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When foreign export trade uses a letter of credit for settlement, "consistency of documents" is a prerequisite for safe and timely collection of foreign exchange. However, export documents submitted by foreign trade companies are often refused by foreign issuing banks due to "discrepancies", which affects foreign exchange collection. Therefore, this article briefly analyzes the common discrepancies among the three main documents and puts forward some suggestions for reference.

1. Commercial Invoice

⑴ INVOICE SHOWING BENEFICIARY'S NAME PRINTED DIFFER FROM L/C.

(The invoice shows that the printed name of the beneficiary is inconsistent with the letter of credit. )

This discrepancy occurs because foreign trade companies are accustomed to using invoices with a fixed company name printed on them, but the company name specified in the invoice does not exactly match its printed name. For example, the old name of a foreign trade company was "CHINA NATIONAL NATIVE PRODUCE AND ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS IMPORT AND EXPORT CORPORATION GUANGXI BRANCH, BEIHAI GUANGXI". After the reform of the foreign trade system, the new name is "GUANGXI NATIVE PRODUCE I/E CORP. BEIHAI SUB-BRANCH BEIHAI GUANGXI CHINA". In this way, the foreign trade company used the invoice with the old name when making the document, but used the new name stipulated in the letter of credit when signing, so it contradicted itself and gave others a handle.

⑵ SIGNED INVOICE SUBMITTED INSTEAD OF SIGNED COMMERCIAL INVOICE NAME OF DOCUMENTS TITLE DIFFER FROM L/C.

(The signed invoice replaced the signed commercial invoice, and the document title is different from the letter of credit . )

Currently, it is generally required to submit a signed commercial invoice (SIGNED COMMERCIAL INVOICE), but many foreign trade companies issue invoices without the word "COMMERCIAL". Strictly speaking, the documents are inconsistent. .

⑶ INVOICE SHOWING "E. AND O. E." SHOULD BE DELETED.

(The "errors and omissions should be checked" shown on the invoice should be deleted.)

Follow the following Uniform practices for single letters of credit require strict and consistent payment principles for documents, and any document should not contain any errors or omissions. Therefore, foreign trade companies are accustomed to using invoices printed with the words "E. AND O. E." (check for errors or omissions), which is against international practice.

⑷ 3/4 INVOICE NOT MANUALLY SIGNED.

(Three of the four invoices are not signed by hand.)

This does not mean that the invoices are missing signatures. Rather, it specifically refers to the fact that among the four-page invoice, only the first one is signed jointly, and the other three copies are signed in duplicate. When preparing documents, some foreign trade company personnel use carbon paper to sign once for convenience, which violates the letter of credit's requirement that documents be signed by hand.

⑸ INVOICE SHOWING GOODS DESCRIPTION NOT AS PER L/C'S STIPULATION.

(The description of the goods shown in the invoice is not in accordance with the provisions of the letter of credit.)

According to the "Uniform "Practice" requires that the description of the goods on the commercial invoice, including product name, type, specifications, etc., should be consistent with the provisions of the letter of credit. It can be more detailed than the description of the letter of credit, but it cannot be brief. However, when preparing invoices, some foreign trade company personnel often type the wrong name of the goods, or simplify the description of the goods, and do not follow the relevant provisions of the letter of credit. For example, one incoming certificate requires that the goods be described as: "CHINESE GUM ROSIN ( OFF GRADE). F CHITTAGONG AS PER INDENT NO. USD, C&F Chittagong). However, when the company staff prepared the document, they missed the word "GUM". Although the Chinese translations of "ROSIN" and "GUM ROSIN" are both "rosin", since the letter of credit requires the latter, only "ROSIN" was typed. The term "ROSIN" is not consistent with the provisions of the letter of credit.

2. Bill of Lading

⑴ B/L SHOWING ON BOARD NOTATION NOT AUTHENTICATED.

(The shipping note shown in the bill of lading has not been confirmed.

)

The "Uniform Customs and Practice" requires that the "ON BOARD B/L" must be stamped with "SHIPPED ON BOARD" or "LOADED ON BOARD THE VESSEL...AT (PORT) ON (DATE)", indicating the date of shipment, port and ship name. For bills of lading with words such as "SHIPPED ON BOARD IN GOOD CONDITION..." printed in type, as long as the date is stamped, it is a "shipped bill of lading". For the RECEIVED FOR SHIPMENT B/L, add "ON BOARD NOTATION" (shipping note), indicate the date of shipment and name of the ship, and be signed by the carrier, it becomes "shipped" Bill of Lading". When the letter of credit requires an "on board" ocean bill of lading, although the ocean bill of lading submitted by some foreign trade companies has the words "ON BOARD", it does not have a date and signature confirmation, so it is easy to be mistaken for a ready-to-ship bill of lading and be refused payment.

⑵ RUBBER STAMP SIGNATURE ON B/L.

(The bill of lading is signed with a rubber stamp.)

According to international business practice, documents generally must be signed by hand It has legal effect. However, there are still many transport documents, especially ocean bills of lading, which are customary to use rubber stamps instead of hand signatures. This is inconsistent with international business practices. In particular, the bill of lading is a document of property rights, and the importance of its formal signature cannot be taken lightly.

⑶ BILL OF LADING IS ISSUED BY FREIGHT FORWARDER, THIS WAS PROHIBITED BY L/C.

(The bill of lading is issued by the transport company, which is prohibited by the letter of credit.)

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Article 25 of the "Uniform Customs and Practice" states: "Unless otherwise provided in the letter of credit, the bank will refuse to accept the transport documents issued by the transport bank." This is because the shipping company itself does not operate the shipping business, does not own the means of transportation, and does not assume the responsibility for transportation. It only acts as an intermediary for the freight business, so it does not have the right to issue ocean bills of lading. For example, some certificates clearly stipulate: "BILL OF LADING ISSUED BY FORWARDING AGENTS/ FREIGHT FORWARDERS ACTING AS CARRIER AGENTS/ CARRIERS ARE NOT ACCEPT." (meaning: it is not accepted to be issued by a transportation company or transportation agent as a carrier or transportation agent. The bill of lading.) At this time, you need to pay more attention. Sometimes, although the issuer of the bill of lading is not the shipping company, it is mistakenly regarded as the shipping company because it does not indicate that it is the carrier or the agent of the named carrier.

⑷ B/L DOES NOT EVIDENCE SHIPMENT IN CONTAINER.

(The bill of lading does not confirm that it is shipped in a container.)

There are two types of container bills of lading, one is dedicated Container bill of lading format; the second is to add container annotation to the ordinary bill of lading. According to the requirements of the Uniform Customs and Practice, the relevant provisions in the letter of credit must be displayed or confirmed by corresponding documents. Therefore, when the letter of credit stipulates shipping in a container, if an ordinary bill of lading is used, the words "SHIPMENT IN CONTAINER" should be marked on it. Otherwise, it will be considered that the provisions of the letter of credit have not been followed.

⑸ SECOND B/L NOT MARKED AS ORIGINAL.

(The second bill of lading is not marked as the original.)

Usually the ocean bill of lading clearly states the original bill of lading. The number of copies, the original shows the word "ORIGINAL". With the increasing popularity of automated operation methods such as photocopying and computers, the "one-step document preparation method" has become a reality, and multiple originals can be produced at one time. However, the document as the original should be marked with the word "ORIGINAL" to distinguish it from a copy (COPY), and if necessary, it should be certified. Therefore, when the bill of lading is made by copying or replicating, if the original chapter is not specifically marked, it will be mistaken for a copy and will be subject to objection.

3. Insurance policy or insurance certificate

⑴ RUBBER STAMP SIGNATURE ON CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE.

(The insurance certificate should be signed with a rubber stamp.)

Insurance companies are accustomed to using rubber stamps for official signatures. Although this has been accepted by most banks, banks in some countries will still use this as an excuse to refuse documents. Although the relevant provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice have determined that "a bank shall not refuse to accept an insurance document on the pretext that the signature of the insurance company or its agent is pre-printed", once the letter of credit clearly stipulates: "ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE MANUALLY SIGNED" (meaning: all documents must be signed by hand), using a rubber stamp to sign will result in refusal of payment.

⑵ INSURANCE POLICY HAVE CARBON COPY (NOT ORIGINAL) ENDORSEMENT.

(The insurance policy has a carbon copy—not the original—endorsement.)

Document endorsement is an act of transfer, representing the transfer of certain rights. The importance and necessity of a hand signature are self-evident, so the use of a carbon copy signature is inconsistent with the principle of endorsement.

⑶ INSURANCE CERT. SHOWING COVERED DATE IS LATER THAN B/LADING DATE.

(The insurance date on the insurance certificate is later than the bill of lading date.)

《 Uniform Customs and Practice requires that the date of the insurance document should be before the date of shipment of the goods, and at least no later than the date of shipment. This is to protect the rights and interests of the insured. Otherwise, the insured's goods will be at risk and the bank will refuse to accept such insurance documents.

⑷ INS POLICY I/O CERT SUBMITTED NOT SHOWING "IRRESPECTIVE OF PERCENTAGE" AND NOT COVER RISK OF TRANSHIPMENT.

(The insurance policy submitted is in lieu of the insurance certificate, and there is no "Not included" Deductible rate", and there is no transshipment insurance.)

Although both the insurance policy and the insurance certificate are insurance documents, which one to use must be determined by the specific provisions of the letter of credit, and do not mix them with each other. "Excluding deductibles" means that after the goods are damaged, the insurance company will compensate regardless of the degree. This clause is required in the export certificates of many fragile goods such as ceramics. This is to protect the interests of the importer. The purpose of insuring transhipment insurance is to compensate for accidental loss of goods during transshipment. If this insurance is omitted, it will also increase the risk of the importer and lead to the rejection of documents.

Looking at the foregoing, the problems existing in export documents can be summarized into three aspects: first, the normative issue of the document itself; second, the standardization issue of document production; third, the validity issue of document signature.

In response to the above problems, it is recommended that foreign trade companies take the following preventive measures:

First, export documents should use a unified standard format. For example, only the words "COMMERCIAL INVOICE" are printed on the letterhead of the commercial invoice, the company name is omitted, and the words "E. & O. E." are deleted. Other documents can also be printed in a standardized manner depending on the specific situation. This can facilitate the company's document preparation and the bank's Review orders to reduce errors.

Second, when preparing documents, attention should be paid to the basic requirements and special requirements of letters of credit. For example, the description of the goods on the invoice must be strictly consistent with that of the letter of credit, and the documents must be issued by the party specified in the letter of credit. Any requirements in the letter of credit that require container shipment or other requirements must be confirmed or explained on the relevant documents to reduce unnecessary misunderstandings. or trouble.

Third, all documents should be signed by hand. Avoid using carbon copies or rubber stamps for signatures to emphasize the authenticity and validity of documents and make the other party impeccable, which will help speed up the collection of foreign exchange and safeguard national and collective interests.