BILL OF LADING
The bill of lading is a document issued
by the shipping company or its agent acknowledging the receipt of goods on
board the vessel, and undertaking to deliver the goods in the like order and
condition as received, to the consignee or his order, provided the freight and
other charges as specified in the bill have been duly paid. It is also a
document of title to the goods and as such, is freely transferable by
endorsement and delivery.
Bill of
Lading serves three main purposes as a document of title to
the goods; As a receipt from the shipping company and as a contract for the
transportation of goods.
TYPES OF BILL OF LADING
CLEAN
BILL OF LADING
A bill of lading acknowledging receipt
of the goods apparently in good order and condition and without any
qualification is termed as a clean bill of lading.
CLAUSED BILL OF LADING
A bill of lading qualified with
certain adverse marks such as, "goods insufficiently packed in accordance
with the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act," is termed as a claused bill of
lading.
TRANSHIPMENT
BILL OF LADING
When the carrier uses other transport
facilities, such as rail, road, or another steamship company in addition to his
own, the carrier issues a through or transhipment bill of lading.
STALE
BILL OF LADING
A bill of lading that has been held
too long before it is passed on to a bank for negotiation or to the consignee
is called a stale bill of lading.
FREIGHT
PREPAID BILL OF LADING
When freight is paid at the time of
shipment or in advance, the bill of lading is marked, freight paid. Such bill
of lading is known as freight prepaid bill of lading.
FREIGHT
COLLECT BILL OF LADING
When the freight is not paid and is to
be collected from the consignee on the arrival of the goods, the bill of lading
is marked, freight collect and is known as freight collect bill of lading.
Contents
of Bill of Lading
- Name
and logo of the shipping line.
- Name
and address of the shipper.
- Name
and the number of vessel.
- Name
of the port of loading.
- Name
of the port of discharge and place of delivery.
- Marks
and container number.
- Packing
and container description.
- Total
number of containers and packages,
- Description
of goods in terms of quantity.
- Container
status and seal number.
- Gross
weight in kg. and volume in terms of cubic meters.
- Amount
of freight paid or payable.
- Shipping
bill number and date.
- Signature
and initials of the Chief Officer.
SIGNIFICANCE
OF BILL OF LADING FOR EXPORTERS
It is a contract
between the shipper and the shipping company for carriage of the goods to the
port of destination. It is an acknowledgement indicating that the goods
mentioned in the document have been received on board for the Purpose of
shipment. A clean bill of lading certifies that the goods received on board the
ship are in order and good condition. It is useful for claiming incentives
offered by the government to exporters. The exporter can claim damages from the
shipping company if the goods are lost or damaged after the issue of a clean
bill of lading.
SIGNIFICANCE
OF BILL OF LADING FOR IMPORTERS
It acts as a document of title to
goods, which is transferable endorsement and delivery. The exporter sends the bill of lading to the
bank of the importer so as to enable him to take the delivery of goods. The exporter can give advance intimation to
the foreign buyer about the shipment of goods by sending him a non-negotiable
copy of bill of lading.
SIGNIFICANCE
OF BILL OF LADING FOR SHIPPING COMPANY
It is useful to the shipping company
for collection of transport charges from the importer, if not collected from
the exporter.
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