“We are now well aware of the oversea credibility and authority of the force majeure certificate issued by CCPIT. This certificate helps us stabilize the trade, ensures the project implementation, and saves a contract worth 14 million yuan. What’s more, it also protects the reputation of our company,” ERUI International Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. Chairman Leng Zhicheng said excitedly in an interview with CCPIT Commercial Certification Center.

ERUI International Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. (ERUI International) is the first cross-border industrial Internet platform for products in the vertical field of oil and gas energy in China.

Because of the epidemic, the international railway express is out of service, so ERUI International was unable to deliver goods to its Russian customer on schedule as stipulated in the contract, which involved considerable goods worth 14 million yuan.

According to the terms of the contract, if ERUI International fails to deliver the goods on time or in due quantity, it shall pay a fine of up to 700,000 yuan per day. If ERUI International cannot deliver in a month, the purchaser has the right to unilaterally terminate the contract, and ERUI must return all the paid items.

ERUI International communicated with its Russian customer as soon as the express was blocked, hoping to retain their orders and postpone delivery time. Having understood that, the Russian side requested ERUI to provide the supporting certificates issued by a third-party department.

After understanding the needs, CCPIT immediately opened an green channel for ERUI International, guided it to upload required materials and issued the force majeure certificate of COVID-19 on February 5. After receiving the certificate, ERUI International sent the electronic version to its Russian customer. By doing so, ERUI was understood and recognized by its customer, and was allowed to deliver the goods after the situation improves.

The certificate refers to the proof of the facts related to force majeure, which CCPIT and its sub-councils issued to virus-hit applicants. It is an important proof document for enterprises to reduce or get exempt from the liability for breaching a contract. At present, the certificate has been recognized by more than 200 countries and region governments, customs, chambers of commerce and enterprises around the world, and has strong authority and credibility outside the country.

As a “close friend” of enterprises, CCPIT decided that all the certificate issuing agencies of the national trade promotion system would issue the force majeure certificate of COVID-19 for them free of charge from February 6, to further relieve their pressure. Enterprises could log in the online platform of CCPIT Commercial Certification Center http://www.rzccpit.com/, and apply for this certificate for free.