Letter Of Credit, Invoice, Discrepancy

LETTERS OF CREDIT: STRICT COMPLIANCE

Banks are often accused of being nit-picky and overzealous when they examine documents against a letter of credit. It seems they want every “t” crossed and every “i” dotted. Would you believe one exporter did not get paid because of a simple apostrophe?

The United States remains one of the few countries that employs the imperial measurement system. As if that doesn’t generate enough confusion, it becomes even worse when Americans use abbreviations, which make no logical sense to the rest of the world.

HOW BIG WAS THAT T.V.?

The merchandise description in one letter of credit stated, “Shipment of TV sets with 24” screens.” The description on the invoice presented stated, “Shipment of TV sets with 24’ screens,” and the bank rejected the documents because of this discrepancy. In the United States an apostrophe and quotation marks have different meanings when used to signify a unit of measure. An apostrophe designates feet. Quotation marks designate inches.

In an earlier blog, we related the story of Holstein cows, 24 months pregnant. The use of a dash makes a significant difference between 24 months and 2-4 months.

IMPLICATIONS OF "DISCREPANCIES"

Is a bank too nick-picky to note these discrepancies? Probably not, because of the implications. The burden of accuracy falls on the preparer of the documents. Before they are sent to the bank for examination, the preparer must understand and follow the requirements of the letter of credit as well as the rules stipulated in the UCP 600.