Recently, there have been cases of fraud in the field of transport of goods. Allegedly a Czech transportation company has defrauded Georgian companies by offering them cargo transport from different EU places to Georgia via www.lardi-trans.com. As reported, the cargo was loaded on a lorry, however it has not arrived in Georgia and presumably, the goods were stolen. We recommend that Georgian companies willing to use services of Czech transportation companies make sure that these are well established on the market and that they are members of well respected Czech Association of Road Transport Operators – ČESMAD (www.cesmad.cz). Membership in ČESMAD indicates high probability of seriousness of the transportation company. If in doubts, please contact ČESMAD via email: sdruzeni@cesmad.com

The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Georgia recommends that Georgian companies always follow the following rules:

Recommended Safety Rules to inspect hired Carriers and Freight Forwarding Companies

1. Get the required documents about carriers (extract from Trade Registry: www.info@obchodnirejstrik.cz, certificate of tax identification number, work permit, insurance policy or insurance certificate).

2.  Check if the freight forwarding company is the member of any freight forwarding organization (RAALTRANS, TimoCom, TRANS).

3. Check if the freight forwarding company is a member of Czech Association of Road Transport Operators – ČESMAD (www.prodopravce.cz).

4. Check information about freight forwarding company on web page (either on their web page or on other information resources on the internet).

5. Check contacts (if phones, faxes and emails from which the carrier communicates correspond to the contacts listed on the company web page, company database or other web resources. Check mobile and stationary phones);

6. Check registration numbers of transport means (Czech Insurance Bureau ČKP: www.ckp.cz/en/contact and if possible, with an insurance contract);

7. Check insurance policy with insurance company;

8. Write down all the above-mentioned information in the notebook and keep it in the archive for future use;

9. Make any other personal procedures.