Bill of Lading Shows an Incomplete Email Address – Is It a Discrepancy?

 If a letter of credit requires the notify party’s email address to appear in the bill of lading, what happens if the email address is shown without the “@” symbol or “(AT)”? Should this be treated as a discrepancy, or can it be regarded as a simple typographical error?

Let’s look at the following Q&A.

Question

Dear Mr. Old Man,

What about the case where the email address in the bill of lading appears as “ABCSTANDARD.COM” without the “@” symbol or “(AT)”?

Would this constitute a discrepancy?

_______

Answer

Hi,

I assume the email address appears in the notify party details of the bill of lading.

If the letter of credit stipulates the notify party’s details, including its email address, then the notify party information shown in the bill of lading should correspond with the credit requirements.

In my view, the omission of the “@” symbol or “(AT)” in your specific case may be regarded as an obvious typographical or spelling error, provided there is no doubt as to the intended email address. Such an omission could therefore fall within the scope of ISBP 821 paragraph A23, which states that data containing obvious typographical or spelling errors that do not affect the meaning of the word or the sentence in which they occur need not be regarded as conflicting data.

Accordingly, I would not consider the omission of the “@” symbol or “(AT)” alone to be a valid reason for refusal, provided the intended email address remains clear and there is no ambiguity or conflict with the letter of credit requirements.

That said, the final determination always rests with the examining bank, which must assess the document as a whole and decide whether the omission creates any uncertainty regarding compliance with the credit.

Best regards,

Mr. Old Man