Preamble
ULink connects people who want to send a parcel with travellers heading to a compatible destination.
This connection does not remove the customs, tax, regulatory or legal obligations that may apply on departure, in transit or on arrival.
When a parcel crosses a border, the people involved must give honest information about its contents and comply with the applicable rules.
ULink must never be used to conceal goods, avoid a mandatory declaration, artificially reduce the value of an item, deliberately escape duties or taxes, or circumvent a prohibition or restriction.
01This document does not replace an official declaration
The declaration made in ULink helps participants understand what is being carried and keeps the information the platform needs to operate.
It does not replace any form, document or information that a customs administration, a border authority, a carrier, an airport or any other competent authority may require.
Where an official declaration is requested, the people concerned must complete it according to the applicable rules.
02The sender must identify themselves correctly
The sender must provide accurate information about their identity and the contact details needed for the shipment.
They must not use another person's identity or deliberately provide misleading information.
ULink may request certain verifications where this is necessary for the operation or security of the service.
03The recipient's details must be accurate
The information about the recipient must make it possible to identify correctly the person the parcel is intended for.
The sender must make sure they are authorised to share the necessary information and that it is reasonably accurate.
04Say exactly what the parcel contains
A description such as “gift”, “personal effects”, “miscellaneous” or “goods” may be insufficient where it does not make it possible to understand what is actually being carried.
The description must be as precise as reasonably necessary.
For example, it is better to state the real nature of the items than to use a deliberately vague description.
The sender must not ask the traveller to carry a parcel whose real contents are hidden from them.
05Declare a real value
Where ULink asks for the value of an item or a parcel, the sender must provide an honest and reasonable value.
The value must not be artificially reduced in order to avoid duties, taxes, checks or obligations.
ULink may keep the declared value as part of the shipment record.
That value is not necessarily a final customs valuation. A competent authority may apply its own valuation rules.
06Country of origin
Where this information is requested, the sender must state the country of origin of the goods as accurately as possible.
The country from which the parcel is sent is not always the country of origin of the product.
07What kind of shipment is it?
Depending on the journey, ULink may ask whether the shipment is in particular:
- personal;
- a gift;
- commercial;
- a return;
- a sample;
- or another appropriate category.
08Some items cannot be carried freely
Laws and restrictions vary by country and by route.
Some items may be prohibited, regulated, limited or subject to particular documents.
Depending on the territory and the circumstances, this may concern certain dangerous goods, weapons, controlled substances, medicines, food products, plants, animals or products of animal origin, protected species, currency, high-value goods, batteries or other regulated products.
This list is not exhaustive and does not mean that an item is allowed simply because it does not appear on it.
Participants must check the rules that actually apply to their situation.
09What the sender confirms
By using ULink to arrange a shipment, the sender is responsible for the accuracy of the information they provide about the parcel.
In particular, they must make sure they genuinely know the contents of the shipment.
They must not deliberately conceal an item inside another product, inside packaging or behind a misleading description.
They must inform ULink and the traveller if important information about the parcel changes before transport.
10The traveller must know what they are carrying
A traveller should not be put in the position of crossing a border with a parcel whose contents they do not genuinely know.
ULink therefore seeks to make the relevant declared information about the shipment available to the traveller before they finally agree to carry it.
The traveller must read the information made available to them and ask questions where something seems inconsistent or insufficient.
11The traveller's responsibilities do not disappear with ULink
The fact that a shipment was created on ULink does not mean the traveller is automatically authorised to carry the parcel.
The traveller remains responsible for complying with the obligations that apply to their journey.
They must answer the competent authorities' questions honestly and make the declarations legally required of them.
They must not present ULink as a customs authorisation.
12ULink may request verifications
To protect participants and the platform, ULink may request additional information about a shipment where something needs to be clarified.
ULink may also suspend or refuse an operation where the information provided is insufficient, inconsistent or raises a compliance or security problem.
This does not mean that ULink guarantees a parcel complies with all applicable laws.
13Authorities may inspect the parcel
Participants must understand that a competent authority may inspect, hold, open, refuse, seize or request additional information about goods where the law permits.
ULink does not control decisions taken by public authorities.
14Duties, taxes and other charges
An international shipment may give rise to customs duties, taxes, administrative fees or other costs.
Who is legally responsible for those amounts depends on the applicable rules and the circumstances of the shipment.
ULink must not be used to conceal a transaction or deliberately undervalue goods in order to avoid those charges.
15Some products require additional documents
Depending on the nature of the product and the countries involved, invoices, receipts, licences, permits, certificates, proofs of origin or other documents may be necessary.
The platform may allow certain documents to be kept or transmitted, but it does not guarantee that the documents provided will be sufficient for a particular authority.
16Commercial shipments
Where a shipment is made in a commercial context, additional obligations may apply.
The sender must honestly declare the commercial nature of the operation where this is required.
A commercial transaction must not be presented as a gift or a personal shipment solely to try to avoid the applicable rules.
17Do not forget transit countries
A journey may cross several countries before reaching its destination.
The rules of a transit country may also affect what can be carried.
This matters particularly for multimodal journeys or journeys with international connections.
18If something changes, say so before departure
If the contents, quantity, value, recipient, itinerary or other important information changes before transport, the information recorded in ULink must be updated where the product allows it.
The traveller must not discover at departure that a parcel is different from the one they agreed to carry.
19ULink may refuse an operation
ULink may refuse, suspend or cancel an operation where there is a legitimate reason relating in particular to security, compliance, insufficient or inconsistent information, a known prohibition or a use contrary to the platform's rules.
That possibility does not turn ULink into a customs authority and is not a guarantee of compliance for the operations the platform has not blocked.
20Cooperation with authorities
Where UEMPIRE Inc. receives a legally valid request from a competent authority, certain information may have to be disclosed in accordance with the applicable laws.
ULink seeks to limit any disclosure to the information appropriate in the circumstances.
21ULink does not guarantee customs clearance
Creating a shipment, its acceptance by a traveller, a verification carried out by ULink or the availability of tracking does not mean that goods will automatically be admitted into a country.
Clearance decisions belong to the competent authorities.
22A false declaration can have serious consequences
A false, misleading or deliberately incomplete declaration can lead to a parcel being refused or seized, to additional duties or charges, to administrative penalties or to other consequences provided for by law.
It may also lead to measures concerning the ULink account where the platform's rules have been breached.
23The sender's undertaking
Before confirming the shipment where this attestation is required, the sender must be able to read and accept the following text:
I confirm that the information I have provided about this shipment is, to the best of my knowledge, complete and accurate. I know the contents of the parcel and I have not deliberately concealed any item in it. I understand that it is my responsibility to comply with the rules applicable to the shipment and that documents, permits, duties, taxes or inspections may be required. I also understand that the declaration made in ULink does not replace any official declaration required by a competent authority.
24The traveller's undertaking
Before the stage of the journey where accepting transport becomes relevant, the traveller must be able to read the necessary information about the parcel and confirm:
I have read the information made available to me about the declared contents of this shipment. I understand that I remain responsible for complying with the legal and customs obligations that apply to my journey. I will answer the competent authorities honestly and I will not knowingly agree to carry prohibited or deliberately concealed goods.
25Why do we keep the accepted version?
Where a declaration is accepted as part of a shipment, ULink may keep the information needed to know which version of the document was presented and when the acceptance was recorded.
This traceability makes it possible to understand the context of an operation, to handle a dispute and to demonstrate how the journey works.
Historic versions must not be silently replaced by the text of a more recent version.
26Our principle
ULink rests on a simple idea: a person should not be asked to carry a parcel across a border without genuinely knowing what it contains.
The sender must be transparent.
The traveller must be informed.
Both must comply with the rules that apply to their situation.
ULink provides a platform and tools intended to facilitate that relationship, traceability and communication.
ULink replaces neither the participants' responsibility nor the competent authorities.