ICC Digital Library Forum

If an invoice is manually signed but does not show on its face that it is an original document, Is it acceptable?

The following is an extract taken from the ICC's Position Paper on original documents:

3.2 Hand signed documents.

Consistent with sub-paragraph (A) above, banks treat as original any document that appears to be hand signed by the issuer of the document. For example, a hand signed draft or commercial invoice is treated as an original document, whether or not some or all other constituents of the document are preprinted, carbon copied, or produced by reprographic, automated, or computerized systems.

The whole document is available in the "ICC Policy Statments" section of this site(the link is to the right of the page).

Yes. The reason being that once the document is signed manually it acquires a new identity by affixing that signature. Since signatures are in original, the document in itself becomes original.

i am in sapport of the above openions. as long as it seems on it's face to be original and being manually signed is good enough.

A manually hand signed invoice is deemed an original - so no need for the ORIGINAL INK STAMP.

The Glencore Int'l v. Bank of China decision deems documents prepared by reprographic means with signatures not originals. It may still have its impact on those parts of the world that are under English law. So be careful, particularly that the judicial decisions of recent cases create some unpleasant surprises on forum for litigation and applicable law. The ICC Banking Commission Decision Paper, ICC Document No. 470/871 Rev. dated 29 July 1999 should offer protection to the parties in other parts of the world. It deems a document an original if it bears a signature.

I often convey this risk management concept in my UCP 500 workshops by interpreting "LC" as "Look Carefully" and "DC" as "Do/Deal/Draft/De-bug Carefully". Do you folks have better interpretaions? Please write to me.

As an LC consultant, I do see some LCs from certain parts of the world (please forgive me not being able to name those countries for sensitivity reasons) with a special clause saying that the ICC Decision Paper, ICC Document No 470/871 Rev. dated 29 July 1999 does not apply. So look carefully the data content of the LC you deal with!

I am from www.tolee.com


[edited 5/25/01 12:05:32 AM]
[edited 10/26/01 3:54:04 AM]