1] Compare Document Against Payment(DP) and LC Compare DP and Document Against Acceptance(DA)

2] Process for registration to start export-import business

3] Short notes on any presentation

4] Write Performa Invoice, L/C, Bill of Lading( on the basis of an example)

Open Account
A seller ships the goods and all the necessary shipping and commercial documents directly to a buyer. This buyer agrees to pay the sellers invoice at a future date ( net 15 days, net 30 days or with a discount offered--for example, 1% if paid within 20 days of invoice date).

Documentary Collections
A documentary collection is a payment mechanism in which a seller uses a bank as his/her "agent" in collecting payment from a buyer located overseas. After shipping the goods, the seller submits a draft (a demand for payment) and the relevant shipping documents to the bank. The draft will include instructions to release the documents to the buyer upon the buyers payment or acceptance of the draft. The sellers bank sends the documents, draft, and collection instructions to a branch or correspondent bank in the buyers country. This bank carries out the sellers collection instructions and, upon receipt of payment from the buyer, remits payment to the sellers bank for the credit of the seller. Documentary collection procedures are uncomplicated. After shipping the goods, the exporter submits to the bank:

shipping documents, including the bill of lading conveying title to the goods, as well as other documents related to the shipment. a draft, also called a bill of exchange, demanding payment from a buyer. Depending on the agreed terms of sale, this may be a sight draft, demanding payment on presentation, or a time draft, demanding payment at some stated future time after presentation or after the bill of lading date. instructions to the bank as to how to handle the transaction. Note that a documentary collection requiring payment before the release of documents may sometimes be transacted without a sight draft. Under cash against documents (CAD) terms, the

documents are released to a buyer against receipt of payment. CAD terms are generally used when the government of the importing country requires tax stamps affixed to drafts; by eliminating the draft, both buyer and seller avoid stamp taxes. release documents to a buyer upon payment of the sight draft, which is known as a documents against payment, or D/P collection; or release documents to a buyer upon acceptance of the time draft, a documents against acceptance, or D/A collection.

The sellers bank, called the remitting bank, sends the documents, draft, and instructions to one of its branches or correspondent banks in the buyers country. This bank, called the collecting or presenting bank, contacts the buyer and informs him/her that the documents have arrived and can be obtained when he/she complies with the payment terms, which may be documents against payment or documents against acceptance.

Documents against Acceptance (DA)

A buyer is required to "accept" a sellers time draft, thus acknowledging obligation to pay at the specific future date. The time of payment occurs at maturity of an accepted time draft, 30, 60 or 90 days after date of acceptance or date of bill of lading.

Documents against Payment (DP)

A buyer is required to pay a sellers sight draft in order to obtain shipping documents. Payment is made on presentation of the sight draft by a bank to the buyer, usually one or two weeks after shipment. Under D/P terms, the seller, through a bank acting as an agent, is able to retain control of the goods until the buyer pays. Under certain circumstances, such as to meet legal requirements of the importing country or to obtain a government permit for foreign exchange, the buyer will require possession of the documents before payment. The seller should inquire as to the practice in specific countries. Air shipments are often made under documentary bill collections. The buyer, as direct consignee of the non-negotiable air waybill, will be able to take possession of the goods before meeting his/her payment obligations.

Letter of Credit
A commercial letter of credit is, essentially, an agreement in international trade whereby a bank assumes a conditional obligation on behalf of its customer, a buyer, to make payment to a seller. Payment is conditional upon a sellers compliance with the terms and conditions specified in the letter of credit. These terms and conditions require the seller to present stipulated documents, which are usually those required for transport, commercial, and official purposes ( bill of landing, commercial invoice, insurance certificate, consular invoice). Once the seller has complied with the documentary requirements of the letter of credit, prompt payment is secured. In effect, a bank in the letter of credit transaction substitutes its credit standing for that of the buyer. Thus, the seller, who is the beneficiary of the letter of credit, has the undertaking of a bank to pay when the terms and conditions of the credit have been complied with. On the other side, the buyer is assured that payment will not be made unless the seller meets the conditions stipulated in the letter of credit.

The buyers bank substitutes its creditworthiness for that of its customer and agrees to honor a sellers demand for payment if that seller complies with all the requirements specified in the letter of credit.

Confirmed Letter of Credit

In addition to the standard letter of credit, this instrument carries the undertaking of a second bank, usually in the sellers country, to honor the sellers demand for payment upon presentation of documents specified in the credit. A second bank, usually in the sellers country, gives its undertaking to the letter of credit issued by the buyers bank and promises to pay the seller upon that partys compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. If the seller does not want to lessen risk, this seller may require that the letter of credit be confirmed by a bank in his/her country (or in some third country). A bank that confirms the letter of credit adds its commitment to pay to the original credit. Since the seller can look to the confirming bank for payment, he/she is protected against the financial risk of the issuing bank and the political risk of the importing country. To the extent that the credit standing of the confirming bank is undoubted, this is the most favorable type of letter of credit from the sellers point of view.

Advised Letter of Credit

A letter of credit issued by the buyers bank (the issuing bank) may be advised to a seller by a bank, usually in his country--called the advising bank--without any undertaking on the part of that bank, except that it must use reasonable care to check the authenticity of the credit which it advised. As the issuing bank undertakes to pay the seller, the advised letter of credit relieves the seller of the financial risk of the buyer. However, as beneficiary of the advised credit, the seller is subject to the financial risk of the issuing bank, which may not be willing or able to make payment when due. In addition, the seller is subject to political risk of the importing country: that is, the risk that sovereign action of the government may block the transfer of funds regardless of the issuing banks ability or willingness to pay the credit.

Cash in Advance
The seller requires receipt of payment from the buyer before shipping goods. Payment may be made by wire-fund transfer from the buyers bank to the sellers bank, or by company check, credit card, or other agreed upon means.

Introduction Registration of importer is a pre-requisite for import of goods. The Customs will not allow clearance of goods unless the importer has obtained IEC Number from issuing authority. In India, IEC number or Importers Exporters Code is issued by the DGFT. However, no such import business registration is necessary for persons importing goods from Nepal or Myamar through Indo-Myanmar border or from china, through Gunji, Namgaya, shipkila or Nathula ports provided that the Value of a single Consignment does not exceed Rs. 25000/-. Application for IEC Number: An application for grant of IEC Code Number should be made in the prescribed Performa given at Appendix 3.I. The application duly signed by the applicant should be supported by the following documents: 1. Bank Receipt (in duplicate) / Indian demand draft for payment of the fee of Rs.1000/Certificate from the Banker of the applicant firm as per Annexure 1 to the form. 2. Two copies of passport size photographs of the applicant duly attested by the banker of the applicant. 3. A copy of Permanent Account Number issued by Income Tax Authorities, if PAN has not been allotted, a copy of the letter of legal authority may be furnished. 4. Declaration by the applicant that the proprietors/partners/directors of the applicant firm/company, as the case may be, are not associated as proprietor/partners/directors with any other firm/company the IEC No. is allotted with a condition that be can export only with the prior approval of the RBI India. Process of Online Application On-line form has been designed to ensure feeding of all the required information by prompting user wherever a field is left blank. Application has to submit scanned copies of PAN (Permanent Account Number) and bank certificate of deposits along with their application. There are 2 options for payment of fee. 1. Demand Draft: If fee is paid by Demand Draft, IEC will be generated only after receipt of the physical copy of the application. 2. Electronic Fund Transfer: If IEC application fee is paid through Electronic Fund Transfer facility, IEC number will be generated by the licensing office automatically and the number can be viewed online by the applicant. Guidelines for filling up IEC Form 1. All applications must be made in the prescribed form in duplicate, duly accompanied by Bank Receipt/ Demand Draft evidencing payment of fee.

2. Application form should be submitted in neatly typed bold letters. Handwritten forms are also accepted. 3. Each page of the document must have the signature of the authorised person with an ink pen. 4. Supporting documents in duplicate, duly self attested as specified earlier in this chapter must be enclosed wherever applicable. 5. Items of information relevant to applicant should only be filled in and remaining items may be marked 'Not Applicable'. 6. Two copies of the passport size photograph of the applicant duly attested by the applicant's banker shall be submitted. 7. Modifications of particulars of the applicant should also be furnished on this form by filling the relevant items. Duplicate Copy of IEC No. Duplicate copy of IEC Number is issued to those importer (or exporter) who has lost their original IEC number. Importers are required to submit an affidavit and a fee of Rs.200 to obtain a duplicate copy of IEC Number. Surrender of IEC No. Any importer who doesnt want to continue his import business may surrender the IEC number to the issuing authority. On receipt of such intimation, the issuing authority shall immediately cancel the same and electronically transmit it to DGFT for onward transmission to the Customs and Regional Authorities. Exports
Introduction How to Start Export is a fair question that every first time exporter wants to ask. Export in itself is a very wide concept and lot of preparations is required by an exporter before starting an export business. A key success factor in starting any export company is clear understanding and detail knowledge of products to be exported. In order to be a successful in exporting one must fully research its foreign market rather than try to tackle every market at once. The exporter should approach a market on a priority basis. Overseas design and product must be studies properly and considered carefully. Because there are specific laws dealing with International trade and foreign business, it is imperative that you familiarize yourself with state, federal, and international laws before starting your export business. Price is also an important factor. So, before starting an export business an exporter must considered the price offered to the buyers. As the selling price depends on sourcing price, try to avoid unnecessary middlemen who only add cost but no value. It helps a lot on cutting the transaction cost and improving the quality of the final products. However, before we go deep into "How to export ? let us discuss what an export is and how the Government of Indian has defined it. In very simple terms, export may be defined as the selling of goods to a foreign country. However, As per Section 2 (e) of the India Foreign Trade Act (1992), the term export may be defined as 'an act of taking out of India any goods by land, sea or air and with proper transaction of money. Exporting a product is a profitable method that helps to expand the business and reduces the

dependence in the local market. It also provides new ideas, management practices, marketing techniques, and ways of competing, which is not possible in the domestic market. Even as an owner of a domestic market, an individual businessman should think about exporting. Research shows that, on average, exporting companies are more profitable than their non-exporting counterparts. Why Need to Export There are many good reasons for exporting: The first and the primary reason for export is to earn foreign exchange. The foreign exchange not only brings profit for the exporter but also improves the economic condition of the country. Secondly, companies that export their goods are believed to be more reliable than their counterpart domestic companies assuming that exporting company has survive the test in meeting international standards. Thirdly, free exchange of ideas and cultural knowledge opens up immense business and trade opportunities for a company. Fourthly, as one starts visiting customers to sell ones goods, he has an opportunity to start exploring for newer customers, state-of-the-art machines and vendors in foreign lands. Fifthly, by exporting goods, an exporter also becomes safe from offset lack of demand for seasonal products. Lastly, international trade keeps an exporter more competitive and less vulnerable to the market as the exporter may have a business boom in one sector while simultaneously witnessing a bust in a different sector. No doubt that in the age of globalization and liberalizations, Export has became of the most lucrative business in India. Government of India is also supporting exporters through various incentives and schemes to promote Indian export for meeting the much needed requirements for importing modern technology and adopting new technology from MNCs through Joint ventures and collaboration.

Invoice.

An invoice or bill is a commercial document issued by a seller to the buyer, indicating the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller has provided the buyer. An invoice indicates the buyer must pay the seller, according to the payment terms. The buyer has a maximum amount of days to pay these goods and are sometimes offered a discount if paid before. In the rental industry, an invoice must include a specific reference to the duration of the time being billed, so rather than quantity, price and discount the invoicing amount is based on quantity, price, discount and duration. Generally speaking each line of a rental invoice will refer to the actual hours, days, weeks, months etc being billed. From the point of view of a seller, an invoice is a sales invoice. From the point of view of a buyer, an invoice is a purchase invoice. The document indicates the buyer and seller, but the term invoice indicates money is owed or owing. In English, the context of the term invoice is

usually used to clarify its meaning, such as "We sent them an invoice" (they owe us money) or "We received an invoice from them" (we owe them money).

[edit] Invoice
A typical invoice contains[1][2]

INVOICE Company Name 123 Fake Street Springfield

The word invoice (or Tax Invoice if in Australia and amounts include GST). A unique reference number (in case of correspondence about the invoice) Date of the invoice. Tax payments if relevant (e.g. GST and VAT) Invoice No Terms Date Name and contact details of the seller Tax or company registration details of seller (if relevant)[e.g. Australia Business Number (ABN) for Description Amount Owed: Australian businesses.] Name and contact details of the buyer Date that the product was sent or delivered Invoice Total $ Purchase order number (or similar tracking numbers requested by the buyer to be mentioned on the invoice) Description of the product(s) Unit price(s) of the product(s) (if relevant) Total amount charged (optionally with breakdown of taxes, if relevant) Payment terms (including method of payment, date of payment, and details about charges late payment)

In countries where wire transfer is the preferred method of settling debts the printed bill will contain the bank account number of the debtor and usually a reference code to be passed along the transaction identifying the payer. The US Defense Logistics Agency requires an employer identification number on invoices.[3] The European Union requires a VAT (value added tax) identification number on invoices between entities registered for VAT.[4] If seller and buyer belong to two different EU countries, both VAT identification numbers must be on the invoice in order to claim VAT exemption (VAT exemption according to directive 77/388/CEE of 17 May 1977). In the UK, if the issuing entity is not registered for VAT, the invoice must state that it is "not a VAT invoice". Recommendation about invoices used in international trade is also provided by the UNECE Committee on Trade, which involves more detailed description of logistics aspect of merchandise and therefore may be convenient for international logistics and customs

procedures.[5]

[edit] Variations
There are different types of invoices:

Pro forma invoice In foreign trade, a pro forma invoice is a document that states a commitment from the seller to provide specified goods to the buyer at specific prices. It is often used to declare value for customs. It is not a true invoice, because the seller does not record a pro forma invoice as an accounts receivable and the buyer does not record a pro forma invoice as an accounts payable. A pro forma invoice is not issued by the seller until the seller and buyer have agreed to the terms of the order. In few cases, pro forma invoice is issued for obtaining advance payments from buyer, either for start of production or for security of the goods produced. Credit memo - If the buyer returns the product, the seller usually issues a credit memo for the same or lower amount than the invoice, and then refunds the money to the buyer, or the buyer can apply that credit memo to another invoice. Commercial invoice - a customs declaration form used in international trade that describes the parties involved in the shipping transaction, the goods being transported, and the value of the goods.[6] It is the primary document used by customs, and must meet specific customs requirements, such as the Harmonized System number and the country of manufacture. It is used to calculate tariffs. Debit memo - When a company fails to pay or short-pays an invoice, it is common practice to issue a debit memo for the balance and any late fees owed. In function debit memos are identical to invoices. Self-billing invoice - A self billing invoice is when the buyer issues the invoice to himself (e.g. according to the consumption levels he is taking out of a vendor-managed inventory stock). Evaluated receipt settlement (ERS) - ERS is a process of paying for goods and services from a packing slip rather than from a separate invoice document. The payee uses data in the packing slip to apply the payments. "In an ERS transaction, the supplier ships goods based upon an Advance Shipping Notice (ASN), and the purchaser, upon receipt, confirms the existence of a corresponding purchase order or contract, verifies the identity and quantity of the goods, and then pays the supplier."[7] Timesheet - Invoices for hourly services such as by lawyers and consultants often pull data from a timesheet. A Timesheet invoice may also be generated by Operated equipment rental companies where the invoice will be a combination of timesheet based charges and equipment rental charges. Invoicing - The term invoicing is also used to refer to the act of delivering baggage to a flight company in an airport before taking a flight.[citation needed]

Statement - A periodic customer statement includes opening balance, invoices, payments, credit memos, debit memos, and ending balance for the customer's account during a specified period. A monthly statement can be used as a summary invoice to request a single payment for accrued monthly charges. Progress billing used to obtain partial payment on extended contracts, particularly in the construction industry (see Schedule of values) Collective Invoicing is also known as monthly invoicing in Japan. Japanese businesses tend to have many orders with small amounts because of the outsourcing system (Keiretsu), or of demands for less inventory control (Kanban). To save the administration work, invoicing is normally processed on monthly basis. Continuation or Recurring Invoicing is standard within the equipment rental industry, including tool rental. A recurring invoice is one generated on a cyclical basis during the lifetime of a rental contract. For example if you rent an excavator from 1 January to 15 April, on a calendar monthly arrears billing cycle, you would expect to receive an invoice at the end of January, another at the end of February, another at the end of March and a final Off-rent invoice would be generated at the point when the asset is returned. The same principle would be adopted if you were invoiced in advance, or if you were invoiced on a specific day of the month. Electronic Invoicing is not necessarily the same as EDI invoicing. Electronic invoicing in its widest sense embraces EDI as well as XML invoice messages as well as other format such as pdf. Historically, other formats such as pdf were not included in the wider definition of an electronic invoice because they were not machine readable and the process benefits of an electronic message could not be achieved. However, as data extraction techniques have evolved and as environmental concerns have begun to dominate the business case for the implementation of electronic invoicing, other formats are now incorporated into the wider definition. Different electronic invoicing formats.

[edit] Utility bills

Bills from utility companies are based on measured (metered) use of electricity, natural gas or other utilities at a residence or business.[8][9] When an individual or business applies for service from the utility (opens an account), he signs an agreement (contract) to pay for his metered use of the utility.

[edit] Electronic invoices

Some invoices are no longer paper-based, but rather transmitted electronically over the Internet. It is still common for electronic remittance or invoicing to be printed in order to maintain paper records. Standards for electronic invoicing varies widely from country to country. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards such as the United Nation's EDIFACT standard include message encoding guidelines for electronic invoices.

[edit] EDIFACT

The United Nations standard for electronic invoices ("INVOIC") includes standard codes for transmitting header information (common to the entire invoice) and codes for transmitting details for each of the line items (products or services). The "INVOIC" standard can also be used to transmit credit and debit memos.[10] The "IFTMCS" standard is used to transmit freight invoices.[11]

[edit] Open Application Group Integration Specification (OAGIS) from OAGi

Use of XML message format for electronic invoices have occurred since the inception of XML in 1998. OAGIS has included an invoice since 2001. Implementations of invoices based on OAGIS are common, including support by major enterprise business software vendors, as well as implementations by many of the worlds Fortune 500 companies. OAGi has a working relationship with UN/CEFACT where OAGi and its members participate in defining many of the Technology and Methodology specifications. OAGi also includes support for these Technology and Methodology specifications within OAGIS. While providing a Cross Industry representation of invoice, OAGIS specifies industry specific requirements for the Industries that work with OAGi to identify these requirements. More information about OAGi, its members, Use Cases, access to OAGIS and more can be found on the OAGi Website http://www.oagi.org.

[edit] UBL
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Use of the XML message format for electronic invoices has begun in recent years. There are two standards currently being developed. One is the cross industry invoice under development by the United Nations standards body UNCEFACT and the other is UBL (Universal Business Language) which is issued by [Oasis]http://www.oasis-open.org. Implementations of invoices based on UBL are common, most importantly in the public sector in Denmark as it was the first country where UBL is mandated by law for all the invoices of the public sector. Further implementations are under way in the Scandinavian countries as result of the NES (North European Subset) project http://www.nesubl.eu. Implementations are also underway in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands (UBL 2.0) and with the European Commission itself. The NES work has been transferred to [CEN]http://www.cen.eu, (the standards body of the European Union) workshop CEN/BII, for public procurement in Europe. The result of that work is a pre-condition for PEPPOL, pan European pilots for public procurement, financed by the European commission. There UBL procurement documents will be implemented in cross border pilots between European countries.

Agreement has been made between UBL and UN/CEFACT for convergence of the two XML messages standards with the objective of merging the two standards into one before end of 2009 including the provision of an upgrade path for implementations started in either standard.

[edit] ISDOC
ISDOC is standard which was developed in Czech Republic as an universal format for electronic invoices. 16.10.2008 was signed declaration of using this format in one year by 14 big companies on CZ market in theirs products. Also government signed this declaration. Main page for format providing specification and examples of digitally signed invoices (also invoices with attachments) are here: http://www.isdoc.org .

[edit] Payment for invoices

Organizations purchasing goods and services usually have a process in place for approving payment on the invoice based on an employee's confirmation that the goods or services have been received.[12][13][14][15] Typically, when paying an invoice, a remittance advice will be sent to the supplier to inform them their invoice has been paid.

[edit] Standardization
This section requires expansion with: 27 September 2009.

Invoices are different from receipts. Both Invoices and receipts are ways of tracking purchases of goods and services. In general the content of the invoices can be similar to that of receipts including tracking the amount of the sale, calculating sales tax owed and calculating any discounts applied to the purchase.[16] Invoices differ from receipts in that invoices serve to notify customers of payments owed, whereas receipts serve as proof of completed payment.[17

Letter of credit

A standard, commercial letter of credit (LC[1]) is a document issued mostly by a financial institution, used primarily in trade finance, which usually provides an irrevocable payment undertaking. The letter of credit can also be source of payment for a transaction, meaning that redeeming the letter of credit will pay an exporter. Letters of credit are used primarily in international trade transactions of significant value, for deals between a supplier in one country and a customer in another. In such cases the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits applies (UCP 600 being the latest version).[2] They are also used in the land development process to ensure that approved public facilities (streets, sidewalks, storm water ponds, etc.) will be built. The parties to a letter of credit are usually a beneficiary who is

to receive the money, the issuing bank of whom the applicant is a client, and the advising bank of whom the beneficiary is a client. Almost all letters of credit are irrevocable, i.e., cannot be amended or canceled without prior agreement of the beneficiary, the issuing bank and the confirming bank, if any. In executing a transaction, letters of credit incorporate functions common to giros and Traveler's cheques. Typically, the documents a beneficiary has to present in order to receive payment include a commercial invoice, bill of lading, and documents proving the shipment was insured against loss or damage in transit.

Terminology

[edit] Origin of the term

The English name letter of credit derives from the French word accreditation, a power to do something, which in turn is derivative of the Latin word accreditivus, meaning trust. This applies to any defense relating to the underlying contract of sale. This is as long as the seller performs their duties to an extent that meets the requirements contained in the letter of credit.[citation needed]

[edit] Types and related terms

Letters of credit (LC) deal in documents, not goods. The LC could be irrevocable or revocable. An irrevocable LC cannot be changed unless both the buyer and seller agree. Whereas in a revocable LC changes to the LC can be made without the consent of the beneficiary. A sight LC means that payment is made immediately to the beneficiary/seller/exporter upon presentation of the correct documents in the required time frame. A time or date LC will specify when payment will be made at a future date and upon presentation of the required documents.[citation needed] Negotiation means the giving of value for draft(s) and/or document(s) by the bank authorized to negotiate, viz the nominated bank. Mere examination of the documents and forwarding the same to the letter of credit issuing bank for reimbursement, without giving of value / agreed to give, does not constitute a negotiation.[clarification needed][citation needed]

[edit] Documents that can be presented for payment

To receive payment, an exporter or shipper must present the documents required by the letter of credit. Typically instead of presenting goods themselves, a document proving the goods were sent is presented instead. However, the list and form of documents is open to imagination and negotiation and might contain requirements to present documents issued by a neutral third party evidencing the quality of the goods shipped, or their place of origin or place. Typical types of documents in such contracts might include:[citation needed]

Financial Documents Bill of Exchange, Co-accepted Draft

Commercial Documents Invoice, Packing list

Shipping Documents Transport Document, Insurance Certificate, Commercial, Official or Legal Documents

Official Documents License, Embassy legalization, Origin Certificate, Inspection Certificate, Phytosanitary certificate

Transport Documents Bill of Lading (ocean or multi-modal or Charter party), Airway bill, Lorry/truck receipt, railway receipt, CMC Other than Mate Receipt, Forwarder Cargo Receipt, Deliver Challan...etc

Insurance documents Insurance policy, or Certificate but not a cover note.

[edit] Legal principles governing documentary credits

One of the primary peculiarities of the documentary credit is that the payment obligation is abstract and independent from the underlying contract of sale or any other contract in the transaction. Thus the banks obligation is defined by the terms of the credit alone, and the sale contract is irrelevant. The defences of the buyer arising out of the sale contract do not concern the bank and in no way affect its liability.[3] Article 4(a) UCP states this principle clearly. Article 5 the UCP further states that banks deal with documents only, they are not concerned with the goods (facts). Accordingly, if the documents tendered by the beneficiary, or his or her agent, appear to be in order, then in general the bank is obliged to pay without further qualifications. The policies behind adopting the abstraction principle are purely commercial and reflect a partys expectations: firstly, if the responsibility for the validity of documents was thrown onto banks, they would be burdened with investigating the underlying facts of each transaction and would thus be less inclined to issue documentary credits as the transaction would involve great risk and inconvenience. Secondly, documents required under the credit could in certain circumstances be different from those required under the sale transaction; banks would then be placed in a dilemma in deciding which terms to follow if required to look behind the credit agreement. Thirdly, the fact that the basic function of the credit is to provide the seller with the certainty of receiving payment, as long as he performs his documentary duties, suggests that banks should honour their obligation notwithstanding allegations of misfeasance by the buyer.[4] Finally, courts have emphasised that buyers always have a remedy for an action upon the contract of sale, and that it would be a calamity for the business world if, for every breach of contract between the seller and buyer, a bank were required to investigate said breach.

The principle of strict compliance also aims to make the banks duty of effecting payment against documents easy, efficient and quick. Hence, if the documents tendered under the credit deviate from the language of the credit the bank is entitled to withhold payment even if the deviation is purely terminological.[5] The general legal maxim de minimis non curat lex has no place in the field of documentary credits.

[edit] The price of letters of credit

All the charges for issuance of Letter of Credit, negotiation of documents, reimbursements and other charges like courier are to the account of applicant or as per the terms and conditions of the Letter of credit. If the letter of credit is silent on charges, then they are to the account of the Applicant. The description of charges and who would be bearing them would be indicated in the field 71B in the Letter of Credit.[citation needed]

[edit] Legal basis

Although documentary credits are enforceable once communicated to the beneficiary, it is difficult to show any consideration given by the beneficiary to the banker prior to the tender of documents. In such transactions the undertaking by the beneficiary to deliver the goods to the applicant is not sufficient consideration for the banks promise because the contract of sale is made before the issuance of the credit, thus consideration in these circumstances is past. In addition, the performance of an existing duty under a contract cannot be a valid consideration for a new promise made by the bank: the delivery of the goods is consideration for enforcing the underlying contract of sale and cannot be used, as it were, a second time to establish the enforceability of the bank-beneficiary relation.[citation needed] Legal writers have failed to satisfactorily reconcile the banks undertaking with any contractual analysis. The theories include: the implied promise, assignment theory, the novation theory, reliance theory, agency theories, estoppels and trust theories, anticipatory theory, and the guarantee theory.[6] Davis, Treitel, Goode, Finkelstein and Ellinger have all accepted the view that documentary credits should be analyzed outside the legal framework of contractual principles, which require the presence of consideration. Accordingly, whether the documentary credit is referred to as a promise, an undertaking, a chose in action, an engagement or a contract, it is acceptable in English jurisprudence to treat it as contractual in nature, despite the fact that it possesses distinctive features, which make it sui generis. A few countries including the United States (see Article 5 of the Uniform Commercial Code) have created statutes in relation to the operation of letters of credit. These statutes are designed to work with the rules of practice including the UCP and the ISP98. These rules of practice are incorporated into the transaction by agreement of the parties. The latest version of the UCP is the UCP600 effective July 1, 2007.[7] The previous revision was the UCP500 and became effective on 1 January 1994. Since the UCP are not laws, parties have to include them into their arrangements as normal contractual provisions. For more information on legal issues surrounding letters of credit, the Journal of International Commercial Law at George Mason University's School of Law published Volume 1, Issue 1 exclusively on the topic.

[edit] International Trade Payment methods

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Advance payment (most secure for seller)

Where the buyer parts with money first and waits for the seller to forward the goods

Documentary Credit (more secure for seller as well as buyer)

Subject to ICC's UCP 600, where the bank gives an undertaking (on behalf of buyer and at the request of applicant) to pay the shipper (beneficiary) the value of the goods shipped if certain documents are submitted and if the stipulated terms and conditions are strictly complied with. Here the buyer can be confident that the goods he is expecting only will be received since it will be evidenced in the form of certain documents called for meeting the specified terms and conditions while the supplier can be confident that if he meets the stipulations his payment for the shipment is guaranteed by bank, who is independent of the parties to the contract.

Documentary collection (more secure for buyer and to a certain extent to seller)

Also called "Cash Against Documents". Subject to ICC's URC 525, sight and usance, for delivery of shipping documents against payment or acceptances of draft, where shipment happens first, then the title documents are sent to the [collecting bank] buyer's bank by seller's bank [remitting bank], for delivering documents against collection of payment/acceptance

Direct payment (most secure for buyer)

Where the supplier ships the goods and waits for the buyer to remit the bill proceeds, on open account terms.

[edit] Risk situations in letter-of-credit transactions

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Fraud Risks

The payment will be obtained for nonexistent or worthless merchandise against presentation by the beneficiary of forged or falsified documents. Credit itself may be forged.

Sovereign and Regulatory Risks

Performance of the Documentary Credit may be prevented by government action outside the control of the parties.

Legal Risks

Possibility that performance of a Documentary Credit may be disturbed by legal action relating directly to the parties and their rights and obligations under the Documentary Credit

Force Majeure and Frustration of Contract

Performance of a contract including an obligation under a Documentary Credit relationship is prevented by external factors such as natural disasters or armed conflicts

Risks to the Applicant

Non-delivery of Goods Short Shipment Inferior Quality Early /Late Shipment Damaged in transit Foreign exchange Failure of Bank viz Issuing bank / Collecting Bank

Risks to the Issuing Bank

Insolvency of the Applicant Fraud Risk, Sovereign and Regulatory Risk and Legal Risks

Risks to the Reimbursing Bank

no obligation to reimburse the Claiming Bank unless it has issued a reimbursement undertaking.

Risks to the Beneficiary

Failure to Comply with Credit Conditions Failure of, or Delays in Payment from, the Issuing Bank Credit Issued by Party other than Bank

Risks to the Advising Bank

The Advising Banks only obligation if it accepts the Issuing Banks instructions is to check the apparent authenticity of the Credit and advising it to the Beneficiary

Risks to the Nominated Bank

Nominated Bank has made a payment to the Beneficiary against documents that comply with the terms and conditions of the Credit and is unable to obtain reimbursement from the Issuing Bank

Risks to the Confirming Bank

If Confirming Banks main risk is that, once having paid the Beneficiary, it may not be able to obtain reimbursement from the Issuing Bank because of insolvency of the Issuing Bank or refusal of the Issuing Bank to reimburse because of a dispute as to whether or not payment should have been made under the Credit

Other Risks in International Trade

A Credit risk risk from change in the credit of an opposing business. An Exchange risk is a risk from a change in the foreign exchange rate. A Force majeure risk is 1. a risk in trade incapability caused by a change in a country's policy, and 2. a risk caused by a natural disaster. Other risks are mainly risks caused by a difference in law, language or culture. In these cases, the cargo might be found late because of a dispute in import and export dealings.

Bill of lading

A bill of lading (BL - sometimes referred to as BOL or B/L) is a document issued by a carrier to a shipper, acknowledging that specified goods have been received on board as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to the consignee who is usually identified. A through bill of lading involves the use of at least two different modes of transport from road, rail, air, and sea. The term derives from the verb "to lade" which means to load a cargo onto a ship or other form of transportation. A bill of lading can be used as a traded object. The standard short form bill of lading is evidence of the contract of carriage of goods and it serves a number of purposes:

It is evidence that a valid contract of carriage, or a chartering contract, exists, and it may incorporate the full terms of the contract between the consignor and the carrier by reference (i.e. the short form simply refers to the main contract as an existing document, whereas the long form of a bill of lading (connaissement intgral) issued by the carrier sets out all the terms of the contract of carriage); It is a receipt signed by the carrier confirming whether goods matching the contract description have been received in good condition (a bill will be described as clean if the goods have been received on board in apparent good condition and stowed ready for transport); and It is also a document of transfer, being freely transferable but not a negotiable instrument in the legal sense, i.e. it governs all the legal aspects of physical carriage, and, like a cheque or other negotiable instrument, it may be endorsed affecting ownership of the goods actually being carried. This matches everyday experience in that the contract a person might make with a commercial carrier like FedEx for mostly airway parcels, is separate from any contract for the sale of the goods to be carried; however, it binds the carrier to its terms, irrespectively of who the actual holder of the B/L, and owner of the goods, may be at a specific moment.

The BL must contain the following information:

Name of the shipping company; Flag of nationality; Shipper's name; Order and notify party; Description of goods; Gross/net/tare weight; and Freight rate/measurements and weighment of goods/total freight

While an air waybill (AWB) must have the name and address of the consignee, a BL may be consigned to the order of the shipper. Where the word order appears in the consignee box, the shipper may endorse it in blank or to a named transferee. A BL endorsed in blank is transferable by delivery. Once the goods arrive at the destination they will be released to the bearer or the endorsee of the original bill of lading. The carrier's duty is to deliver goods to the first person who presents any one of the original BL. The carrier need not require all originals to be submitted before delivery. It is therefore essential that the exporter retains control over the full set of the originals till payment is effected or a bill of exchange is accepted or some other assurance for payment has been made to him. In general, the importer's name is not shown as consignee. The bill of lading has also provision for incorporating notify party. This is the person whom the shipping company will notify on arrival of the goods at destination. The BL also contains other details such as the name of the carrying vessel and its flag of nationality, the marks and numbers on the packages in which the goods are packed, a brief description of the goods, the number of packages, their weight and measurement, whether freight costs have been paid or whether payment of freight is due on arrival at the destination. The particulars of the container in which goods are stuffed are also mentioned in case of containerised cargo. The document is dated and signed by the carrier or its agent. The date of the BL is deemed to be the date of shipment. If the date on which the goods are loaded on board is different from the date of the bill of lading then the actual date of loading on board will be evidenced by a notation the BL. In certain cases a carrier may issue a separate on board certificate to the shipper.

Main types of bill

[edit] Straight bill of lading

In this importer/consignee/agent is named in the bill of lading, it is called straight bill of lading. It is a document, in which a seller agrees to use a certain transportation to ship a good to a certain location, where the bill assigned to a certain party. It details to the quality and quantity of goods.

[edit] Order bill of lading

This bill uses express words to make the bill negotiable, e.g. it states that delivery is to be made to the further order of the consignee using words such as "delivery to A Ltd. or to order or assigns". Consequently, it can be indorsed (legal spelling of endorse, maintained in all statute, including Bills of Exchange Act 1909 (CTH)) by A Ltd. or the right to take delivery can be

transferred by physical delivery of the bill accompanied by adequate evidence of A Ltd.'s intention to transfer.

[edit] Bearer bill of lading

This bill states that delivery shall be made to whosoever holds the bill. Such bill may be created explicitly or it is an order bill that fails to nominate the consignee whether in its original form or through an endorsement in blank. A bearer bill can be negotiated by physical delivery.

[edit] Surrender bill of lading

Under a term import documentary credit the bank releases the documents on receipt from the negotiating bank but the importer does not pay the bank until the maturity of the draft under the relative credit. This direct liability is called Surrender Bill of Lading (SBL), i.e. when we hand over the bill of lading we surrender title to the goods and our power of sale over the goods. A clean bill of lading states that the cargo has been loaded on board the ship in apparent good order and condition. Such a BL will not bear a clause or notation which expressively declares a defective condition of goods and/or the packaging. Thus, a BL that reflects the fact that the carrier received the goods in good condition. The opposite term is a soiled bill of lading, which reflects that the goods are received by the carrier in anything but good condition.

[edit] Other terminology

A sea or air waybill is a non-negotiable receipt issued by the carrier. It is most common in the container trade either where the cargo is likely to arrive before the formal documents or where the shipper does not insist on separate bills for every item of cargo carried (e.g. because this is one of a series of loads being delivered to the same consignee). Delivery is made to the consignee who identifies himself. It is customary in transactions where the shipper and consignee are the same person in law making the rigid production of documents unnecessary. The UK's Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 creates a further class of document known as a ship's delivery order which contains an undertaking to carry goods by sea but is neither a bill nor a waybill. A straight bill of lading by land or sea, or sea/air waybill are not documents that can convey title to the goods they represent. They do no more than require delivery of the goods to the named consignee and (subject to the shipper's ability to redirect the goods) to no other. This differs from an "order" or "bearer" bill of lading which are possessory title documents and negotiable, i.e. they can be endorsed and so transfer the right to take delivery to the last endorsee. Nevertheless, bills of lading are "documents of title", whether negotiable or not, under the terms of the Uniform Commercial Code. Definitions of "Document of Title" and "Bill of Lading"

[edit] Multi-modal Transport Documents

The advent of unitisation in air and sea transportation brought about many innovations in international transportation of goods. Multi-modal or combined transport is one such innovation. Cargo today can be moved from an inland freight station in the exporting country to an inland destination in the importing country. Goods may be picked up and transported using different modes of transport. E.g. a consignment of garments may be containerised at a factory in Mysore, customs cleared at ICD Bangalore, moved by rail to Cochin, by sea to Dubai, by air to Frankfurt and road to Dsseldorf, all under a single transport document. In such an operation, involving one or more land legs and/or air or sea legs, one carrier makes itself responsible for the entire transport operation. The contracting carrier is referred to as a multi-modal or a combined transport operator (MTO). He is liable in contract to the shipper if the goods are damaged at any stage of the carriage. The multi-modal transportation document may be issued either in nonnegotiable or negotiable form. The multi-modal transportation document (MTD), whether negotiable or non-negotiable, is prima facie evidence of the MTO taking charge of the goods for transportation. MTDs are of two types, the COMBIDOC evolved by the Baltic International Maritime Council (BIMCO) and FBL or FIATA MT Bill of Lading evolved by the International Federation of Freight Forwarders' Associations (FIATA). This document (FBL) has been approved by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for the purpose of documentary credit. FIATA has evolved specific norms for the use of FBLs. Having seen what is covered by sea, air and multimodal transport let us look at other modes including courier and charter movements. The ICC has a publication called the Uniform Customs and Practices, UCP 500 (UCP 400 was the earlier edition) which among other things deals with various transport documents, including those we have already looked at. Articles 23 to 33 of the UCP 500 deal with these documents.

[edit] A sample of the issues

In most national and international systems, a bill of lading is not a document of title, and does no more than identify that a particular individual has a right to possession at the time when delivery is to be made. Problems arise when goods are found to have been lost or damaged in transit, or delivery is delayed or refused. Because the consignee is not a party to the contract of carriage, the doctrine of privity of contract states that a third party has no right to enforce the agreement. However, whether this is a problem to the consignee depends on who owns the goods and who holds the risks associated with the carriage. This will be answered by examining the terms of all the relevant contracts. If the consignor has reserved title until payment is made, the consignor can sue to recover his or her loss. But if ownership and/or the risk of loss has transferred to the consignee, the right to sue may not be clear in contract, although there could be remedies in tort/delict (the issue of risk will have been most carefully considered to decide who should insure the goods during transit). Hence, a number of international Conventions and domestic laws specifically address when a consignee has the right to sue. The legal solution most often adopted is to apply the principle of subrogation, i.e. to give the consignee the same rights of action held by the consignor. This enables most of the more obvious cases of injustice to be avoided. In the municipal law of the U.S., the issue and enforcement of bills which may be documents of title, is governed by Article 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code. However, since bills of lading are most frequently used in transborder, overseas or airborne shipping, the laws of whatever other countries are involved in the transaction covered by a particular bill may also be applicable

including the Hague Rules, the Hague-Visby Rules and the Hamburg Rules at international level for shipping, The Warsaw Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air 1929 and The Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air 1999 for air waybills, etc. It is customary for parties to the bill to agree both which country's courts shall have the jurisdiction to hear any case in a forum selection clause, and the municipal system of law to be applied in that case choice of law clause. The law selected is termed the proper law in private international law and it gives a form of extraterritorial effect to an otherwise sovereign law, e.g. a Chinese consignor contracts with a Greek carrier for delivery to a consignee based in New York: they agree that any dispute will be referred to the courts in New York (since that is the most convenient place the forum conveniens) but that the New York courts will apply Greek law as the lex causae to determine the extent of the carrier's liability.

[edit] Examples

Southern Railway Company bill of lading (1906): front side, back side