Bill of Lading is a legal document, used between a shipper and a carrier that specifies the type, quantity, and destination of the goods that are being carried. The bill is also used as a shipment receipt when the carrier delivers goods at the predetermined destination. One of the most important documents involved with a shipment is the Bill of Lading.
A Bill of Lading is a receipt for the cargo, which contains all the pertinent information for the shipment. It is provided as a Master Bill of Lading from the Carrier, or a House Bill of Lading from the NVOCC. It includes the shipper/consignee information, container numbers, seals, piece counts, weights, and more. Without the Bill of Lading, the cargo cannot be released. Therefore, it is imperative that the information on the Bill of Lading is clear and accurate. The Shipper is ultimately responsible for the information that will appear on the final Bill of Lading. They, or their NVOCC/Forwarder, will provide this information on a document called the Shipping Instructions. This document must be supplied to the Carrier before the Documentation and AES cut-off (generally the day before the cargo cut-off, but this will depend on the first transshipment port and country of destination.) Before a Carrier will accept a shipment, they must receive clear, and accurate, Shipping Instructions that contain all of the necessary information for the shipment. For a trade to be classified as merchanting trade, goods acquired shall not enter the Domestic Tariff Area.
Considering that in some cases, the goods acquired may require certain specific processing/ value-addition, the state of goods so acquired may be allowed transformation subject to the AD bank being satisfied with the documentary evidence and bonafide of the transaction. The MTT shall be undertaken for the goods that are permitted for exports/imports under the prevailing Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) of India as on the date of shipment. All rules, regulations, and directions applicable to exports (except Export Declaration Form) and imports (except Bill of Entry) shall be complied with for the export leg and import leg respectively. AD bank shall satisfy itself with the bonafide of the transactions. Further, KYC and AML guidelines shall be scrupulously adhered to by the AD bank while handling such transactions.
