This question is one that has been raging in the Freight & Logistics Professionals Group in the business networking portal LinkedIn for some time now.. There have been many comments to the same, some logical, some not..
I thought i would throw this question out to the readers of this blog and see what your views are on the same..
Under FOB terms – who should bear the charges for issuance of B/l : Shipper or Consignee??
It is a thought provoking question and i hope we can get some good answers here..
Oh God, my English! Please read consignee instead of consignor. Such a stupid mistake.
For me, this issue is pretty much clear! The charges for issuance of B/L should bear a consignee, NOT a shipper. Why so?
An order to get a shipment on board comes to carrier from the consignor, not from the shipper. The consignor chooses the carrier and is responsible to pay haulage for his services. Actually, the shipper has no relations to the carrier. Ones the shipper is responsible for, is to get the shipment loaded on board. So he overtakes THC charges.
The B/L will be issued for the consignor, NOT for the shipper and for the consignment, over which the consignor takes all risks and which is already in his ownership.
So, by FOB term this is the consignor who bears B/L’s fee.
Hi Sirs,
I want to buy golf equipment from a seller in USA
for my business in my country. Should I choose FOB or CIF ?
Hey,
I was wondering how you obtained the capital to fulfil the ‘Bill of Lading’ if your payment terms are under a Letter of Credit? Is it the case that you require funding beforehand to facilitate the transportation and obtain the Bill of Lading or is the norm to have shipping covered by a prepaid (that is the bank releasing just enough money to cover shipping costs say 15%) Letter of Credit?
Working as an international trade broker with limited start up funds available this is a very pertinent detail I feel has been left out of most of the articles online (yours have been very helpful at least
)!
I look forward to your response!
Hi Javier, one persons import is the other persons export.. The bill of lading fee is a fee charged by the shipping line for the processing of the bill of lading on behalf of the client.. The question is whether this charge should be paid by the shipper who is responsible for the cargo to be delivery FOB or since this charge is incurred after the cargo is loaded on board, then should it become the liability of the consignee..??
All comments are export view oriented. What about the impoter ?; and what about the description of the services covered by these charges ant to what effective performed service are they related ?; for instance, the B/L fee, what costs are covered ? Shouldn`t they be included as part of the freight ? Why is there a separate cost for the issuing of the B/L if this is an obligation of the carrier under Hague Rules ?
Dear Sirs,
Please let me know the basic charges that we have to pay in mostly used Incoterms,
For Examples in FOB as a shipper we have to pay THC + BL Charges + Agents Fees
Thank you in advance
Kind Regards
Pillai