International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP)

International Standard Banking Practice (ISBP)

Publication No.681

ISBP and UCP 600

v   Title of the Publication: International Standard Banking Practice for the examination of documents under Documentary Credits, 2007 revision for UCP 600.

v   International Standard Banking Practice documented in this publication (ISBP 681) are consistent with UCP 600 and the opinions and Decisions of the ICC Banking Commission.

ISBP and UCP 600

v   Complying Presentation means a presentation that is in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit, the applicable provisions of these rules and international standard banking practice.

v   Data in a document, when read in context with the credit the document itself and International Standard Banking practice, need not be identical to, but must not conflict with, data in that document, any other stipulated document or the credit.

Application and Issuance of the Credit

v   To avoid unnecessary costs, delays and disputes in the examination of documents, the applicant and beneficiary should carefully consider which documents should be required, by whom they should be produced and time frame for presentation.

v   The applicant bears the risk of any ambiguity in its instructions to issue or amend a credit.

Application and Issuance of the Credit

v   A request to issuer amend credit authorizes an issuing bank to supplement or develop the terms........of the credit

v   Some terns of UCP 600, defined in a manner, may produce unexpected results unless the applicant fully acquaints itself with these provisions.

Application and Issuance of the Credit

v   A credit should not require presentation of documents that are to be issued or countersigned by the applicant

v   Many of the problems that arise at the examination stage could be avoided or resolved by care full attention to detail in the underlying transaction, the credit application and issuance of the credit.

General Principles

v   Abbreviations for example Ltd in stead of Limited

v   A certification, declaration or the like may either e a separate document or contained within another document as required by the credit

v   Correction or alterations in documents, created other than the beneficiary, must be authenticated by the issuer or a party authorized be the issuer to do so

General Principles

v   Drafts, transport documents and insurance documents must be dated even if a credit does not expressly so required

v   Some expressions not defined in the UCP 600 and should not be used: shipping documents, stale documents acceptable, third party documents acceptable, exporting country

v   Issuer of Documents, Language or Typing Error

General Principles

v   Multiple pages, Original and copies of Documents, Shipping marks

v   Even if not stated in the credit, drafts, certificates and declarations by their nature require a signature

v   A signature on a company letterhead paper will be taken to be the signature of the company, a company name need not be repeated next to the signature

Drafts and Calculation of Maturity

v   “From” and “After” have got same meaning while calculating the maturity date of draft

v   In case of complying documents, the maturity date will be XXX days after the date of receipt of documents by the drawee bank

v   In case of non complying documents, the maturity date will be at the latest XXX date of acceptance of the draft by the drawee bank

v   A credit may be issued requiring a draft drawn on the applicant

Invoice

v   A document titled ‘Invoice’ will be acceptable in place of ‘Commercial Invoice’

v   The description of the goods in the invoice must correspond with the description in the credit, and there is no requirement of mirror image

v   Unless required by the credit, an invoice need not be signed or dated

Transport Document

v   A document need not be titled' multimodal transport document' or combined transport document’ to be acceptable under UCP600 article 19

v   The issuance date of a multimodal transport document will be deemed to be the date of dispatch, taking in charge or shipped on board unless it bears a separate dated notation evidencing dispatch, taking in charge or shipped on board, in which event the date of the notation is the shipment date

Transport Document

v   A bill of lading must appear to cover  a port-to- port shipment but need not be titled ‘marine bill of lading’, ‘Ocean bill of lading', port-to-port bill of lading’ or similar

v   The issuance date of B/L’s the date of shipment unless it bears a separate dated on board notation

v   The term ‘clean’ need not appear on a bill of lading; and shipment on more than one vessel is partial shipment

Transport Document

v   The date of issuance of an air transport document is the date of shipment unless the document shows a separate notation of the flight date

v   A Road transport document must appear to be the original for consignor or shipper or bear no marking for whom the document has been prepared

v   The railway bill can be a duplicate or carbon copy duly authenticated by the railway company's stamp

Insurance Document

v   An insurance document must be signed and must cover the risks defined in the credit

v   The insurance document must be issued in the currency of, and, as a minimum for, the amount required by the credit

Certificate of Origin

v   A certificate of origin must be issued by the party stated in the credit

v   If a credit does not state who is to issue the certificate, then a document issued by any party including the beneficiary, is acceptable