Transport and warehousing contracts
Liability clauses, indemnity limits, declared value, deadlines, damage, demurrage and freight adjustment.
Sector advisory · logistics and transport
Legal advisory for logistics and transport: contracts, cargo, drivers and regulation
Cargo transport in Brazil operates under ANTT regulation, mandatory insurance, specific working-hour rules for drivers and strict liability for goods. The advisory handles that set before the problem reaches the yard or the courtroom.
Straight answer: the legal fronts of a carrier
Five fronts concentrate the problems: transport and warehousing contracts, with liability for damage, loss and delay; ANTT regulation and mandatory insurance; labor relations with employed drivers, owner-operators and independents, including working hours, waiting time and rest; road accidents with civil, labor and criminal effects; and inspections of weight, tax documents and tolls. The advisory integrates those fronts and organizes incident response.
This page is for road carriers, logistics operators, general warehouses, shippers with their own fleet and transport cooperatives in Brazil. We serve companies throughout the State of São Paulo, Brazil, with meetings at our Paulista or Tatuapé offices or by video call, and act before the São Paulo courts (TJSP), the labor courts (TRT-2, TRT-15), the federal court (TRF-3) and administrative bodies.
Work fronts in logistics advisory
ANTT and insurance
Registration, minimum freight, infraction notices, RCTR-C and RC-DC policies and claim disputes. Details on the dedicated page.
Drivers and working hours
Hour control, waiting time, rest, owner-operators and independents, and defense in labor suits. Details on the working hours page.
Accidents and liability
Response to accidents involving cargo, third parties and drivers, with coordinated civil, labor and criminal action.
Inspections and tax documents
Vehicle retention over tax documents, overweight and irregularities in electronic waybills, with release requests.
Outsourcing and subcontracting
Contracts with subcontracted carriers and joint liability for cargo and labor charges.
Where risk usually arises
Owner-operator treated as an employee
Exclusivity, route control and fixed pay turn the owner-operator into an employee. The contract must reflect real autonomy.
Freight without a liability limit
Without a limitation clause and a declared value, the carrier is liable for the full value of lost cargo.
Uncontrolled working hours
Without hour records, overtime and waiting-time awards are calculated on the worker's estimate.
How the advisory works
1. Diagnosis
Map of contracts, regulation, policies, working hours and liabilities.
2. Structuring
Contract templates, claim procedures, hour control and accident protocol.
3. Litigation
Defense and negotiation in cargo suits, labor claims, insurers' recovery suits and infraction notices.
Keep the waybill, the signed delivery receipt and the damage record of each trip for at least five years. It is the central evidence in any cargo dispute.
Frequently asked questions from carriers
Is the carrier liable for cargo theft?
As a rule, violent robbery is treated as an external fortuitous event that excludes liability, unless the carrier breached contracted security duties or RC-DC insurance covers the event.
Is a driver's waiting time overtime?
No. Brazil's Law 13,103/2015 treats waiting time as a period compensated at 30% of the hourly wage, not as working hours. Correct control and payment avoid awards.
Can I limit damage indemnity in the contract?
Yes, through an express clause and a declared cargo value, supported by Law 11,442/2007. Without a declared value, the dispute tends to be over the full value.
Official references and related pages
Brazilian rules of reference for transport and logistics. ANTT resolutions and policies complete the picture for each operation.
Want to organize the legal side of your transport company?
Describe the operation through the secure channel. The screening identifies the priority fronts among contracts, regulation, drivers and insurance.