Bill of Lading abbreviated as BoL or B/L is an important document during shipping of the vehicle. It is a legal document between the shipper of used vehicles and the carrier listing the type, quantity and destination of the vehicles being transported. All Japanese used cars exported to different countries are accompanied with the Bill of Lading, no matter the form of transportation.
The Bill of Lading serves three important purposes:
- Receipt of vehicle shipment.
- Evidence of Contract of Carriage.
- Document of Ownership.
It is one of the most crucial documents associated with trade. Since it is a document of title, it is used as proof of transportation of vehicles in various authorities all over the world. It is important to keep title to the cars until the transaction is complete. This means that the Bill of Lading still remains a vital document within international trade.
There are two types of B/L, either straight Bill of Lading or Order Bill. In straight bill vehicle is delivered to a chosen party, while in case of Order Bill, vehicles are shipped to the order of a named party. B/L can be both negotiable and non-negotiable. In negotiable form (sometimes known as Order Bill), B/L is issued in original and maybe consigned “To Order” or “To Order of Shipper” or “To Order of ABC Bank”. In non-negotiable form, a sea waybill may be issued instead of Bill of Lading. As under Article III of the Hague-Visby Rules, a carrier must, on demand, provide the shipper with a bill of lading; but if the shipper agrees, a lesser document such as a “sea waybill” may be issued instead. The sea waybill does not grant title of the cars to the bearer, hence there is no need for the physical document to be presented for the vehicles to be released. The carrier will automatically release the cars to the consignee once the import formalities have been completed. This results in a much smoother flow of trade.
However, for Letter of Credit transactions, in negotiable form, Bill of Lading is commonly used in letter of credit transactions and may be bought, sold, or traded, or used as a security for borrowing money. It is an important financial instrument and contains the following information:
- Consignor’s/Exporter’s and Consignee’s/Importer’s name.
- Name of departure and destination ports.
- Itemized list of cars being transported with number of packages and kind of packaging.
- Vessel’s name
- Date of Departure.
- Freight rate and amount.
- Marks and numbers of the packages.
- Weight and/or volume of the cargo.
At the time of vehicle clearance, B/L is required at the destination port and must be signed by authorized representatives from the carrier, shipper and receiver. Nowadays, electronic Bill of Lading (eB/L) is used as a substitute of paper B/L as it resolves the issue of cost and inefficiency. The eB/L is equally legal and functional to that of paper bill of lading. The core functions of B/L such as receipt, evidence of contract of carriage must be replicated by eB/L and in case of negotiable, as a document of title.
B/L is necessary document while vehicle shipment. It is in general, an agreement between the dealer, the carrier and the buyer. If B/L turns out to be inaccurate or wrong, then one may face harsh consequences such as buyer may not receive the vehicle or may lost the right of insurance. From buyer’s point of view, it is important while claiming compensation in case of being scammed while buying a used vehicle. Even while resolving any disputes regarding ownership of the car in some cases, B/L is required.
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