Commercial interview related

Export Document Definition -

ü  Letter Of Credit

A letter from a bank guaranteeing that a buyer's payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. In the event that the buyer is unable to make payment on the purchase, the bank will be required to cover the full or remaining amount of the purchase.

ü  Commercial Invoice

A commercial invoice is a document used in foreign trade. It is used as a customs declaration provided by the person or corporation that is exporting an item across international borders. Although there is no standard format, the document must include a few specific pieces of information such as the parties involved in the shipping transaction, the goods being transported, the country of manufacture, and the Harmonized System codes for those goods. A commercial invoice must also include a statement certifying that the invoice is true, and a signature. A commercial invoice is used to calculate tariffs, international commercial terms (like the Cost in a CIF) and is commonly used for customs purposes.

ü  Packing list

A shipping document that comes with delivery packages, usually in an attached pouch or within the package itself. A packing list is a document that includes details about the contents of a package. The packing list is intended to let transport agencies, government authorities, and customers know the contents of the package. These details help each of these parties handle the package accordingly.

ü  Bill Of Lading

A legal document between the shipper of a particular good and the carrier detailing the type, quantity and destination of the good being carried. The bill of lading also serves as a receipt of shipment when the good is delivered to the predetermined destination. This document must accompany the shipped goods, no matter the form of transportation, and must be signed by an authorized representative from the carrier, shipper and receiver.  

ü  Air waybill (AWB)

Type of bill of lading that serves as a (1) receipt of goods by an airline (carrier) and (2) as a contract of carriage between the shipper and the carrier. It includes (a) conditions of carriage that define (among other terms and conditions) the carrier's limits of liability and claims procedures, (b) a description of the goods, and (c) applicable charges. The airline industry has adopted a standard format for AWB which is used throughout the world for both domestic and international traffic.

ü  Forwarder’s Cargo Receipt (FCR)

When Forwarder Company, acting as agents for the consignee, has received the goods and all necessary documentation and payment of charges from the seller, we issue a Forwarder’s Cargo Receipt (FCR).

ü  Bill of Exports

Shipping Bill/ Bill of Export is the main document required by the Customs Authority for allowing shipment. A shipping bill is issued by the shipping agent and represents some kind of certificate for all parties, included ship's owner, seller, buyer and some other parties. For each one represents a kind of certificate document.

ü  Certificate of Origin

The Certificate of Origin is used to document the origin of the goods when these are cleared through customs in the importing country. It is a general document that is used when proof of origin is required and there are no other specific forms that must be used. A Certificate of Origin does not provide duty or tariff relief. Some countries require additional verification in the form of certification by the importing country's embassy/consulate. We recommend that our customers contact the importer to ascertain the number of certificates of origin that are required to be legalized and which body/authority must carry out legalization in that the individual countries have their own regulations.

ü  GSP

The Generalized System of Preferences (known as GSP for short) is a scheme whereby a wide range of industrial and agricultural products originating in certain developing countries are given preferential access to the markets of the European Union. Preferential treatment is given in the form of reduced or zero rates of customs duties. The GSP scheme is specifically designed to benefit certain developing countries and integrate them into the world economy.

ü  Certificate of inspection

Required usually for import of industrial equipment, meat products, and perishable merchandise, it certifies that the item meets the required specifications and was in good condition and correct quantity when it left the port of departure. Also called inspection certificate or inspection report.

Documentation

Import Documentation

In order to release of imported goods from the port / station the following documents to be submitted by a C&F Agents to the customs authority:

·         Bill of Entry.

·         Copy of bill of lading (BL)

·         Copy of invoice.

·         Packing List.

·         Certificate of Origin (CO).

·         UD /UP. (Utilization Declaration/Utilization Permission)

·         VBF-6A. (Value Bond Form) Form to be supplied by the C & F agent.

·         Bond / stamp (In case of garments industry no stamp is required) the rate of stamp / bond is Tk. 500/- for imported goods worth Tk. 10 lacs.

·         Copy of master L / C.

·         Letter of credit authorization (LCA)

·         Perform invoice.

·         Copy of insurance cover note etc.

·         PSI (Pre-shipment inspection) Certificate if the industry is not export oriented

Export Documentation

An exporter should have to submit the following documents to the customs authority of a station:

·         Shipping Bill of Entry.

·         Export L / C

·         Packing list.

·         Invoice.

·         UD/Up.

·         VBF-9A.Form to be supplied by the C&F agent.

·         Export permission form.

What Letters Of Credit (L/C) Is

Letters of Credit (L/C) is in general a conditional document extended by the bank in connection with presentation of export value. L/C plays a very dominant role in this matter. On receipt of this document from the buyer, the exporters become sure that they would obtain foreign currency after the peaceful shipment of the consignment directed by the buyer in the L/C. And for monetary transactions in this connection the negotiating banks stand as a symbol of surety for the exporters. Negotiating bank act on behalf of the exporter and is held liable or responsible for realization of exporter’s money from the L/C opening bank.

A credit may be advised to a beneficiary through another bank (the advising bank) without engagement on the part of the advising bank, but that bank shall take reasonable care to check the apparent authenticity of the credit which it advises.

All credits will always clearly indicate whether they are available by sight payment, by deferred payment, by acceptance or by negotiation. Moreover every credit must nominate the bank (nominated bank) which is authorized to pay (paying bank) or to accept drafts (accepting bank) or to negotiate (negotiating bank), unless the credit allows negotiation by any bank (negotiating bank). The nominated bank unless is the issuing bank or the confirming bank, its nomination by the issuing bank does not constitute any undertaking by the nominated bank to pay, accept, or to negotiate. When an L/C issuing bank instructs a bank (advising bank) by any tale transmission to advise a credit or a amendment to a credit, and intends the mail Confirmation to be the operative credit instrument, or the operative amendment, the tale transmission must state “full details to follow” (or words of similar effect) or that the mail confirmation will be the in that case, operative credit instrument or the operative amendment. The issuing bank must forward the operative credit instrument or the operative amendment to such advising bank without delay.

In spite of production of all related documents with the banks, the exporters however, became victims to some unpleasant situations which push them towards the uncertainty of realization of money. This results from the absurdity or ambiguity of L/C. An in most cases from faulty presentation of documents to be required in export connection. So unless exporters have a clear conception and apprehension about export business and be aware beforehand about all these documents, they would certainly face some major troubles. In per export and post export process, exporters will after all, have first hand knowledge about UC. They must be in the climax of knowledge. It is L/C which act a medium of money during the time of execution of export order and this gives surety to the exporter that their dues would be obtained in due time.

In fact, in the whole export and import process four sides are connected. In absence of any one of them the process can not take full shape. These four sides are, exporter, Importer, exporter’s bank and importers’ bank. Principally, the success of import and export business lies in the exchange of proper and accurate correspondence. Any fault in these may cause in total disaster in whole import and export business. So in order to avoid the ambiguous, absurd and understandable correspondences, both the sides are to exercise special and particular attention. They should remember that the success of export and Import business depends mainly upon the careful execution of these things.

It is seen that inadequate knowledge in this business create some trouble that in the long run, both the sides are put to difficulty for their business i.e. exporters fail to realize their money and importers to get their goods from the exporters’ country. In addition to the exporter become harassed to have this just value from the bank. So both the sides should be particular as far as possible about it.

In export business, the first thing to do is to make a sale contract with the buyer. And this may be made in the presence of both of the importer and exporter. In most cases this may not be done formally. Yet, it plays a very significant role in the preliminary stage of export business. If this is not done formally, then exchange of letters, fax and email between them from time to time is taken for granted as the contract of the business. This may be styled as verbal contract. This also leaves importance in the business. These exchange documents are important for this reason that many times these are required by the negotiating bank of the exporters. Any loss of these may bring in fault in the business.

In case of verbal contact, verbal contact here refers to the contact which is formed through correspondences, exporters are to send pro-forma invoice along with all other details, including Specifications of goods, definite price and the date of shipment and payment terms. In addition this all other conditions, if the exporter thinks necessary, may be placed in this from.

There are some methods of payment of export value. These are as follows

·         Letters of Credit

·         Advance T.T Remittances.

·         Deferred payment

·         C. A. D. basis etc.

Of all the methods referred to above, letter of credit method is most popular and it is in fashion.

Kinds of Letters of Credit (L/C)

·         Revocable Letter Of Credit.

·         Irrevocable Letter Of Credit

·         Confirmed Letter Of Credit.

·         Confirmed And Irrevocable Letter Of Credit

·         Transferable Or Divisible Letter Of Credit

·         Back To Back Letter Of Credit

·         Red Clause Letter Of Credit

·         Sight Letter Of Credit

·         Usance Letter Of Credit

·         Revolving Letter Of Credit

·         Stand-By Letter Of Credit

All letters of credit therefore, should clearly indicate whether they are revocable or irrevocable. In the absence of such indication the credit shall be deemed to be revocable.

Revocable L/C

A revocable L/C may be amended or canceled by the issuing bank at any moment and without prior notice to the beneficiary. In case of revocable credit, however, the L/C issuing bank is bound to:

(i) Reimburse a branch or bank with which a revocable credit has been made available for deferred payment, if such branch or bank has, prior to receipt by it for notice of amendment or cancellation, taken up documents which appear on their face to be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit.

(ii) Reimburse a branch of bank with which a revocable credit has been made available for sight payment, acceptance or negotiation, for any payment, acceptance or negotiation made by such branch or bank prior to receipt by it for notice of amendment or cancellation, against documents which appear on their face to be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit.

Irrevocable L/C

An irrevocable L/C constitutes a definite undertaking of the issuing bank, provided that the stipulated documents are presented; the terms and conditions of the credit are complied with. The full name of “L/C” is Irrevocable Letter Of Credit which means once it is issued by the bank for the buyer and received and accepted by the beneficiary (the seller), it cannot be canceled or withdrawn by the buyer or the opening bank, unless with the consent of the beneficiary. In short, once the buyer opens the L/C from his bank to cover the goods he has purchased, he will have to pay for the goods when the seller ships the goods exactly as per the terms stipulated in the L/C. Therefore, as far as the seller is concerned, the sooner he has the L/C on hand, the safer he is.

L/Cs can be opened in many ways, but in essence, it is a promise the buyer’s bank makes to the supplier, to pay him when he does certain things with evidence to prove. The things the L/C opening bank wants the supplier to do are called “terms”. Therefore, when the supplier receives an L/C, he must read the terms carefully to make sure he is capable of fulfilling them all exactly as they are written. If some terms are beyond his ability to fulfill, he must point them out to the buyer and explain why he cannot comply with those terms, and request the buyer to amend them by means of an official amendment through the bank.

Confirmed L/C

This is such a credit for which exporter’s bank gives all sorts of surety for the advance of payment.

Confirmed and Irrevocable L/C

Confirmed and Irrevocable L/C Which combines the quality of Confirmed L/C and Irrevocable L/C clause.

Transferable or Divisible  L/C

A Transferable credit is a credit under which the beneficiary has the right to request the bank called upon to effect payment or acceptance or any bank entitled to effect negotiation to make the credit available in whole or in part to one or more other parties (second beneficiaries.)

A credit can be transferred only if it is expressly designated as “transferable” by the issuing bank. Terms such as ” divisible”, “fraction able”, “assignable” and “transmissible” add nothing to the meeting of the term “transferable” and shall not be used, In that case the bank requested to effect the transfer (transferring bank), Whether it has confirmed the credit or not shall be under no obligation to effect such transfer except to the extent and in the manner Expressly consented to by such bank. Bank charges in respect of transfers are payable by the first beneficiary unless, otherwise specified.

A transferable credit can be transferred once only. Fractions of transferable credit (not exceeding in the aggregate the amount of credit) can be transferred separately, provided partial shipment are not prohibited, and the aggregate of such transfers will be considered as constituting only one transfer of the credit. The credit can be transferred only one the terms and conditions specified in the original credit, with the exception of the amount of the credit.

Back to Back L/C

A back to back letter of credit is a new credit. It is different from the original credit based on which the bank undertakes the risk under the back to back credit. In this case the bank’s main surety / security are the original credit. The original credit (selling credit) and the back the back credit although they both from the part of the same business operation. The supplier (beneficiary of the back to back credit) ships goods to the importer or supplies goods to the exporter and presents the document to the bank as is specified in the credit. It is intended that the exporter would substitute his own documents and ships the goods to the importer, if necessary, and present documents for negotiation under the original credit, his liability under the back to back credit would be adjusted out of these proceeds.

Types of Back To Back Letter Of Credit

There are two types of back to back credits:

·         Congruent: The back to back credit calls for such documents (with the exception of the invoice and possibly the draft) as can be used without any amendment for the original credit.

·         Incongruent: After exchange of the invoice (and draft, if any) none or only a part of the documents to be submitted for the back to back credit can be used for the original credit (for example the letter requires a certificate of origin to be legalized in the country of the middleman)

Only the transferable credit is mentioned in the UCP, the back to back be omitted. Therefore, no specific rule for the back to back credit exists. A bank will treat such an operation as two separate transactions, each legally independent of the other.

A bank is prepared to open a back to back credit if the middleman (Applicant) is considered sufficiently reliable and capable of a faultless execution of this part of the operation.

Red-Clause L/C

In this credit, the exporter’s bank is directed to advance his dues even before they produce all export documents to the bank.

Sight L/C

It means when the shipper ships the goods covered by the L/C, and presents the documents to the bank for negotiation, the bank (the negotiating bank) will credit the proceeds to the shipper’s account immediately after checking and finding the, documents in order. When the documents are sent by the negotiating bank to the L/C opening bank, the VC opening bank will effect payment to the negotiating bank immediately. Such L/Cs usually says “AT SIGHT” which means “pay when the bank sees the documents”.

Usance L/C

It means L/C with time allowed for the opening bank to make payment of a foreign bill of exchange. Or, put it in another way, payment from the L/C opening bank to the negotiating bank will only be made after a period of time as stipulated in the L/C. The length can be worked out between the buyer and the supplier, sometimes 60 days, sometimes 90 days or 120 days.

Sometimes when the exporter receives a usance L/C of, for instance, 90 days sight, he may think he has to wait 90 days after shipping goods to receive payment, or if he wishes to receive payment at once, he will have to pay interest to his bank. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes, the L/C may say-  “90 days sight with interest to be borne by the L/C opener”. If it does say this, he virtually can use it like a sight L/C. After he has presented the documents to his bank, his bank should pay him in full (not discounted) at once after checking them and finding them in order. However, his bank, the negotiating bank would have to wait 90 days for the L/C opening bank to pay. Therefore, as far as he is concerned, he can receive payment as if is a sight L/C.

If the usance L/C does not say “Interest is to be borne by the L/C opener”, then either he will have to wait till the maturity of the 90 days or whatever the time spent is as specified in the L/C to receive payment, or he may request his bank to pay him at once and charge him for the interest. His bank usually should accept his request.

Revolving L/C

It means that the beneficiary can draw money from such L/C up to the amount specified by means of documents, and after drawing, the amount drawn will automatically be replenished and is available for another drawing and another drawing, and so on.

However, in order to limit the size of loss which might be caused by fraudulent activities by the beneficiary, it is advisable for the opening bank to specify a time interval between each drawing based on the actual need of the beneficiary.

Revolving L/Cs are good for the buyer and the supplier to cover purchases made regularly as one L/C can be used many times saving a lot of paper work as well as L/C opening charges and receiving charges at both ends.

However, the L/C opening bank usually would not open a revolving L/C for the buyer unless he has much bigger credit line than the size of the L/C he would like the bank to open for him. The following will explain why:

·         If the buyer wants to open an UC of $ 10,000.00 the credit line he has to have with the bank is $10,000.00 because the maximum risk the bank is exposed to is $ 10,000.00

·         If the buyer wants to open a revolving L/C of $ 10,000.00 for 4 months with a time interval of one month between each drawing, the bank may need a credit line or cash or collateral of $ 40,000.00 from your buyer because the risk the bank is exposed to is truly $ 40,000.00 not $ 10,000.00.

Stand by L/C

This is normally used by the opener, party (a) to assist the beneficiary, party (b), or for party (a) to guarantee party (b) for certain reason. The following example will illustrate the function more clearly:

Example:

Party (a) is a rich company with a big credit line from a bank and party (b) is a small company with insufficient financial strength to handle certain business activities. (a) And (b) have a close business relationship. Now (a) Has decided to assist (b) but would not like to give a cash loan to (b).

In order to give (b) the assistance, (a) now opens an UC to (b) for say $10,000.00 with simple term that if (b) presents an invoice or a receipt written a certain way for any amount up to $10,000.00 (a)’s bank will pay accordingly. The UC may also say negotiation must not be made before a certain date, and not after a certain date so as to give a time limit for this matter to end.

When such UC is received by (b), will surrender it to his bank with the invoice or receipt prepared as required by the UC for a loan of $ 10,000.00 or any amount less than $ 10,000.00 against it, or will get a credit line from the bank for his business activities. He should be able to achieve this by means of this stand by L/C. In short, the spirit of a stand by UC is to transfer some financial strength from one company to another.

Defective Clauses Appeared in the L/Cs

·         Issuing bank is not reputed

·         Advising credit by the advising bank without authentication

·         Port of destination Absent;

·         Inspection clause;

·         Nomination of specific sipping / Air line or nomination of specified vessel by subsequent amendment.

·         B/L to blank Endorse, to endorse to 3^rd bank, to be endorsed to buyer or 3^rd parry.

·         No specific reimbursement clause;

·         U.C.P clause not mentioned;

·         Shipment/ presentation period is not sufficient

·         Original documents to be sent to buyer or nominated agent;

·         FCR or HAWB consigned to applicant or buyer;

·         “Shipper’s load and count is not acceptable” clause;

·         L/C shall expire in the country of the issuing bank’

·         Negotiation is restricted.

Documentation for Opening L/C

Before preparing necessary documents importer must collect Indent / Pro-forma Invoice. Otherwise, importer will not be able to fill up the L/C application form. So, obtain an indent / pro-forma invoice as per the category of your L/C prior to filling up the forms.

Documents Provided by the Bank for Opening L/C

·         L/C Application Form

·         LCA Form (Letter of Credit Authorization Application Form)

·         IMP Form (Import Permission Form)

·         TM Form

·         Agreement Form

·         Charges of Documents

·         Guarantee Form

Importer has to fill up the forms mentioned above, and after verifying and signing, the following documents should be submitted to the bank.

·         Trade License (valid)

·         Import Registration certificate (IRC)

·         Income tax declaration or a TIN

·         Membership Certificate

·         Memorandum of Association

·         Registered deed (in case of partnership firm)

·         Resolution (in case of partnership firm)

·         Photographs.

·         Insurance cover Note and receipt of premium payment.

·         A copy of indent/pro-forma invoice etc.

Documents Required for Opening a Cash L/C

·         A prayer for opening L/C.

·         L/C Application form

·         Indent / pro-forma invoice

·         L/C A Form

·         IMP

·         Charge of Documents

·         Insurance cover note

Documents required for Opening Back To Back L/C

·         Master L/C.

·         Valid Import Registration Certificate (I R C) & Export Registration certificate (ERC).

·         L/C application & LCA form duly filled in & signed.

·         Pro-forma Invoice or Indent.

·         Insurance Cover Note with Money Receipt.

·         IMP Form duly signed.

In addition to the above the following papers/ documents are also required for export oriented garment industries while requesting for opening of back to back L/C:

·         Textile permission.

·         Valid Bonded ware house License.

In case the Factory premises is a rented one, letter of Disclaimer duly executed by the owner of the house / premises to be submitted.

Documentation for Shipment

When we refer to documentation in the process of export, we usually refer to the preparation of documents which the shipper uses to collect money for the goods shipped. Therefore, this is the final of the transaction and an important step.

Documents are prepared according to terms of payment between exporter and his buyer. However, no matter it is L / C payment or DP, DA or open account, exporter must prepare his documents to satisfy the following parties:

(I) Exporter must prepare his documents to satisfy The Buyer’s Bank who has open the L/C to exporter if it is L/C payment, otherwise exporter will have delay in receiving the proceeds of the goods have shipped.

(ii) Exporter must prepare his documents to satisfy the customs otherwise the customs will make delay in clearing the goods through Customs.

(iii) Exporter must prepare his documents to satisfy the buyer giving him the correct information in all respect, particularly all the packing details in order to enable him to distribute the merchandise correctly to the retail stores.

Now, let us go through each piece of paper needed in the set of documents and note the essential information it should contain:

Commercial Invoice

This is the document that exporters use to collect money from their buyers. Therefore, it must contain the correct unit price with the indication of FOB the shipping port, or CIF or C&F at the shipping destination. If the terms used are FOB the shipping port, then it is simple and easy. The following example will satisfy the bank and the customs:

Style No.	Quantity	Description	Unit price FOB Bangladesh	Total FOB Amount
1234	1000 dzns	Men’s 100% Cotton Woven Shirt	US $ 80000.00	US $ 80000.00

Based on the above, the customs will impose duty on US$80000.00.

However, if the terms used are CIF destination, exporter must show how much freight and insurance premium paid so that duty is only imposed on the net FOB value, not the total CIF value, like this:

Style No.	Quantity	Description	Unit price CIF New York	Total CIF Amount
1234	1000 dzns	Men’s 100% Cotton Woven Shirt	US $ 86000.00	US $ 86000.00

For Customs purpose:

Total CIF Amount	US $ 86000.00
Less Sea Freight Prepaid	US $ 5000.00
Less Insurance Premium Prepaid	US $ 1000
Total FOB Amount	US $ 80000.00

When exporter shows the above CIF breakdown on the invoice, the customs will impose duty on the FOB value. However please note exporter has to be truthful about the sea freight amount and insurance premium. Exporter must get them from the Bill of Lading, where the freight amount prepaid is shown, and the insurance premium from the insurance company. Exporter cannot inflate these figures to save duty. Otherwise, Exporter may create delays or even bigger trouble for his buyer.

The second important thing in the preparation of invoice that the invoice must provide a full description of the merchandise so that the customs officer can determine what duty rate he should use.

Packing List

There is no hard and fast rule as to how exactly it should be prepared. Exporter can use his own format. As long as he can show the following, it will be acceptable:

·         The contents of each of the cartons shipped, including the color and size assortment.

·         The measurements and gross weight of each carton. Please note, some garments are subject to duty by percentage of the FOB value only, but some garments are subject to duty by percentage of the FOB value and weight (How much per kg). Therefore on packing list exporter must indicate the gross weight, net weight and net net weight clearly. (Full detail on “weight list” below.)

Weight List

Sometimes the buyer may ask for this on the L/C. If he does, then exporter should prepare it and submit it to the bank as one of the documents required for L/C negotiation. If buyer does not ask for it, then exporter should include this information in the packing list.

For arrangement of transportation, and for customs purpose, weight information is needed. However, exporter may put it on

·         The invoice.

·         The packing list,

·         The weight list.

However, exporter does not have to repeat it in all these 3 documents to create extra work for his shipping department. He can handle the weight information as follows:

·         If the L/C says such weight information is needed on the invoice, he should follow the L/C and put such information on the invoice, and repeat it on the packing list.

·         If the L/C does not specify the need of weight information on the invoice, he may omit it on the invoice, but put it on the packing list.

·         If the L/C requires a weight list, then he put the weight information on the weight list and repeats it on the packing list, but you may omit it on the invoice.

Weight information should truly be put on the packing list where it belongs, regardless of what the L/C says. However, if the L/C says it should be on the invoice, exporter should follow the L/C too. If the L/C requires a weight list, he should follow it also.

The weight information in question should consist of:

·         Gross Weight: Gross weight means the weight of the goods including all packing materials. Exporter should provide weight per carton and the total weight of the shipment which should be the same as, or similar to that on the Bill of Lading

·         Net Weight: Net weight means gross weight less only the export carton and inner boxes if used. Net weight will include the packing materials used for the individual piece of merchandise, For example, the individual poly bag, cardboard and paper hangtag etc.

·         Net Net (Gross) Weight: Net Net weight means the weight of the merchandise excluding all packing materials. In other words, it is the weight of the garment without hangtag, price ticket or even a piece of pin. He should provide this information for each dz, each carton and for the whole shipment. Based on this information provided, weight duty, if any, will be paid.

If the L/C requires to provide Gross weight and net weight, he should know, it is Gross weight and Net Net weight needed, and he will provide Gross weight and Net Net weight, but call it Net weight on the document.

Net weight is needed for duty purpose; net weight is of no practical purpose it is for reference only.

Bill Of Lading

If the shipment is to be made on board, B/L (Bill of Lading) is usually used. In preparation of the B/L the most important thing is the use of the correct consignee and notifies party. Exporter should use the exact wording as stated on the L/C opened by his buyer so that he will not have any discrepancy against the L/C. In regard to the other aspect of the B/L, he can just follow the format as provided by the shipping line.

However sometimes the buyer’s L/C may require the exporter to do the following for their convenience:

·         They want to send one original B/L to their customs broker directly by courier service, and submit the balance 2 original B/L to exporter’s bank for negotiation of their L/C.

·         They also want to consign the shipment to them ( use their company name as the consignee) instead of consigning the shipment to their bank.

·         Exporter send his buyer one of the 3 original Bills of Lading directly, outside of the bank channel, but in such case the B/L will have to be consigned to the L/C opening bank, and not the buyer.

·         Exporter consigns, the shipment to the buyer or his broker, but in this case, exporter will not send him an original B/L. Exporter should send him a non-negotiable copy of the B/L.

From the above, exporter should understand that this particular buyer would want exporter to make him the legal owner of the goods and give him the title document (the B/L) before he pays for the goods. This means he is allowed by the exporter to take possession of the goods before he pays for them. If exporter’s documents are prepared in such a way that there no discrepancy whatever, the buyer must pay although he may delay payment for one to two weeks if he wishes. However, if discrepancies are found on exporter’s documents, he may refuse to pay until exporter takes legal action to force him to pay in court. Therefore, when exporter receives an L/C with such unfair terms, exporter should request his buyer to amend it.

Air Way Bill

Air way bill is used for air shipment, with similar function of B/L on board shipment. However, there is some important difference between Air waybill and Bill of Lading

On board shipments, the buyer needs at least one original B/L to take possession of the goods. However, on air shipments, the buyer does not need original Air waybill, or even a copy of the Air waybill to take possession of the goods. If the shipment is consigned to the buyer, the buyer can legally claim the goods from the airline. In fact, the airline will notify the buyer to claim the goods. As long as the buyer can identify himself as the consignee, he is allowed to take the goods from the airline.

Therefore, when exporter makes shipments by air, unless he has received payment up front, he should not consign the goods to the buyer. He should always consign the goods to the bank making the bank the legal owner of the goods. The bank will only pass the title to his buyer when his buyer pays the bank for the goods. When the bank passes the title to his buyer, it is responsible to pay him.

If by mistake, exporter has consigned the goods to his buyer, it is at his buyer mercy to pay him.

OTHER Documents

Other than the above mentioned documents, of course there are others to be prepared for negotiation of the L/C such as:

·         Draft

·         Beneficiary Statement

·         Some kind of certificate

Other than the draft which is an instrument for the bank to collect the money from the buyer, the other documents are designed by the buyer or his bank to provide some extra protection for the buyer. Exporter just prepares them as instructed by the L/C to avoid discrepancies.

If the payment term agreed is not L/C, but D/P or D/A, then exporter just prepares documents needed by his buyer to enable him to take possession of the goods and pass the goods through customs. These documents are to be sent from exporter’s bank to his buyer’s bank for his buyer to pick up and pay his bank.

Export Documents Examination & Negotiation System

As per UCP-500, 1993 revision there are four types of credit. These areas are:

·         Sight payment

·         Deferred payment

·         By acceptance

·         Negotiation

Negotiation stands for payment of value to the exporter against the documents stipulated in the L/C. The bank giving the value is known as negotiating bank. Negotiating bank firstly examines the documents presented by the exporter. Upon satisfaction bank pays the value to the exporter. The export documents are mainly categorized into four groups:

·         Transport Documents

·         Insurance Documents

·         Commercial invoice

·         Other Documents

Other Documents include the following documents as required by the L/C:

·         Inspection Certificate

·         Certificate of Origin / GSP Certificate

·         Packing list/ Weight list

·         Shipping Certificate

·         Phyto Sanitary Certificate / Food Inspection Certificate

·         Health Certificate

·         Certificate of Analysis

·         Fumigate Certificate

·         Radio Activity Certificate

As the negotiating bank is giving the value before repatriation of the export proceeds it is advisable to examine the documents with reasonable care whether any discrepancy (S) is observed in the documents. If documents are in order bank negotiates the same. Otherwise, bank gives the exporter reasonable time to remove the discrepancies or sends the documents on collection basis. Bank officers assigned for examining the export documents may use a checklist for their convenience.

Customs Brokers

The customs broker---broker or customhouse broker or customs house broker---is an individual or company licensed to clear export and import goods through customs. Besides clearing of goods through customs, other export services a broker renders include booking of space for ocean, air and land freight, canvassing and providing the freight cost, and preparation of export documents and sending them to the bank for negotiation.

In case the broker commits an error, the exporter is held liable.

A good and honest broker can help new exporters with certain export routines and help them save money.

The freight consolidator---consolidator or groupage operator---is an individual or firm who accepts less than container load (LCL) shipments from individual shippers, and then combines them for delivery to the carrier in full container load (FCL) shipment.

The forwarder usually receives the forwarder's charges from the exporter. In addition, it may receive a commission from the carrier---freight company (ocean, air, truck and rail).

In the ocean shipment, the forwarder may 'buy' the shipping space, in a special arrangement with the carrier, and 'resell' the space to individual shippers, instead of receiving a commission. In such an arrangement, the forwarder functions as an independent distribution or logistical company known as the NVOCC (nonvessel operating common carrier) or NVO (nonvessel owner or nonvessel owning carrier), or commonly referred to as the ocean freight consolidator. The Case Sample: Freight Consolidation (1) below illustrates the function of a NVOCC or NVO.

The acronym ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The ISO freight container refers to a container complying with the ISO container standards in existence at the time of its manufacture.

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in Canada, the International Trade Administration (ITA) in U.S.A

Ex means from. Works means factory, mill or warehouse, which is the seller's premises. EXW applies to goods available only at the seller's premises. Buyer is responsible for loading the goods on truck or container at the seller's premises, and for the subsequent costs and risks.

Outline of Trade Contract Responsibilities
of the Seller (Exporter) and Buyer (Importer)

LEGEND:
	Seller is responsible
	Buyer is responsible
1	Inland freight in Seller's country; Delivery to the carrier or frontier
2	Customs clearance in Seller's country
3	Payment of customs charges and taxes in Seller's country
4	Loading to the main carrier or means of conveyance
5	Main carriage/freight
6	Cargo (marine) insurance
7	Unloading from the main carrier or means of conveyance
8	Customs clearance in Buyer's country
9	Payment of customs duties and taxes in Buyer's country
10	Inland freight in Buyer's country
11	Other costs and risks in Buyer's country

Incoterm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Incoterms or international commercial terms are a series of international sales terms, published by International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and widely used in international commercial transactions. These are accepted by governments, legal authorities and practitioners worldwide for the interpretation of most commonly used terms in international trade. This reduces or remove altogether uncertainties arising from different interpretation of such terms in different countries. Scope of this is limited to matters relating to right and obligations of the parties to the contract of sale with respect to the delivery of goods sold. They are used to divide transaction costs and responsibilities between buyer and seller and reflect state-of-the-art transportation practices. They closely correspond to the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The first version was introduced in 1936 and the present dates from 2000.

Ex Works (EXW) This trade term places the greatest responsibility on the buyer and minimum obligations on the seller. The Ex Works term is often used when making an initial quotation for the sale of goods without any costs included.
EXW is an Incoterm or international commercial terms. These (Incoterms) are a series of international sales terms that are widely used throughout the world. EXW means that a seller has the goods ready for collection at his premises (Works, factory, warehouse, plant) on the date agreed upon.
The buyer pays all transportation costs and also bears the risks for bringing the goods to their final destination.
This term requires that the buyer must be able to carry out export formalities in the country of supply, these days almost impossible. Therefore in the vast majority of cases where terms are quoted EXW they actually intend the seller to carry out export formalities which means that the correct term is FCA (Seller's premises).

Group F – Main carriage unpaid

FCA – Free Carrier (named places)

The seller hands over the goods, cleared for export, into the custody of the first carrier (named by the buyer) at the named place. This term is suitable for all modes of transport, including carriage by air, rail, road, and containerised / multi-modal transport.

FAS – Free Alongside Ship (named loading port)

The seller must place the goods alongside the ship at the named port. The seller must clear the goods for export; this changed in the 2000 version of the Incoterms. Suitable for maritime transport only.

FOB – Free on board (named loading port)

The seller must load the goods on board the ship nominated by the buyer, cost and risk being divided at ship's rail. The seller must clear the goods for export. Maritime transport only. It also includes Air transport when the seller is not able to export the goods on the schedule time mentioned in the letter of credit. In this case the seller allows a deduction of sum equivalent to the carriage by ship from the air carriage.

[edit] Group C – Main carriage paid

CFR or CNF – Cost and Freight (named destination port)

Seller must pay the costs and freight to bring the goods to the port of destination. However, risk is transferred to the buyer once the goods have crossed the ship's rail. Maritime transport only and Insurance for the goods is NOT included. Insurance is at the Cost of the Buyer.

CIF – Cost, Insurance and Freight (named destination port)

Exactly the same as CFR except that the seller must in addition procure and pay for insurance for the buyer. Maritime transport only.

CPT – Carriage Paid To (named place of destination)

The general/containerised/multimodal equivalent of CFR. The seller pays for carriage to the named point of destination, but risk passes when the goods are handed over to the first carrier.

CIP – Carriage and Insurance Paid (To) (named place of destination)

The containerised transport/multimodal equivalent of CIF. Seller pays for carriage and insurance to the named destination point, but risk passes when the goods are handed over to the first carrier.

  Group D – Arrival

note - As of 2011 January 01, the eighth edition, IncoTerms 2010^[1], have effect. The changes therein affect this section in that all of the following five terms are obsoleted and replaced with these three: DAT (Delivered at Terminal), DAP (Delivered at Place), and DDP (Delivered Duty Paid). The new terms apply to all modes of transport.

DAF – Delivered At Frontier (named place)

This term can be used when the goods are transported by rail and road. The seller pays for transportation to the named place of delivery at the frontier. The buyer arranges for customs clearance and pays for transportation from the frontier to his factory. The passing of risk occurs at the frontier.

DES – Delivered Ex Ship (named port)

Where goods are delivered ex ship, the passing of risk does not occur until the ship has arrived at the named port of destination and the goods made available for unloading to the buyer. The seller pays the same freight and insurance costs as he would under a CIF arrangement. Unlike CFR and CIF terms, the seller has agreed to bear not just cost, but also Risk and Title up to the arrival of the vessel at the named port. Costs for unloading the goods and any duties, taxes, etc… are for the Buyer. A commonly used term in shipping bulk commodities, such as coal, grain, dry chemicals - - - and where the seller either owns or has chartered, their own vessel.

DEQ – Delivered Ex Quay (named port)

This is similar to DES, but the passing of risk does not occur until the goods have been unloaded at the port of destination.

DDU – Delivered Duty Unpaid (named destination place)

This term means that the seller delivers the goods to the buyer to the named place of destination in the contract of sale. The goods are not cleared for import or unloaded from any form of transport at the place of destination. The buyer is responsible for the costs and risks for the unloading, duty and any subsequent delivery beyond the place of destination. However, if the buyer wishes the seller to bear cost and risks associated with the import clearance, duty, unloading and subsequent delivery beyond the place of destination, then this all needs to be explicitly agreed upon in the contract of sale.

DDP – Delivered Duty Paid (named destination place)

This term means that the seller pays for all transportation costs and bears all risk until the goods have been delivered and pays the duty. Also used interchangeably with the term "Free Domici'001612060031le". The most comprehensive term for the buyer. In most of the importing countries, taxes such as (but not limited to) VAT and excises should not be considered prepaid being handled as a "refundable" tax. Therefore VAT and excises usually are not representing a direct cost for the importer since they will be recovered against the sales on the local (domestic) market.

 

Summary of terms

Incoterms

Load to truck

Export- duty payment

Transport to exporter's port

Unload from truck at the origin's port

Landing charges at origin's port

Transport to importer's port

Landing charges at importer's port

Unload onto trucks from the importers' port

Transport to destination

Insurance

Entry - Customs clearance

Entry - Duties and Taxes

EXW

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

FCA

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

FAS

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

FOB

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

No

CFR

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

CIF

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

CPT

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

CIP

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

DAF

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

DES

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

No

DEQ

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

DDU

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

DDP

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

The HS---Harmonized System or Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System---was developed by the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) in Brussels, Belgium, as the basis for an international system to classify goods for customs purposes. It is a 10-digit system presently being used by most of the world's trading partners. The HS is an update of the CCCN (Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature)

 Cash In Advance (CID)
The cash in advance, which is the safest term of payment, most often is effected using the cheque or bank draft. In some cases, the CID term is paid using the telegraphic transfer (T/T).