are priced by formula using the Jumbo unit price of the destination zone applied to the item’s volume, together with any applicable pickup fee. For a dedicated container, the price is provided by written quotation and covers the agreed scope of services, destination and handling arrangements. Before acceptance, LTC will disclose the principal Charges included and any known Charges excluded. Customs duties, taxes, official charges and exceptional third-party costs are payable by the Customer unless the booking confirmation expressly states that they are included.

If the Customer’s information is inaccurate, the Shipment exceeds the stated dimensions or weight, or an authority or third party imposes an unforeseen cost, LTC may charge the reasonable difference after explaining its basis. If the increase is material and performance has not substantially begun, the Customer may cancel, subject to payment of non-recoverable costs already incurred.

Promotional terms apply only during their stated validity period and subject to any clearly disclosed quantity, route or booking conditions. Website, Meta and other advertising must match the booking price and service actually offered.

5. Payment, Cancellation and Refunds

Payment is due at pickup unless otherwise agreed with the Customer. LTC accepts cash on pickup (COD) and Whish for all shipments. Wire bank transfer is additionally accepted for dedicated container bookings. LTC will issue a receipt or other transaction record.

The Customer may cancel before collection by notifying LTC. LTC will refund amounts paid for services not performed, less reasonable, disclosed and non-recoverable costs already incurred specifically for the booking. Any agreed booking or cancellation fee must be stated before payment and must comply with mandatory consumer law.

After collection or commencement of packing, storage, carriage or customs work, any refund will reflect the service already performed and costs that LTC cannot reasonably recover. No refund is due merely because the Customer changes their mind after the Shipment has entered carriage, subject always to mandatory cancellation or consumer rights.

If LTC cancels for operational reasons not caused by the Customer or the Shipment, LTC will refund Charges for services not performed. If cancellation results from prohibited goods, misdeclaration, non-payment or another Customer breach, LTC may deduct reasonable costs and losses lawfully incurred.

6. Customer Responsibilities

The Customer must:

• provide complete and accurate Sender, Recipient, content, quantity, weight, value and customs information;
• declare any fragile, valuable, regulated or unusual goods and obtain LTC's written acceptance before tender;
• pack, seal and label the Shipment adequately unless LTC expressly undertakes the packing service;
• provide all documents and authorisations required for export, transit, import and delivery;
• ensure the Sender has authority over the goods and that the Shipment does not infringe another person's ownership or rights;
• pay Charges when due and remain available for operational instructions; and
• promptly inform LTC of any change to the Recipient, address or Shipment information.

LTC may rely on information supplied by the Customer but may inspect, weigh, measure or open a Shipment where reasonably necessary for safety, compliance, customs, claims or verification. Inspection does not transfer the Customer’s responsibility for accuracy or lawful contents to LTC.

For each groupage box tendered for shipment to the Philippines (balikbayan box), LTC provides a free water-resistant packaging service applied at pickup. This service is a physical protection measure and does not constitute cargo insurance. For Dedicated Container bookings, packing of the Customer’s goods is a separate service available on request and quoted separately from the container price.

7. Prohibited and Restricted Goods

The Customer must not tender goods that are unlawful, unsafe, prohibited by a competent authority, prohibited by a Carrier, or not accepted by LTC. Without limiting that rule, prior written approval is required for perishables, plants, medicines, batteries, chemicals, fragile goods and high-value goods.

Unless LTC confirms otherwise in writing, the following are prohibited:

• explosives, firearms, weapons, ammunition, flammable or hazardous materials;
• alcohol, alcoholic beverages and any product containing alcohol;
• cooking oil, edible oils and any bulk liquids;
• illegal drugs, controlled substances and unlawful goods;
• cash, negotiable instruments, precious metals or stones and jewellery;
• live animals;
• perishable goods requiring refrigeration or specialist handling;
• irreplaceable items, original legal documents and goods whose value is mainly sentimental; and
• any goods prohibited by Lebanese, Philippine, transit-country, customs, carrier or international rules.

If goods are prohibited, dangerous, leaking, misdeclared or unlawful, LTC may isolate, refuse, return, surrender to an authority, or take another reasonable protective action. Destruction or disposal will occur only where urgently required for safety or authorised by applicable law. The Customer is responsible for reasonable resulting costs and penalties to the extent caused by their breach.

8. Collection, Transit and Delivery

Pickup and delivery dates are arranged using the contact details and access instructions provided. A person present at collection or delivery may be asked to confirm handover or receipt.

The indicative sea-freight transit period is two to five months. Transit times are estimates unless LTC expressly guarantees a date in writing. An estimate does not permit unlimited delay: LTC will provide reasonable updates and take reasonable steps to progress a delayed Shipment.

LTC will deliver to the stated address or another address validly agreed with the Customer or Recipient. LTC will not leave a Shipment unattended unless the Customer or Recipient gives clear authority and LTC considers the location reasonably suitable. Risk arising solely from an authorised unattended delivery passes when the Shipment is left as instructed, subject to mandatory law.

If delivery cannot be completed, LTC may attempt redelivery, hold the Shipment or arrange return. Reasonable redelivery, storage and return Charges are payable where the failure results from incorrect information, lack of access or the Recipient’s unavailability.

9. Customs and Regulatory Compliance

International Shipments are subject to inspection, valuation, clearance and regulatory action. The Customer is responsible for accurate declarations and for duties, taxes, permits and official fees unless the booking expressly provides otherwise. LTC may assist with customs formalities but does not control or guarantee an authority’s decision.

LTC is not responsible for seizure, confiscation, destruction, penalties or delay to the extent caused by unlawful, prohibited or misdeclared goods or inaccurate Customer information. This does not exclude liability for LTC’s own failure to follow lawful instructions or exercise reasonable care.

10. Risk, Liability and Mandatory Rights

LTC is responsible for the Shipment from acceptance into its custody until delivery or other lawful termination of custody. LTC will exercise the care required of a professional carrier and contracting service provider. For a sea-carriage stage, LTC’s responsibility is subject to the mandatory carrier-liability rules applicable to that stage. Other mandatory transport laws or international conventions apply to the stages falling within their scope.

Where the Customer proves that loss of or damage to the Shipment occurred while it was in LTC’s custody, LTC bears the burden of establishing any lawful ground on which it seeks to avoid or reduce liability, to the extent required by the applicable transport and consumer-protection rules. Nothing in these Terms improperly transfers to a consumer a burden of proof that applicable law places on LTC.

LTC is liable for proven direct physical loss of or damage to the Shipment to the extent attributable to LTC’s breach, negligence, fault or that of a Carrier or Agent for whom LTC is legally responsible. Compensation will be determined in accordance with the mandatory law or convention governing the relevant transport stage. Any statutory or convention-based package, unit or weight limitation applies only where it is legally applicable and available to LTC.

Where no mandatory transport compensation regime applies, compensation is limited to the proven direct value of the goods actually lost or damaged, assessed at the place and time at which delivery should have occurred, subject to depreciation, salvage and the Customer’s duty to mitigate. Compensation may not exceed an accepted declared value or other valid limitation only where that value or limitation was clearly disclosed, separately accepted where required, and enforceable under Lebanese consumer law.

No exclusion or limitation in these Terms applies to fraud, willful misconduct or gross fault, to death or personal injury, or to any liability, remedy or consumer right that may not lawfully be excluded or restricted. No provision shall operate as a blanket exclusion of LTC’s professional liability or as a waiver of the Customer’s statutory rights.

LTC is not liable to the extent it proves that the loss or damage resulted from a lawful exempting cause applicable to the relevant transport stage, including inadequate packing performed by the Customer, an inherent defect or ordinary deterioration of the goods, inaccurate Customer instructions, lawful authority action, or force majeure, provided LTC did not cause or contribute to the loss and exercised the care, notice and mitigation required by law.

Subject to mandatory law, LTC is not liable for purely indirect or consequential commercial loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity or sentimental value. This exclusion does not prevent recovery of direct, proven and reasonably foreseeable loss, or any consumer compensation that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Booking disclosure: Any declared-value arrangement, statutory transport limit and absence or scope of insurance must be disclosed clearly before booking. A contractual USD 250 ceiling has not been retained as a universal cap because applying it to consumer shipments irrespective of value, fault and the governing transport regime creates a material nullity and unfair-term risk under Lebanese law.

11. Insurance and Additional Cover

The standard Charges do not include insurance unless the quotation or booking confirmation expressly states that insurance or basic cover is included. A statement that a Shipment is “insured” is effective only to the extent described in the written booking confirmation or applicable policy summary.

Where additional cover is available, the Customer must request it before collection, declare the accurate value, pay the additional Charge and comply with the insurer’s conditions. LTC will identify the applicable limit and material exclusions before purchase. Acceptance of a declared value does not itself create insurance or increase liability unless LTC confirms this expressly in writing.

The website FAQ, quotation, receipt and advertising must use wording consistent with this section and the actual insurance arrangement.

The complimentary water-resistant packaging applied to groupage balikbayan boxes is a physical protection measure only. It is not, and does not constitute, cargo insurance or a declared value. Customers wishing to insure the contents of a Shipment must request additional cover before collection in accordance with this section.

12. Claims Procedure

The Customer or Recipient should inspect the Shipment at delivery. Visible shortage, loss or damage should be recorded on the delivery document and notified to LTC in writing at delivery or as soon as reasonably practicable. Where a sea-carriage rule requires notice before or at removal of the goods, that mandatory rule applies. Damage not reasonably apparent at delivery should be notified promptly and, for a sea-carriage stage governed by a rule requiring notice within three days after delivery, within that statutory period, excluding non-working days where the governing rule so provides.

As a customer-service procedure, LTC will accept and investigate written notice of visible loss or damage submitted within seven Working Days after delivery and concealed damage submitted within thirty calendar days after delivery. Failure to give the earliest applicable notice may create an evidentiary presumption or prejudice investigation only to the extent permitted by law; it does not automatically extinguish a claim unless a mandatory rule expressly produces that effect.

Non-delivery should be reported promptly after expiry of the estimated transit period. For loss of or damage to goods, judicial proceedings against the sea carrier must be brought within one year after delivery or, if delivery did not occur, within one year from the date on which delivery should have occurred. These contractual claims process does not interrupt, suspend or extend that statutory period. Other mandatory prescription or time-bar periods apply where another transport law or convention governs.

A claim should identify the LTC receipt, booking confirmation or shipment reference actually issued and include the information reasonably available, such as proof of contents and value, photographs, the original packaging where reasonably practicable, and a description of the loss. LTC may request proportionate additional evidence and inspect the goods and packaging. LTC will not reject a consumer claim solely because the Customer cannot produce a bill of lading that LTC did not issue, nor will it impose a burden of proof contrary to the mandatory law.

LTC will acknowledge and investigate a sufficiently documented claim within a reasonable time and provide a reasoned response. The parties should preserve the goods, packaging and documents where reasonably possible and cooperate in mitigation and inspection. Payment of an undisputed Charge is not suspended by a claim, but this does not remove any statutory set-off, retention, compensation or consumer remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.

13. Storage and Uncollected Shipments

Unless the booking states otherwise, LTC provides up to one month of storage after arrival at the relevant LTC facility without a storage Charge. After that period, storage is charged at USD 10 per Shipment unit per month or part of a month.

LTC will take reasonable care of stored goods, subject to these Terms. Perishable or unsuitable goods are stored only at the Customer’s risk to the extent permitted by law and may be refused.

If a Shipment remains uncollected or undeliverable, LTC will make reasonable attempts to contact the Customer and Recipient. After 90 days following written notice of the need to collect, pay or provide instructions, LTC may return, transfer, sell, recycle, donate or dispose of the Shipment only to the extent permitted by applicable law and reasonably necessary to avoid indefinite storage. Any sale must be commercially reasonable, with net proceeds applied to lawful Charges and any balance accounted for to the person entitled to it.

14. Lien and Unpaid Charges

To the extent permitted by applicable law, LTC may retain possession of a Shipment for Charges due in connection with that Shipment. Any broader lien for unrelated debts applies only where legally valid and clearly notified to the Customer.

Before enforcement, LTC will give reasonable written notice identifying the amount due, the Shipment and the proposed action. LTC will not sell or dispose of goods under this clause unless permitted by applicable law and after expiry of the required notice period. Urgent action concerning dangerous or unlawful goods is governed by section 7.

15. Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for failure or delay caused by an event beyond its reasonable control that could not reasonably have been prevented or overcome, including severe weather, natural disaster, war, civil unrest, epidemic, strike, port closure, transport disruption, power or communications failure, or government or customs action.

The affected party must notify the other as soon as reasonably practicable and take reasonable steps to mitigate the effect. The Customer remains liable for services already performed and reasonable non-recoverable costs.

If the affected service cannot substantially resume within 60 days, either party may terminate the unperformed part. LTC will refund Charges for services not performed, less reasonable non-recoverable costs already incurred, subject to mandatory law.

16. Customer Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, the Customer will reimburse LTC for direct loss, penalties, third-party claims and reasonable costs caused by the Customer’s material breach, misdeclaration, lack of authority, prohibited goods or unlawful instructions. The indemnity does not apply to the extent the loss was caused by LTC’s breach, negligence, wilful misconduct or failure to mitigate, and does not deprive a consumer of mandatory rights.

17. Suspension, Refusal and Termination

LTC may refuse, suspend or terminate the affected service where reasonably necessary because of illegality, prohibited or dangerous goods, fraud, abuse, material non-payment, inability to perform safely, or a material breach that is not remedied after reasonable notice where remedy is possible.

LTC will explain the reason where lawful and reasonably practicable. Termination does not affect accrued payment rights, claims or provisions intended to survive. Refunds are governed by section 5.

18. Privacy

LTC processes personal information concerning Customers, Senders and Recipients as described in the Privacy Policy available at https://ltccargo.com/privacy. The Privacy Policy explains international transfers, Philippine delivery arrangements and communications through Meta services. Acceptance of these Terms does not constitute consent to optional marketing or non-essential tracking where separate consent is required.

19. Website and Electronic Communications

The website may be used to obtain information, request quotations and submit booking enquiries. Users must not access it unlawfully, introduce malicious code, interfere with security, scrape it contrary to law, or misuse LTC’s intellectual property.

LTC owns or licenses the website content, branding and materials. No right to reproduce or commercially exploit them is granted except as permitted by law or written consent.

LTC will take reasonable steps to keep website, Meta advertisement, promotion and landing-page information accurate and consistent. A price or service description becomes contractually binding when accepted in the booking confirmation, without limiting remedies for misleading advertising or mandatory consumer rights.

Email and WhatsApp may be used for routine booking communications. The Customer should verify urgent payment or delivery instructions through LTC’s official contact details. LTC will not request passwords or one-time codes.

20. Complaints and Dispute Resolution

The Customer should first send a complaint to info@ltccargo.com with the Shipment reference and relevant documents. LTC will acknowledge the complaint and seek a practical resolution within a reasonable time.

These Terms and each Shipment contract are governed by Lebanese law, subject to any mandatory consumer, transport or other law that applies regardless of that choice.

The courts of Lebanon have jurisdiction. This does not prevent a consumer from relying on a mandatory right to bring proceedings before another competent court, nor does it prevent either party from seeking urgent protective relief where legally available.

21. General Provisions

• No waiver. A delay or failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of that right.
• Severability. If a provision is invalid or unenforceable, it will be limited or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remainder will continue. A court may not rewrite a consumer term in a manner prohibited by mandatory law.
• Assignment. LTC may assign or transfer the contract as part of a genuine business transfer or restructuring, provided this does not materially reduce the Customer’s rights. The Customer may not transfer a Shipment contract without LTC’s consent, not to be unreasonably withheld where the transfer is lawful.
• Entire agreement. The documents identified in section 1 constitute the agreement for the Shipment. Nothing excludes liability for fraud or misrepresentation that cannot lawfully be excluded.
• Language. The English version of these Terms is authoritative. Arabic and Tagalog translations may be provided for information; in case of any conflict, the English version prevails. Any consumer information required in another language will be provided where mandatory.

22. Contact Details

LTC Express Cargo SARL
Michel Kortbawi Building, Chalet Suisse Street
Near La Sagesse, Jdeideh, Metn, Lebanon
Commercial Register: 2047642 - Baabda
Email: info@ltccargo.com
Phone / WhatsApp: +961 70 665 050
Opening hours: Monday-Saturday, 8:00 AM-6:00 PM