Unit Price in Invoice vs. Proforma Invoice – Discrepancy or Not?

Intro

Again, folks! Time for another round of LC puzzles with Mr. Old Man. This week’s classic case comes from the Himalayas (yes, the literal Himalayas!) where our friend Suraj at Himalayan Bank is wondering:

“If the unit price in a presented commercial invoice differs from what was in the proforma invoice used when the LC was issued—but the LC itself doesn’t state any unit price—can we treat that as a discrepancy?”

Let’s unpack this like a neatly rubber-banded set of LC documents.

Question

Dear Sir,

Hope everything in good spirits.

I wanted to request you to provide an answer for a simple question of mine.

I have a case where in the Letter of Credit under field 45A, the description of the product is given but the individual rates are not quoted. However, in the original invoice, one of the rates differs for the product as per the presented proforma invoice at the time of the initiation of the L/C.

So can we raise that as a discrepancy?

Please advise on this case.

Warm Regards,

Suraj Shrestha

Himalayan Bank Ltd.

_________

 Answer

Dear Suraj,

Thank you for your question.

The key principle here: documents are examined based on the LC terms—not based on any prior negotiations, proforma invoices, or underlying contracts.

So, if the LC (in field 45A) only provides the description of goods and does not specify unit prices, then:

The invoice may state any unit price, as long as:

1. • The description of goods matches the LC.
   • The total value does not exceed the LC amount.
   • There are no other LC instructions requiring unit price details.

Article 4 of UCP 600 reminds us that a letter of credit is autonomous—completely separate from the sales contract or proforma invoice.

Therefore, a difference in unit price between the presented invoice and the initial proforma invoice does not constitute a discrepancy, unless that proforma price was specifically incorporated into the LC terms.

I hope this clears the mist from your Himalayan horizon!

Best regards,

Mr. Old Man