Local, Competent etc

[picant]

Hi Pals,

If a l/c calls for "Certificate of origin issued by Local Chamber of Commerce" you will accept:

a) Certificate of origin issued by any Chamber of Commerce;

b) Certificate of origin issued by anyone (e.g Veterinary Clinic or a Bookshop, etc), but not by the l/c beneficiary.

Please inform me asap

Thanks and Ciao

[shahriar]

dear picant, i vote for A. and ICC declares "A" as a the official winner!!

Where an L/C called for a certificate of origin from a local chamber of commerce
Official Opinion TA652rev - Unpublished UCP 600 From UCP600 - UCP 600 article 3

QUERY
An L/C calls for a certificate of origin from a local chamber of commerce. The product is of foreign origin. Does "local chamber of commerce" mean local where the beneficiary is or local where the product originates?
Analysis
Reference to "local chamber of commerce" provides no specifics as to whether it is local as to the origin of the goods, the location of the beneficiary or the place from which shipment, dispatch or receipt is to be made. A similar circumstance was covered in ICC Opinion R. 392, whereby a credit required a certificate of origin to be legalized by the chamber of commerce in the exporting country. In that case, the use of the words "exporting country" raised the same kind of possibilities concerning the place at which legalization could occur.
Conclusion
The answer to this question lies in the content of an interpretation provided in article 3 of UCP 600. Therein it is stated "Terms such as 'first class', 'well known', 'qualified', 'independent', 'official', 'competent' or 'local' used to describe the issuer of a document allow any issuer except the beneficiary to issue that document." Applying this interpretation in the context of this query, any chamber of commerce may issue the certificate of origin.

[berry]

i think option b is also acceptable. i think there is also a opinion that says that if any institute shows that they are the official representative of the chamber of commerce, then certificate from any institute will be acceptable.

[jmitra]

Dear berry,

if any legal person says that he is the authorized agent of XYZ, then he is actually giving up is own entity at this point and acting on behalf of XYZ. so when a institute says that they are authorized or part of the chamber of commerce, then they are actually acting as the chamber of commerce rather than as the institute that they appear to be.