IS IT A DISCREPANCY IF ICE NUMBER NOT REQUIRED BY THE LC IS ADDED TO THE ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILS OF THE NOTIFY PARTY ON THE BILL OF LADING?

QUESTION

Dear Sir

We have an LC showing Applicant Name and Address without the ICE NUMBER: 001343300000073.

The BL shows this ICE Number:  001343300000073 in Notify Party.

Will this be a Discrepancy?

Also, if this is not a discrepancy, can you quote the Clause from ISBP proving this.

Regards

C.R. Nishanth

—-

ANSWER

Hi,

According to UCP 600 sub-article 14 (j), when the addresses of the beneficiary and the applicant appear in any stipulated document, they need not be the same as those stated in the LC or in any other stipulated document but must be within the same country as the respective addresses mentioned in the LC. Contact details (telefax, telephone, email and the like) stated as part of the beneficiary’s and the applicant’s address will be disregarded. However, when the address and contact details of the applicant appear as part of the consignee or notify party details on a transport document subject to articles 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 or 25, they must be as stated in the LC.

It is understood from sub-article 14 (j) that the rule is applicable to all documents but excluding transport documents. Where the address and contact details of the applicant appear as part of the notify party details on a transport document, they must be as stated in the LC.

HOWEVER, in my humble opinion, ICE number or In Case of Emergency number in this specific scenario should be treated as additional information that does not conflict with the applicant’s address and contact details stated in the LC, thus, not a discrepancy.

Unfortunately, I cannot find any paragraph in the ISBP that supports my view.

Best regards,

Mr. Old Man