First, the document "strictly meets" the requirements.
In international trade, if the documents submitted are inconsistent with the letter of credit issued by the buyer through the bank, the bank has the right to refuse to pay, so the documents made and submitted by documentary practitioners should "strictly meet" the requirements of the letter of credit, mainly reflected in the following points:
1. Single agreement, consistent file. Simple agreement refers to the consistency of all documents provided under the letter of credit, which means that the relevant provisions of all documents should not contradict the requirements in the letter of credit.
2. the surface is consistent. It mainly means that there is no conflict between documents and letters of credit. In practice, if the transaction is conducted under CIF conditions, if the relevant documents fully meet the requirements of the letter of credit, but the goods are lost in transit, the bank still needs to pay; If the documents do not meet the requirements of the letter of credit, even if the goods are in good condition, the bank has 100% right to refuse to perform its obligations.
3. Flexible handling of the principle of consistency. In business, the requirements for single consistency and document consistency cannot be mechanically understood as word for word, but should be handled flexibly according to the actual situation. In this regard, a few examples are as follows: first, the number of pieces expressed by marks and numbers stipulates that 1-UP, unless explicitly stipulated in the letter of credit, should generally be understood as the actual number of goods exported; Second, when the trading conditions are FOB and CFR, the insurance matters should be handled by the buyer, but the letter of credit issued by the buyer can require the seller to provide an insurance policy, which is accepted by the seller without violating the principle (the buyer bears the relevant expenses); Similarly, under FOB conditions, it is feasible to indicate "freight prepaid" on the transport document of the letter of credit as long as there is freight; Third, the signatures and seals of documents may not be completely consistent: invoices, boxes, etc. Both are in English, but the signature of Chinese legal representative and company name are normal documents; 4. The consignee column of different documents should be filled in: "too much" or "too much" should be filled in the bill of lading payable, and the specific buyer name should be filled in the certificate of origin; Fifth, the name of the goods in the invoice should be strictly consistent with the letter of credit or contract, while other documents can only show the common name/common name/category name of the goods; Sixthly, the letter of credit does not prohibit partial shipment/transshipment. As long as the amount is consistent, banks usually accept documents for partial shipment and transshipment. There are many similar examples, so I won't list them here.
4. Banks "four no matter". When handling letter of credit business, banks insist on checking the authenticity of documents, regardless of goods, parties and contracts. In this case, the beneficiary must fulfill his obligations according to the consistency and consistency of documents, otherwise it is difficult to claim rights from the bank.
Second, the "five requirements" of document production
The "five requirements" are * * * ten words, and the operation is not difficult. If you really do these ten words, it means that your preparation level is perfect and unparalleled.
1. correctness. Accuracy is the premise of all document work. The documents required to be presented must first meet the consistency requirements between documents, secondly, all kinds of documents must meet the requirements of international trade practices and laws and regulations of various countries/industries, and the third document must be consistent with the goods represented.
2. Integrity. In a sense, it mainly refers to the integrity of all documents involved in a business. It can be understood from the following aspects: First, the content is complete; Second, the number of copies is complete; Third, the completeness of species. The contract/letter of credit for documentary sales will clearly specify which documents the exporter is required to submit, how many copies, whether there are original and duplicate requirements, whether there is endorsement, and what should be marked on the documents, all of which must be met.
3. Timely (timely; ; It means that there is no delay in the production of documents. Specifically, it can be understood as: timely preparation of documents, timely examination of documents, timely delivery of documents, and timely collection of foreign exchange. Making documents is a complex project, most of which is completed by the exporter, and some of them need the cooperation of relevant departments; Audit should pay close attention to * * * to ensure that all qualified documents are submitted to relevant parties within the specified time. Timely delivery of documents definitely means timely collection of foreign exchange, which means the beginning of another benign business link.
4. Conciseness means that the documents made are simple and clear. UCP500 stipulates that "in order to prevent confusion and misunderstanding, banks should discourage adding too many details in the letter of credit or any amendment to it", and relevant experts also point out that there should be no content unrelated to the document itself.
5. Cleanliness means that documents should be clear, clean, beautiful and generous, with reasonable format design, clear priorities of content arrangement and prominent key contents. There should be no smearing, and try to avoid or reduce the modification of the label.
Three. Development, reform and unification of documents
Standardization and normalization of 1. file. With the development of international trade, many documents have been standardized and standardized. Usually, many documents (including letters of credit, bills of lading, insurance policies, certificates of origin, etc.). ) are the same or similar all over the world; Some clauses that once appeared in some documents no longer exist, such as e &；; Provisions on operating experience (if there are any problems); Many documents have unified filling specifications: 47 items of customs declaration, each with specific operating rules.
2. Electronization and modernization of documents. The former mainly refers to EDI documents, and now customs declaration and inspection are all online. The application for certificate of origin and quota license can be operated on the relevant official website of the Ministry of Commerce. Foreign exchange verification and tax refund must be registered online first, and modern communication means and the Internet can be fully utilized in the documentation work. In order to meet the requirements of e-commerce, the International Chamber of Commerce has also released the electronic UCP in due course, and plans to further revise the UCP500 revised by 1993 this year to meet the growing demand of modern international trade.
3. Documents from complex to simple. This trend is mainly reflected in the reduction of the types of documents required and the simplification of the contents of documents. As long as the credibility of both parties is good, the exporter directly delivers the goods to the importer and the importer pays directly, then the necessity of some documents is greatly reduced.
4. New documents keep appearing. A typical example is AMS (Electronic Manifest Declaration) required by US Customs after "9. 1 1" in 200 1; Container transport documents came into being with the appearance and development of container transport in 1960s. Issue certificates to determine the origin of our products after China and ASEAN reach a bilateral preferential trade agreement; The quota license reissued according to the agreement reached between China and Europe and China after China's entry into WTO; In 2006, the General Certificate of Origin will be issued by the Quality Inspection Bureau, which requires us to keep pace with the times and constantly learn and study new documents, practices and regulations.
5. Preparation of one-time vouchers. Many companies have documentation software. As long as the basic documents such as invoices are filled in carefully, other documents can be automatically generated, which will have higher requirements for the bill maker, because the documents made are correct and should be, and once mistakes are made, the business will be completely lost.
6. Unification of documents. Most documents involving all aspects of international trade have uniform regulations and requirements. Such as SWIFTMT700 letter of credit, bill of lading, insurance policy, certificate of origin, various domestic government control documents, etc. Of course, the invoices and boxes of China's import and export companies have yet to be unified.
Fourth, the basis for making documents.
What is the basis for making documents is a problem that must be paid attention to in international trade. From the production point of view, any kind of documents must follow certain legal basis.
1. Laws, practices and regulations. All documents required in international trade have corresponding laws, practices and rules. Common ones are China's Contract Law, Negotiable Instruments Law, Foreign Trade Law, Maritime Law, Insurance Law, United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, UCP500, E-2000, etc.
UCP, ISBP, URC522, URR525, INCOTERMS2000, etc. These regulations have a strong guiding significance for the preparation of documents.
2. Make documents according to the actual conditions of contracts, letters of credit and goods. In practice, it mainly refers to the consistency of documents, documents, documents and goods. Documents must truthfully reflect the situation of the goods. Sometimes, in order to meet the requirements of letters of credit, it is necessary to make and issue documents that should not appear at all. Obviously, the goods can't be shipped within the stipulated time. In order to meet the requirements of the letter of credit on the time of shipment and presentation of documents, the shipper issues a financing guarantee to the shipping company in exchange for a clean bill of lading to present documents to the bank for settlement of foreign exchange.
3. Document production should meet the special requirements of various industries and departments. Cate has its own laws and family rules, and each industry has its own specific rules: for example, when we export textiles, we often meet foreign requirements to provide azofreecertificate (a special document related to human health without azo certificate); For poultry products exported to Islamic countries, importers sometimes propose that the Islamic association at the place of export issue relevant certificates; AMS manifest started in the United States and has now spread to Canada, Australia, Europe and many other countries. When pesticide products are exported to the United States, the European Union and other countries, importers usually ask exporters to provide MSDS (Hazard Data Card) of the exported pesticide products, and the exporting enterprises should complete and submit the relevant data in accordance with the prescribed format and requirements. These are not repeated here.