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 …

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 …

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 …

Năm 2013, từ nền tảng blog WordPress, Mr. Old Man lập nên website www.mroldman.net với slogan quen thuộc: For Those Who Eat, Sleep and Breathe Letters of Credit – dành cho những ai thật sự “ăn, ngủ và thở” cùng thư tín dụng. Mười hai năm qua, Mr. Old Man đã chia sẻ 1.853 bài viết – chủ yếu là các Q&A …

Mr. Old Man Trade Finance Corner Sometimes, a simple LC clause can lead to surprising confusion. Terms like “within 15 days from issuance of shipping documents” or “invoice showing CIF/CFR breakdown” look harmless—but they often trigger misunderstandings on what counts as shipping documents and how much flexibility an invoice really has.  Below is today’s question from Priya, and my detailed …

Mr. Old Man answers a student’s question on transferable L/C practice  Transferable credits often create tricky situations – especially when documents are presented by a second beneficiary under a transferred LC. Recently, a student wrote to Mr. Old Man about a practical scenario involving discrepancies in the  second beneficiary’s presentation  and the role of the transferring bank. Below is the …

In practice, many Bills of Lading start out negotiable — issued “to order” — but later become straight when a bank or shipper endorses them to a named consignee. This often raises an important question:  Can the named consignee endorse the bill onward to a new buyer, or must they authorize that new buyer directly?  Let’s look at a real-life …

A practical Q&A with Mr. Old Man Intro In trade finance, insurance documents often come with wording that looks simple but can cause uncertainty at the time of document examination. Priya recently wrote to ask about two common issues: the meaning of an insurance “attaching after” cut-off date, and whether the signer’s capacity must be explicitly identified. Let’s take a …

A Practical Q&A with Mr. Old Man In trade finance, additional charges shown on a bill of lading often cause unnecessary anxiety—especially under CIF/CIP terms where the line between commercial responsibility and LC compliance can get blurry. In today’s question, Julia raises a common concern: does the notation “Destination Haulage Charge Collect” create a discrepancy? Let’s break it down. Question …

INTRO Every now and then, a single word in UCP 600 sparks an entire chain of questions. This time, it’s the word “commencing” in Article 31(b)—a term that often confuses practitioners when multiple bills of lading, pre-carriage, transshipment, and partial shipments are involved. Below is my detailed response to a reader’s excellent set of questions on how Article 31(b) interacts …