When CIF/CIP Value Cannot Be Determined — How Should the Invoice Be Issued? Intro In practice, banks and beneficiaries often face uncertainty when a credit requires a CIF or CIP term but does not state how freight or insurance should be shown. Must the invoice break them down? What if the actual freight or insurance charges are unknown at the time of issuing documents? Mr. Old Man shares some guidance based on ISBP … Read More
Negotiation with Recourse vs. Negotiation without Recourse — What’s the Real Difference? Introduction In export financing, the terms with recourse and without recourse often cause confusion, especially when applied to negotiation under LCs or discounting of drafts under collections. Although both methods provide early funding to exporters, the underlying risk allocation—and therefore the pricing and discounting ratios—are very different. Below is Mr. Old Man’s explanation to a reader who asked why banks … Read More
Applicant vs. Consignee on a Certificate of Origin — Does It Matter? A Practical Q&A with Mr. Old Man In documentary credit work, applicants, consignees, and importers often end up being the same party, yet the terminology on document templates is rarely consistent. A common question is: If the LC asks for the “Applicant,” but the COO form only provides space for the “Consignee,” will banks treat that as a discrepancy? Let’s … Read More
When a Confirming Bank Adds Its Own Sanctions Clause — Is It Allowed? Introduction Sanctions clauses continue to create operational challenges in documentary credit practice, especially when multiple banks apply different compliance standards. A common problem arises when the confirming bank adds its own sanctions requirement, even though the issuing bank has already inserted a sanctions clause in the LC. In this Q&A, we look at a real case involving an LC issued … Read More
CIF Breakdown and “Irrespective of Percentage” – Two Common LC Questions In today’s LC practice, two issues appear repeatedly and often cause confusion for both exporters and bankers. The first is whether an invoice under CIF or CFR must show a cost breakdown, especially the insurance premium. Many presentations include partial breakdowns—or even show freight as zero—raising the question of whether such invoices are compliant when the LC itself is silent. … Read More
How Should Issuance Commission Be Calculated for a Revolving LC with Declining Exposure? Intro: A practitioner raised a practical question regarding the appropriate method for computing issuance commission on a cumulative revolving LC, especially when the bank’s exposure changes over time. Below is the refined question and Mr. Old Man’s response. Question Dear Mr. Old Man, I would appreciate your guidance on the following: We have a cumulative revolving LC issued for USD … Read More
Can the Drawee’s Bank Cancel Its Aval after Confirming it by SWIFT? A Q&A with Mr. Old Man When dealing with documentary collections, many bankers assume that an aval—once issued—is as solid as steel. But what happens when an avaling bank suddenly cancels its commitment, cites problems with the underlying goods, and even goes to court? In this Q&A, Mr. Old Man breaks down how avalization really works, which rules govern it, … Read More
Is a Deduction Allowed on the Invoice When the LC Does Not Call for It? Introduction In trade finance practice, many beneficiaries issue invoices showing deductions — such as discounts, credit notes, or advance payment adjustments — even when the LC does not expressly authorise such deductions. This often raises the question: Is the presentation still acceptable under the LC? Below is today’s question from Rohini. QUESTION Dear Mr. Old Man, The LC does not … Read More
Can an Invoice on a CIF LC Show Freight and Insurance Separately? In today’s question, Muna raises an interesting point about price breakdowns in invoices under a CIF letter of credit. When the LC only states the total amount of freight and insurance, can the beneficiary still split these costs into separate lines on the invoice? Let’s take a look. Question Dear Mr. Old Man, If the LC uses Incoterms CIF with … Read More
Why Is Field 46A Optional? A light Q&A with Mr. Old Man on LC quirks Question Dear Mr. Old Man, I would like to draw your attention to Field 46A (Documents Required). I see that this field always contains the description of documents to be presented under the LC. I wonder why the status of this field is O (Optional) and not M (Mandatory). Please … Read More