ICC Digital Library Forum

*originally posted by premchai w

If a credit call for Cargo Receipt and C/R presented contain
1.cargo received date
2.issuing date of C/R
3.On Board date
all of date are difference. What is consider the shipment date?

*originally posted by T. O. Lee

1 Firstly, a Forwarder's Certificate of Receipt or Transport
(FCR or FCT) is not deeemed as a transport document within the
meaning of the UCP 500, as expressed by the ICC Group of Experts
in its answer to queries and Charles del Busto in ICC Publication
No. 511 page 87.

2 Although I do not see any ICC official opinion on Cargo Receipt
C/R) itself, I consider the C/R not a transport document within the
UCP 500 interpretation derived from my statement in para 1 above.

3 Therefore the C/R needs not state the on board date which is a
transport information that should appear in a transport document.
If it is stated, this date should be the same or after the date
of receipt from simple logic point of view. Never mind the date of
issue which can be after the date of receipt for reasons stated
below.

4 If the LC has stated clearly whether the issuing date or the
date of recipt is to be stated in the C/R, then the ansser is simple.
Just follow the instructions in the LC to determine compliance.

5 If the LC does not state this date, then I think the date of
receipt is more material than the issuing date that can be after
the date of receipt if the beneficiary trusts the receiver/applciant
and deliversw the goods to catch shipment deadline when the only
executive authorised to sign the C/R is not yet back from his
overseas trip. This can happen sometimes in China Trade, from my
experience in resolving trade disputes involving LC.

6 The date of issue may be meaningless and the applicant's
intention by demanding a C/R in the LC is to ensure that the goods
are received before the delivery deadline.


8 T. O. Lee of email address: experts@tolee.com

[edited 5/8/01 12:02:18 PM by sean (Moderator)]

As my banker only deems the issuance date on FCR as the last date of shipment, in preparing documents under DC I have to act accordingly even I am not totally agreed. I wonder since N/N Sea Waybill can also be accepted as one of the common transport document in the trade market, it is unreasonable that FCR has no such clear proviso in UCP. Nowadays, there are still many DCs calling for a document-FCR, especially for shipment to North and South America with applicant is a large purchasing company in USA. Usually, the DC stipulates a last shipment date and presentation of documents after certain days of shipment. It is very difficult for a DC practitioner to determine which date shown in the FCR as the shipment date and which date is used to count for last presentation date. Based on the difficulties faced on economy, the exporters seldom make necessary clarification through the Advising bank on the Issuing Bank. Sometimes, this kind of DC is used to open Back to Back DC, the exporters even object the Baby DC Issuing Bank to make clarification with the reason that this kind of DC already existed in the Banking Industry many years ago and they have no time to wait for the actual reply. The only solution for this kind of problems is tried to avoid in dealing with it but on the marketing point of view it is a hard decision.

a FCR is a receipt for the goods. It does not denote shipment and therefore may not have a shipment date and yet be valid. Although there are other significant differences, I might compare this to a B/L which is NOT shipped on board. It may have an issue date, but it is not acceptable as a transport document under the UCP.

If it cannot be regarded as a transport document, the shipment date, whether or not stated, has no bearing on the latest permissible date of shipment. Similarly a shipment date might equally be stated on an invoice, but the bank examining documents would not use this to determine date of shipment.