ICC Digital Library Forum

Would appreciate your views on the following situation:
A l/credit allows partial shipments and is available with the advising bank at 90 days after invoice date. Documents required are a commercial invoice and a road consignment note (CMR).
The nominated bank, under a single cover letter, makes a presentation for the full l/c amount. Documents presented are eight commercial invoices bearing the same date and eight CMR.
The issuing bank notes a discrepancy in beneficiary's designation in all the invoices submitted and communicates it to the presenter. Also, as the l/c stated that in case of a discrepant presentation a USD 100 fee would be deducted, the issuing bank informs that it will consider that eight presentations have taken place, not a single one, and that USD 800 will be deducted.
We are dealing with a single cover letter, forwarded by the presenter as one single presentation, including eight complete sets of discrepant documents.
Has the issuer any legitimacy to separate the sets of documents and claim the discrepancy fee in octuplicate?
Thanks for your opinions.

Was a draft required? If yes, was it a single draft for the total of the eight sets of documents or did each set of documents have a single draft?
If there was a single draft for the full amount and only one of the sets of documents had a discrepancy, would you expect the issuing bank to pay on the other seven sets and to refuse payment on one set - or would you expect the issuing bank to refuse the entire presentation?

Good afternoon, Don.
No draft was actually required or presented.
Presentation consisted of six commercial invoices, sequentially numbered, for different amounts but with the same date and six road consignment notes (CMR), one for each truck with different dates.
The nominated bank's instructions in the cover letter requested the payment of the aggregate amount of the invoices.
Thanks for your opinion on this particular circumstance.

It seems to me that effectively the issuing bank had to examine eight (first posting) / six (second posting) sets of documents and therefore should be entitled to charge accordingly.

Sorry, Jeremy and Don, I made a mistake in my message dt. August 16th.
The SINGLE presentation consisted of EIGHT commercial invoices, sequentially numbered, for different amounts but with the same date and EIGHT road consignment notes (CMR), one for each truck with different dates.
Each one of the EIGHT invoices presented the same discrepancy in beneficiary's designation.
The nominated bank's instructions in the cover letter requested the payment of the aggregate amount of the EIGHT invoices.
I apologize for the inconvenience and once again thank you for sharing your views.

As there was a single covering letter from the presenting bank, it be considered as a single presentation and only USD100 deducted.