TRANSPORT DOUMENTS

By,

Rajatha Shetty

Shamala Bhat

Background:

• We all know, International trade

necessitates for evidence about trade

in the form of different documents.

• The need for these documents arise

out of commercial factors, exchange

control regulations in certain countries

require certain documents.

• Important documents are:

1. Bill of exchange.

2. Transport documents.

3. Marine insurance policy.

4. Invoices.

5. Other documents.

TRANSPORT DOCUMENTS

• Transport documents lies in the heart

of international trade transactions.

These documents are issued by

shipping line, airline, international

trucking company, rail road, freight

forwarders and logistic companies.

•There is a type of document for each mode

of transport

• All transport documents have in

common three elements:

–They are contracts for the carriage

of the goods.

–They serve as receipt of the

goods at the state destination.

–They have a similar structure in

terms of number of boxes, content

and language used.

Main Transport Documents

1. Bill of lading.

2. Multimodal bill of lading.

3. Airway bill.

4. Road, rail or inland waterway

transport documents.

5. Courier receipts.

6. CMR documents.

7. Cargo insurance certificate.

8. Packaging list.

9. Delivery note.

Bill of lading:

• Sometimes misspelled as "Bill of

Landing," the Bill of Lading (BOL) is a

legal document between the shipping

carrier and your business stating that

your shipping carrier has received the

goods you're shipping with them. For

most every type of shipping there is a

unique Bill of Lading layout that

provides specific instructions for the

shipping carrier.

• What Is A Bill of Lading?

• A Bill of Lading, in its simplest form, is a

receipt. The document states that the

carrier has received the shipment and

contains information about the shipper and

the receiver. There are several alternate

names and abbreviations for the term "Bill

of Lading:"

Bill of Landing (Common misspelling.)

BOL

B/L

Waybill (Common alternate names in the

FEATURES

• Nature of Bill of Lading.

A.Receipt of goods received by

carrier:

B.Evidence of contract of carriage.

C.Document to title of goods.

Contents of bill of lading:

• The general nature of goods.

• Leading marks for identification of the

consignment.

• The number of packages or pieces.

• The weights of the goods or their

quantity otherwise expressed.

• The apparent condition of the goods, normally BOL declares that the goods have been received in apparent goods order and conditions.

• The name and principal place of business of shipping company

• The name of shipper (consigner)

• The consignee.

• Notify addressee.

• The port of loading.

• The number of originals of bill of lading issued.

• The place of issuance of bill of lading.

• The signature of the master of the ship or

an agent of the shipping company.

• The freight to the extent payable by the

consignee or other indication that the

freight is payable by him or particulars of

freight paid.

Types of bill of lading:

Through or port to port bill of lading:

Where goods are to be carried by two

or more ships or partly by ship and

partly by train, the bill of lading

providing for continuous responsibility

of all the shipping companies or the

shipping company or railway

company is called a “through bill of

exchange”

Stale bill of exchange:

Occasionally in cases of short-over-

seas cargo transportation, the cargo

arrives to port before the Bill of

Lading. When that happens, the Bill

of Lading is then "stale."

Charter party bill of lading:

A complete ship may be made

available to a shipper for a particular

voyage or for a particular period of

time. These document containing the

terms and conditions of this contract

is known as the charter party.

House bill of lading:

A few freight forwarders indulge in

collection of cargo from different

shippers and arrange for a

consolidated shipment under their

name, normally in containers. They

issue their own bill of lading in favor

of the shippers who have entrusted

them with shipment. Such bill of

Liner bill of lading:

A liner vessel is a ship operating on a

fixed route between two ports or

series of ports. It operates a regular

scheduled service and the freight

charges can be quoted from a fixed

schedule. Its an arrangement

between liners operating on same

route to avoid unhealthy competition

among themselves.

Short form bill of lading:

A bill of lading, which indicates some or

all of the conditions of carriage by

reference to a source or document

other than bill of lading itself, is called

a short form or blank back bill of

lading.

Third party bill of lading:

It is a bill of lading in which the

consigner is a party other than the

seller. This BOL is acceptable

because Article 14(k) states that

shipper or consignor of the goods

indicated on any document need not

to be beneficiary of the credit.

Multimodal Bill of Lading :

i. A Multimodal Bill of Lading FBL is

an international transport document

covering two or more modes of

transport, such as shipping by road

and by sea.

ii. It is also used as a carriage

contract and receipt that the goods

have been received.

iii. It can be negotiable or non

Airway bill

An Air Waybill AWB is a non-

negotiable transport document

covering transport of cargo from

airport to airport.

Carriage by air is suitable where

quick delivery is essential. It is

frequently employed in carriage of life

saving drugs, costly and sophisticated

items etc where the parties require

the goods to be carried expeditiously

Nature and content of airway

bill:

Place and date of execution.

Place of departure and destination.

Agreed stopping places.

Name and address of consignee

Nature of goods

Value of goods

Number of packages and

identification marks

Weight, quantity and volume/

dimensions of goods.

Apparent conditions of goods and

packaging

Freight, paid or yet to collect.

Road, rail or inland waterway transport

documents:indicate the name of the carrier and:

be signed by the carrier or a named agent for or

on behalf of the carrier, or

indicate receipt of the goods by signature,

stamp or notation by the carrier or a named

agent for or on behalf of the carrier.

indicate the date of shipment or the date the

goods have been received for shipment,

dispatch or carriage at the place stated in the

credit. Unless the transport document contains a

dated reception stamp, an indication of the date

of receipt or a date of shipment, the date of

issuance of the transport document will be

deemed to be the date of shipment.

Courier receipts:

• A courier receipt, evidencing receipt

of goods for transport, must appear to

indicate the name of the courier

service and be stamped by the

named courier service at the place

from which the credit states goods

are shipped.

CMR document:

The CMR transport document is an

international consignment note used by

drivers, operators and forwarders alike

that governs the responsibilities and

liabilities of the parties to a contract for the

carriage of goods by road internationally.

The carrier usually completes the form, but

the sender -in other words the exporter-is

responsible for the accuracy of the

information and must sign the form when

on delivery, which is essential for the

carrier to be able to confirm the delivery of

The CMR transport document is not a

document of title and is therefore non-

negotiable.

This document is prepared by the

exporter and the freight forwarder and

is addressed to the importer and the

carrier.

Cargo Insurance Certificate:

The Cargo Insurance Certificate is

a document indicating the type and

amount of insurance coverage in

force on a particular shipment. It

includes the name of the insurance

company and conditions of

coverage.

In addition to these documents

prepared and managed transportation

companies, it should also mention

three other documents prepared by

the exporter which accompany the

goods during transportation:

international commercial invoice,

packing list and delivery note.

International Commercial

invoice:

• The International Commercial Invoice

is an administrative document which

contains all the information about the

international sale. The item, quantity,

price for the products/services sold,

delivery and payment conditions, as

well as the taxes and other expenses

that might be included in the sale, are

detailed in an International

Commercial Invoice.

Packing List:

The Packing List is a more detailed

version of the commercial invoice but

without price information.

It contains invoice number, quantity

and description of the goods, weight

of the goods, number of packages,

and shipping marks and numbers.

Although not required in all

transactions, it is required by some

countries and some buyers.

This document is prepared by the

exporter and addressed to the

importer, the carrier and the import

customs clearance.

Delivery Note:

Delivery Note is a document

accompanying the shipment of goods

that list de description and quantity of

goods delivered. A copy of the

Delivery Note, signed by the buyer or

consignee is returned to the seller or

consignor as a proof of delivery.

Delivery Notes have a dual function

for the exporter: justify the removal of

the products from its store and proof

credit delivery to the importer and

therefore it is important that de

importer sign the copy provided by

the carrier. For the importer, Delivery

Notes serve to verify that the goods

received match those listed on the

purchase order or contract. For the

carrier is the document used as a

proof of delivery of the goods.

Conclusions:

Transport documentation is needed

to provide instructions to the carrier

on what should be done with the

goods. They can be used to pass

responsibility for, and sometimes

ownership of, the goods during their

journey.

• The carrier should provide you with

documentary evidence that they have

received the goods, eg: a bill of lading or a

waybill. You should keep any documents

as evidence in case of later problems with

the shipment.

• You may need to insure the goods, and

you may also be required to provide proof

of insurance to your customer, particularly

if you are passing on the costs. You

should discuss what documentation is