Bill of Lading

* Introduction of the Bill of Lading â€Å"Lading† is another word for cargo. Lading refers to the material goods that are transported by the carrier from one location to another on behalf of a sender and a receiver. Such transportation may be carried out by way of ground transport, by aircraft or by cargo ships. Carriers use the bill of lading associated with a given shipment to ensure that goods are delivered safely to the sender as the shipper had named. â€Å"Bill of lading† is a legal document which is using by the shipping companies and freight companies. The purpose of the bill of lading is to acknowledge that the carrier has received the goods. The bill of lading transfers the title, or legal ownership, of the goods to the carrier; therefore. If there anything happens to the goods in transit (at the en route), the carrier is responsible for paying for the damages. The bill of lading is a receipt given to the person who shipping the products. Delivery time and method of delivery are also outlined within the bill of lading. This is a standardized form which is provided by licensed carriers to be filled out by the party sending a shipment. The most prominent feature of the B/L is the list of all items contained in the shipment, with spaces for individual quantities and their condition at the time of shipment. And also the B/L must state the value of all items and include the names and signatures of both the consigner and the consignee. The ports of consigner and the port of the consignee are also very essential. There is a description about how shipping materials are packaged in the shipment. Also it was noted, total weight of items and the total cost charged by the carrier for the service. Legally, Bill of lading is representing goods of value and their ownership. It should be written as a negotiable document or non-negotiable document. In any case, the producer is shipping an order of goods to a paying recipient, so that a transaction will be completed at delivery, then the Bill of lading must be non-negotiable. But if the ownership and delivery of goods associated with a negotiable B/L may be transferred from one party to another. For this reason, negotiable B/Ls may be used in as collateral for securing a loan. The transport of goods from one destination to another bears the risk that the goods may be lost or sustain damage en route. Though professional carriers go to great lengths to ensure the safety and proper care of their cargo, loss and damage can occur. For the receiver, a shipment's B/L is a ynamic snapshot of the shipment prior to its voyage. If the receiver finds fault with the goods in terms of content, quantity or condition by virtue of any discrepancy between the shipment and the B/L's contents, she may pursue legal action against the carrier using the B/L as evidence for her case. * Functions of the Bill of Lading 2. 1. As a receipt of cargo Bills of lading often are prepared by shippers and carriers, if they prepare bills of lading, must rely principally on information suppl ied by shippers. Carriers often will have little opportunity, in the course of loading, independently to confirm all that is said by shippers as to the nature, condition and quantity of their cargoes, e. g. because cargo is concealed within packaging. Nonetheless, because the bill of lading is a receipt issued by the carrier, it is the carrier and not the shipper that will be liable to the receiver for any discrepancies between the quantity and apparent order and condition of the cargo on shipment, as acknowledged in the bill of lading, and of the cargo as delivered to the receiver. The bill of lading can be treated as conclusive evidence as between the carrier and a receiver and as at least prima facie evidence as between the carrier and the shipper, as to the number, weight or quantity and apparent order and condition of the cargo on loading. Two types of bill of ladings can be issue in within this scenario, * Clean Bill of lading – Carrier is declaring that the goods have been received in an appropriate condition, without the presence of defects. The product carrier will issue a clean bill after thoroughly inspecting the packages for any damage, missing quantities or deviations in quality. Clause Bill of Lading – This shows a shortfall or damage in the delivered goods to the consignee. Typically, if the shipped products deviate from the delivery specifications or expected quality, the receiver may declare a clause bill of lading. That means, if there any differences between the B/L and the physical shipment, it has checking by the carrier and en ter some clauses regarding that differences before he start the voyage. 2. 2. Evidence of a contract In practice, because bills of lading often are transferred, by endorsement and delivery or mere delivery, not only from shippers to consignees (i. . the persons to whom the cargo is consigned or sent and, thus, the intended receivers of the cargo) but also by shippers or consignees to banks or onward to subsequent purchasers, a bill of lading will be the only evidence of the terms of the contract for carriage of the cargo that it covers that is available to a consignee or other transferee of the bill of lading. Thus, bills of lading in the hands of consignees or other, intermediate or subsequent, transferees often have to be assumed to contain all of the terms of the contract of carriage. . 3. Document of Title to Cargo Cargo often is intended to be sold, or sold on, after it has been consigned to a carrier and the consignee thus either might not be identified when a bill of lading i s issued or might thereafter alter. The shipper or consignee of a cargo sold, or sold on, after consignment to the carrier but not immediately paid for will require some assurance that the cargo will not be delivered to the purchaser or end purchaser before the price has been paid. Conversely, if the cargo is sold or sold on and paid for immediately after consignment to the carrier, the purchaser or end purchaser will require some assurance that the cargo will be delivered to it, and not to the order of either the shipper or the original consignee. Similarly, a bank might have advanced funds for the purchase of the cargo either to the original shipper, or to the consignee, or to a subsequent purchaser and will require some assurance that the cargo cannot be disposed of before the bank is reimbursed. It is not feasible for intermediate or subsequent transferees, or transferees for limited purposes, of a cargo that is dealt with afloat each to take physical possession of that cargo for the duration of their interest. However, it is both feasible and desirable for each of those transferees to control disposition of the cargo for a period of time, or to an appropriate degree, through control of a document representing an entitlement to the cargo. Thus, by mercantile custom, both â€Å"received for shipment† and â€Å"shipped on board† bills of lading have come to be treated as documents of title to cargo. The Process of issuing the Bill of Lading The bill of lading might be prepared by the shipper and presented to the carrier for signature, in which case it must be presented to the carrier within a reasonable time after completion of loading of the material cargo and signed by the carrier within a reasonable time of its presentation. Otherwise, and increasingly often i n practice, the bill of lading will be prepared by the carrier, principally from information supplied by the shipper, in which event it should be prepared, signed and delivered to the shipper within a reasonable time after completion of loading of its cargo Types of Bill of Ladings with different Labels 4. 1. Straight B/L A bill of lading that is not transferable by either delivery or endorsement and delivery, e. g. because it is marked â€Å"not negotiable† or is not made out to â€Å"bearer†, to â€Å"order† or to â€Å"assigns†. Straight bills of lading are used, for example, for â€Å"in house† shipments between divisions of large multinationals or when it is known for certain, prior to shipment of the cargo that the intended consignee will not sell the cargo on. . 2. Switch B/L A replacement bill of lading issued at the request of a consignee seller to replace the original bill of lading issued to that seller’s supplier as shipper, so a s to show the consignee seller as shipper and its own sub-purchaser as consignee. Such bills of lading are intended to keep the identity of the supplier from the sub-purchaser and thus to prevent future direct dealings between the supplier and the sub-purchaser. 4. 3. Sea way bill It is a receipt for cargo that contains or evidences a contract for the carriage of goods by sea and which identifies the person to whom the carrier is to deliver that cargo. Sea waybill differs from a bill of lading in that it lacks transferability and in that the designated consignee thus is not required to produce the waybill in order to obtain delivery of the cargo. 4. 4. Clean bill A bill of lading that contains no positive notation of a defective condition or shortage either of the cargo covered or, where material, of its packaging. 4. 5. Claused bill A bill of lading that contains a positive notation of a defective condition or shortage either of the cargo covered or, where material, of its packaging. 4. 6. Combined Transport/Multimodal Transport/House to House bill A bill of lading that covers not only carriage of cargo on an ocean going vessel but all or other stages and/or forms of carriage, e. g. carriage of the cargo by rail, road or barge from the shipper’s premises to an ocean port of shipment, from that port to an ocean port of discharge and from that port of discharge by rail, road or barge to the consignee’s premises. What contains in the Bill of Lading A bill of lading will contain the following information as a minimum requirement (see the Business-in-a-Box sample on the left to see the real template): – Shipper's name and address – Receiver's name and address – Carrier Name – Description of the items that are being transported – Gross weight and dimensions of the shipm ent – Classification of the commodity being shipped – Nomination and identification of the party who is paying for the transportation.