WHICH ARTICLE OF UCP 600 IS APPLICABLE FOR EXAMINATION OF A TRANSPORT DOCUMENT

QUESTION

Hi Mr Old Man,

Please help me with the following case:

Field 44E : VietNam
44F : Belgium
44B : France
45A : CFR Belgium
46A : Bill Of Lading, …notify: applicant ( france)
Cert of Origin and Health Cert must state final destination ( france )

B/l will state as follows

Port of Loading : Vietnam
Port of Discharge : Belgium
Place of Delivery : Belgium
(Shipping Line do not accept to state Place of Delivery as France)

I want to ask that: Is the B/L complying if it states Place of Delivery as above?

Applicant does not amend L/C because they said that “The amendment is to delete the final destination but it is incorrect. We insist to state Final destination is France, because all the goods under this shipment will be sold in France, please understand and follow the other suppliers. You can explain to the shipping line that the clause Final destination : France has nothing to do with them.”

Please give me an advice,

Thanks a lot,

AL
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ANSWER
Hi,
According to sub-article 19 (a)(iii), A transport document must appear to indicate the place of dispatch, taking in charge or shipment and the place of final destination stated in the credit…
The fact that the B/L indicates Belgium as the place of delivery/final destination does not comply with the L/C requirement.

Last but not least, as the L/C indicates Vietnam and France as Place of Receipt and Place of Delivery (place of final destination) respectively, then in accordance with ISBP paragraph 75, the multimodal transport document presented must indicate the ACTUAL place of receipt and place of delivery, i.e., a named place in Vietnam and a named place in France.

Best regards,
Mr. Old Man

P/s: According to ISBP, if a credit gives a geographical range for the place of taking in charge, dispatch, loading on board and destination (e.g., “Any European Port”), the multimodal transport document must indicate the actual place of taking in charge, dispatch, shipped on board and destination, which must be within the geographical area or range stated in the credit.
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QUESTION

The price in the L/C is CFR Belgium and the transport document is a port to port B/L. Should we check the B/L against Article 20?
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ANSWER

Hi,

The transport document in your case shall be examined against article 20.

Incoterms does not decide which type of transport document is to be presented as well as which article of UCP 600 is to be applicable for examination.

According to Document No.470/1128rev final – 22 April 2010, transport documents must be examined under the article that is applicable to the conditions stated in the L/C. These conditions include: the type of document that is to be presented and the details given with respect to the shipment of the goods e.g., those shown in fields 44A, E, F or B of the MT700, 710 or 720. Transport documents are not examined under the article applicable to the type of document that has been presented. For example, an MT700 is issued requiring presentation of a bill of lading with field 44E showing Rotterdam and field 44F showing Hong Kong. A transport document that is presented showing Paris as place of receipt, Rotterdam as port of loading and Hong Kong as port of discharge will be examined under article 20 and not article 19

The issuing bank should advise the applicant to select the appropriate transport document:

If the L/C indicates field 44E and field 44F only, a port to port B/L should be required for presentation.

If the L/C indicates field 44A and field 44B only, a multimodal transport document should be required.

If the L/C indicates any three fields from 44A, E, F or B (or all of them), a multimodal transport document should be required.

Best regards,
Mr. Old Man