GlossaryEN1 min readUpdated: Jun 19, 2026

set-off claim

A freight forwarder holds outstanding freight charges against a client while simultaneously owing that client compensation for damaged goods.

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Last updated: 19 June 2026Published: 27 January 2026

Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufrechnung

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Logistics Concept

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Definition & Explanation

A freight forwarder holds outstanding freight charges against a client while simultaneously owing that client compensation for damaged goods. Rather than settling both claims separately, the forwarder may exercise a set-off claim, netting the mutual positions to reduce or extinguish the outstanding balance. A set-off claim is the substantive legal right of one party to offset its own receivable against a counterclaim held by the other side. Under German commercial law (HGB) and international road transport law (CMR), set-off applies when the claims are due, of the same kind, and mutually owed. It should not be confused with a procedural set-off defence, which is raised as a countermeasure in ongoing court proceedings; the set-off claim, by contrast, operates as a substantive right extrajudicially.

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set-off claim

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