Whether B/L Needs To Bear The Signing Date

[ofei]

Dear all,
Recently a post is discussed warmly in China. Whether the singing date of B/L is compusory. From stipulations of Maritime Code of The People's Republic of China, it is not necesarry item to constitute the validity of B/L though there is mostly the date of signing in practice.Moreover, there is often the on board date on the face of B/L, so my personal viewpoint is missing of the signing date won't change the validity of B/L.
Looking forward to your comments.

[jmitra]

dear ofei,

ISBP paragraph 13 says

Drafts, transport documents and insurance documents must be dated even if a credit does not expressly so require.

i dont think this requirement refers to a on board notation.

regards

mitra

[iLC]

assuming that signing date means the preprinted issuance date

ISBP paragraph 13

Whether other documents require dating will depend on the nature and content of the document in question.

now the question is whether bill of lading require a issuance date? UCP is silent on the issue but in UCP, BL issuance date play an important role in determining the date of shipment. at the same time it also true that an on board notation superset the issuance date as a shipment date. but the date of issuance date is still the date of issuance.

whether a signing date will serve the job or not is a difficult question. i think issuance date is still necessary. an on board notation with date does not guarantee correct determination of the shipment date since an on board notation may refer to pre-carriage or port of shipment. an on board notation will deem the requirement for a signing date only if it include date of shipment, name of the port of loading and name of the vessel

[ofei]

Tks for your replies.
In view of law insight, i still believe that issuance date won't make a bill of date become invalid. This has been proved in China marine code. Someone thinks that without the issuance date, the holder of the B/L may find it big problem to lodge claims due to agreed time for claims. That should be clarified that the time limit for claims is in relation to the date when the consignee receives goods instead of issuance date of B/L.
The key problem here is whether ISBP paragraph 13 needs the date of issuance for B/L. B/L is a special document compared with draft or insurance policy. There are usually two dates on b/l. I think the shipping date (on board notation) is more important and practical than signing date.
Is there any ICC querry to this issue?

[cristiand969]

Dear all,
have you missed the unpublished opinion no. TA634 with exclusively deal with this issue.
We quote you the conclusion :
Conclusion It should be noted from the text of the query under ICC Opinion R. 285 that the question as to whether or not a transport document, in that case a non-negotiable sea waybill or multimodal transport document, should indicate two dates - one for the date of issuance and one for the on board date - was posed by a transport (shipping) company. This was probably based on the manner in which their transport documents were issued. This query is also based on the manner in which a bill of lading has been issued by a shipping company. From the example of the bill of lading presented under this request for Opinion, there is no field for a place and/or date of issue. There is only a field labeled "Shipped on Board Date". The structure of a transport document is not governed by the UCP; this is for each shipping company or agent to determine. From the details relating to this particular bill of lading, there is no requirement for a date of issuance; therefore, completion of the shipped on board date serves two purposes: (1) the date of issuance of the document and (2) the date that the goods were shipped on board. A document issued in the format provided is not discrepant if it does not contain a date of issuance. The shipped on board date would constitute the date of the bill of lading for the purpose of ISBP publication 681 paragraph 13.
regards
Cristian

[shahriar]

great find dear cristain. truly appreciated

regd

shahriar

[iLC]

opps

[ofei]

Thank you Cristian,I am feeling dumb here. Does it mean only date of on board notation is enough since it can be used for both on board shipping date and signing date?
:oops:

[cristiand969]

Check the terms and condition of the credit and articulate them with document in question and above stated ICC opinion.
No one can give you a precise answer unless has seen all documentation.
Regards
C