– Date of Issue
– Revocable / Irrevocable
– L/C Issuing Bank's Name & Address
– L/C Advising Bank's Name & Address
– Beneficiary
– Applicant
– Currency, Amount and Tolerance
– Availability with (freely available, restricted with any bank in country of
beneficiary, or restricted with confirming bank)
– Availability by (payment/negotiation/acceptance/deferred payment)
– Tenor (sight/usance)
– Expiry Date & Place (for presentation of documents. Also linked with
reimbursement clause)
– Presentation time (linked with several factors)
– Shipment From…. To….. (Transhipment considerations)
– Latest Shipment Date
– Description of Goods
– Documents required
– Additional Conditions
– Detail of charges (charges arising in country of buyer/seller)
– Reimbursement Clause (Direct/Indirect)
– Applicability of UCP, URR, ISP,
Although you can find a wealth of information by going through ICC
Publication but still their are things that a businessman has to keep in mind. On several issues UCP500 is very clear and has set a pre-determined criteria (e.g. shipment before LC issuance date is acceptable, Commercial invoices need not be signed, Documents must be presented before the expiry date, transhipment is acceptable if conditions of Art23 are fully met, Franchise clause in insurance documents is acceptable, ……..) which is sometimes not beneficial for both the parties and therefore the operation of specific UCP Art has to be excluded or need to be stated otherwise in LC.
The best way is to consult your banker and fully describe how you want a transaction to proceed and ask for a LC that way.
requirements.
To discuss issues involved in LC transaction you may subscribe to a mailing
list dedicated for this purpose alone trade_finance-subscribe@topica.com