Can a logistics company be liable for customs delays on my shipment?

Whether your logistics company bears liability for the customs delay depends significantly on the specific terms of your contract with them and the actual cause of the delay, since if the delay genuinely resulted from an error, omission, or failure on the logistics company's part in properly and accurately handling the customs documentation and clearance process they were specifically engaged to manage, this could constitute a breach of their contractual obligations to you under general Maltese contract law principles found in the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, whereas if the delay stemmed from factors genuinely outside their control, such as random customs inspection selection or broader systemic delays at the border, their liability would be considerably less clear, and their standard terms of business may specifically address and limit liability for this kind of external delay. Request a clear explanation from the logistics company regarding the specific cause of the delay, since properly understanding whether this was genuinely their error versus an external factor is essential to assessing whether you have a valid claim against them, and review your contract's specific terms regarding customs clearance responsibilities and any limitation of liability provisions that might apply. Given the genuine commercial harm you've described and the complexity in properly establishing fault for a customs delay, it would be worth consulting a lawyer experienced in logistics and transport law to review your specific contract and the circumstances of the delay before deciding how to proceed.