5 new ICC Opinions approved by the ICC Banking Commission
Last week, the ICC met to discuss (and approve) 5 new Draft Opinions. Those were circulated today to the ICC National Committees.
The Opinions were:
470/TA941: Conditions as per survey report
The Query concerns a bill of lading that were refused on the basis of the following text on the bill of lading:
“Cargo Conditions As Per Survey Report issued by [name of survey company].”
The main conclusion was that this is not a valid refusal – and if the survey report had been presented it would be disregarded and may be returned to the presenter.
470/TA942: Authenticated guarantee demand
The Query concerns a demand under a guarantee was issued subject to URDG 758.
The core question asked is if an authentic SWIFT message was required.
The conclusion from the ICC was that an authentic SWIFT message was not required. Also noted in the Opinion is that a demand cannot be refused by a guarantor on the basis that it has revoked the SWIFT keys with the advising bank.
470/TA943: Documents sent on approval basis
The Query concerns a presentation of documents that were lost in transit between the advising bank and the issuing bank. The documents were not examined by the nominated bank, and a key question was what is actually meant when it is said that documents are sent “on approval basis”.
The conclusion was that the term “on approval basis” is widely understood to mean that the documents are forwarded without prior examination.
It was further noted that unless the nominated bank has confirmed the LC or has agreed otherwise with the beneficiary the nominated bank is not obligated to examine the documents.
In addition the conclusion makes it clear that UCP 600 article 35 is not limited to a named nominated bank and confirming bank (in case of documents lost in transit). A nominated bank can also be “any bank” if the LC is available with “any bank”.
470/TA944: Charter Party Bill of Lading consigned to the order of YYYY for and o/b of Beneficiary
The Query is a question about how a Charter Party bill of lading that is “consigned to the order of YYYY for and o/b of Beneficiary” must be endorsed.
The Conclusion is that
A blank endorsement on the charter party bill of lading could have been provided by either:
1: “YYYY Company” either with or without the addition of “(as agent for Beneficiary Company)” or
2: “Beneficiary Company”.
470/TA945: Empty envelope received
The Query concerns a case where the envelope that were supposed to contain the documents were received empty, undamaged and sealed.
The main conclusion was that, for the scenario outlined in the query, the documents are deemed to be “lost in transit” and therefore UCP 600 article 35 would apply.
And dare I say, a really “energetic” ICC Banking Commission where especially TA942rev and TA945rev attracted much discussion. The discussion was well managed by ICC Senior Technical Advisor Dave Meynell.
So again, thanks to the ICC for taking good care of the LC – and also demand guarantees.
Reviews of the new ICC Opinions (duly linked to relevant articles and paragraphs) have been added to lcviews premium.
Kind regards
Kim