Exporting importing terms

AAA: American Arbitration Association.
ACL: Atlantic Container Line.
ACN: Air Consignment Note.

AGENT: Ambiguous Term; One who produces power or exerts an effect- Could be said to mean matter of Bacteria or ie: Cleaning Agents ..but in a way also could be applied to the meaning of a Import export Agent and or intermediary.

Ideally denoting the realm on an intermediary trading applications in where the “Power” (skill, ability) of the intermediary Buyer or Seller is being applied -whether they are acting on behalf of a disclosed principal or not.

ASSIGNMENT OF CREDIT: Not suitable application for intermediary use.The Credit is only assigned and thus by its very design requires disclosure of the end buyer to the supplier and visa versa, making it an unacceptable financial instrument to ply.

ASWP: Must not be used by intermediary; “Any Safe World Port” is often indicative of a false offer being made, or an offer which has been dramatically marked up on price of the goods being offered, that no matter which delivery port is implied , Such a high price will take care of the freight component value of such physical delivery-

ATA: Admission Temporaire( Temporary Admission):
Note: Intermediaries wanting to send “Export sample” or those wanting to sell small lots via the post office as ‘Export samples” do so ; bypassing standard customs entry requirements via ATA application-

AWB: Airway Bill ( of lading) As it applies to goods going over a ships rails - so does it applies to Aircraft “shipments” in that - Once cargo doors are closed they are not allowed be opened, until destination has eventuated , hence he AWB is issued accordingly-

ARBITRATION: Legally binding manner for settling disputes by an “Arbitrator’
Arbitrage: Dealer in stock and bills of exchange to take advantage of differing prices.

BROKER: A person acting specifically on behalf a disclosed principal.ie:. A person selling insurance on behalf of lloyds of London..etc..etc.

BACK TO BACK: in where one financial instrument is opened to the Buyer/seller as active, in where the Buyer/seller uses such an instrument as collateral to open another credit to the supplier or to others in an intermediary string contract who likewise applies the same back to back procedures to the next in line-Dangerous and complicated process of days gone by- and except for “in house DLC” application as advised- intermediaries must no apply said types of “back to back” procedures on any deal- and that;in any case- banks will not accept another DLC as being ample security to open a new DLC is also another reason why intermediaries must avoid such applications outright.

B.C.L: Cannot be effectively applied by intermediaries ‘”Bank Comfort Letter” can only be produced after the intermediary has become “RWA”- An intermediary must have supply before RWA becomes apparent-Hence by default the BCL is ineffective at a point of time in a transaction that requires the issuance of s DLC and not a BCL to prevail.

BUYER: An intermediary who is really acting as a buyer then seller of goods ( Buyer/seller) Differing to an END Buyer who is actually taking possession of and paying for such goods.

BUYER/SELLER; A person acting as a Buyer in one instance then seller in another - An entity who has both the end buyer and supplier in their control.One who buys goods from the supplier using his end Buyers funds -A true intermediary.

BENEFICIARY: An ambiguous terms used by bank to identify the “Beneficiary” to the credit- often defines to imply ” Intermediary or agent” position.

CRF: Cost and Freight: (INCOTERMS)

CFS: Custom Freight Station. Important as CFS could imply a delivery point mainly in FCL business.

C.I.F: ( Incoterms ): Cost Insurance and Freight: Used in bulk shipments of goods.

CIF& C :Variable on Incoterms ; Cost , Insurance, Freight and Commission.
intermediaries have failed to take advantage of CIF&C delivery applications.

CLEAN: Unqualified: Not marked with ambiguous terms - In accordance with the DLC terms and conditions , “clean” documents not in contrary to said DLC terms and condition must be presented-, then accepted within 5 days of such before collection proceeding is allowed to apply-

C.I.P: Freight and Carriage paid to: Used in Container deals, in place of CIF.
C.P.T: Carriage Paid to:
CRN: Custom registered number.

COLLECTION: “DLC Issuance” is about the conditions which prevail for the issuance of a DLC. “Collection” is another process is where the issuing bank has accepted the presentation documents and allows collection upon the credit to proceed in accordance with another set of rules defined by the acronym “ URC” (Uniform Rules of collection) URC defines on procedures on how such funds will be paid- While UCP issuance rules defines on what kind of credit is going to be issued, as well as to the matter of issuance itself-

COUNTER OFFER; An offer which has not been accepted is automatically implied to be rejected- to which a “Counter offer” may prevail. Counter offer issuance automatically implies that the rejection of the original offer is in play.

CONFIRMATION: Confirmation applied to a credit means among other things that the bank of the intermediary transacting as a buyer/seller- the “Advising bank” does not need to simply adhere to the conditions of the issuing bank, and may act upon and pay out upon the virtues of the credit at the “Advising bank” . A Confirmed credit means that the issued credit has been backed by another world leading bank .

COMMISSION: An agreed upon: Payment made for services rendered- Specifically as it applies to intermediaries- “A payment made for services rendered which has lead to the closing of a successful import/export deal” In where the goods where sold at a higher price, to which the intermediary claiming commission has contributed in enabling such goods to be sold for gains and or profit.

CT: Combined Transport :
CTO: Combined Transport Operator.
CY: Container Yard.

DEMURRAGE: As defined under “Lay can”: A rate of charge payable to the Ship owner by the charterer for failure to unload or load goods within the time allowed- May also apply to railway carriages: The ship owner is paid a fee per every “late” day -as such a ship owner is unable to charter the ship to another party because of such delays being apparent- Not a concern to Intermediaries as per “Lay Can” applications- The intermediary has completed ‘Delivery” long before the ship arrives or needs to unload. All such matters are applied to the principals in the transaction and not the intermediary. As such matters are imposed by a supplier to the seller/ buyer on contract, so does the seller apply to his end buyer the same terms and conditions accordingly.

DELIVERY: The term “Delivery” is specific and means “ Delivery of title documents “ and not delivery of goods-ie:. “Port of destination and delivery Ningbo China” implies “Physical delivery of goods” - “Delivery 45 days after DLC acceptance” defines “Delivery of title” documents and not goods. Intermediaries must uses delivery in meaning title delivery and nothing more-”Delivery” as defined under Incoterms is being advised”, is an appropriate statement to apply by intermediaries on offers and quotes-


DLC: Documentary Letter of Credit: Only a DLC no matter if issuance format my be used to pay for goods. Intermediaries are instructed that UCP600 instruments are to be used as the supporting rules to such issuance. Ie:. UCP600 bank issued Irrevocable Transferable DLC.

DIVISIBLE: incorrect DLC term;must no be used - means nothing under UCP600 rules-

D/A: Document to be delivered on Acceptance of bill of exchange.
DAF: Delivered at Frontier.(INCOTERMS 3000 ; This terms in gone - 1st Jan 2011)
DEQ: Delivery Ex Quay.

DES: Delivery Ex Ship. Important - In where delivery under incoterms applies the “Delivery “ of documents- such cannot prevail in a DES deal as the actual goods have to arrive and be accepted before collection on the DLC applies- hence Intermediaries must not apply to trade DES delivery applications.(INCOTERMS 3000 ; This terms in gone - 1st Jan 2011 replaced with DAP)

DAF: Delivery at Frontier (INCOTERMS 3000 ; This terms in gone - 1st Jan 2011)

DAP: Delivery at Place:(INCOTERMS 3000 ; This terms in NEW - as from 1st Jan 2011) Seller has to bring goods to name place of destination will all cost made for the account of the seller .Not just port but to actual place as demanded by end buyer .


DOU: Delivery Duty Unpaid :(INCOTERMS 3000 ; This terms in gone - 1st Jan 2011)

DRAW BACK: In where the Seller is going to “Draw back” payments for services provided not apparent at first- ie: Crude oil CIF Genoa Italy , means that the Crude oil is being sold in Italy at FOB and the freight component of getting the goods to italy from a Black sea ports is a cost applied for the buyers account as a “Draw back” even though the goods are being purchased “ FOB” Genoa Italy.

D/P: Document to be delivered on Payment of Bill of Exchange.
DWT: Deadweight Tonnage: The total weight of the ship including fuel with goods loaded-

EC : European Economic Community.
ETF: Electronic Funds Transfer.
ETA: Expected Time of Arrival (Not; Estimated time of arrival)
E.X.S: Ex Ship
E.X.W: Ex Works. (Not Ex Warehouse)
E&O.E: Errors and Omission Excepted.

EVERGREEN: American application: Similar to “Revolving credit” not for intermediary use.

F.A.S: Free Along Side (The simplest and easiest intermediary trading application)
F.C.A: Free Carrier; used in container dealings ( Same as FOB in bulk goods)
F.C.L: Full Container Load:

FCR: Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt. (Important intermediary delivery document)
FIATA: Federation Internationle des Associations de Trasitaires et Assimiles.

FREE BANK: Any nominated bank in where no account is held by the intermediary may be used to deposit a DLC at its counter-

F.O.B: Free on board:”Name Port os Shipment “(incoterms 2000 ) differing for FOB USA . of which intermediaries do not use.
(Free on board ship in consideration of freight )

GUARANTEE: Person making or giving security- Thing or supporting document given or existing, as security for fulfilment of a conditions or performance. ie:. A bank issuing a Guarantee is one instrument in support of the person making payment based on the issuance of another instrument- in where the instrument has failed to provide payment , the bank guarantee fulfils such a payment accordingly- A bank guarantee on it own cannot be used for payments of goods by intermediaries.

IATA: International Air freight Association.

ICPO: Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order : An offer is subject to acceptance hence and ICPO cannot be implied as being an “offer to buy” because of the term “Irrevocable” - An intermediary cannot issue such an “Irrevocable application” in its dealings as an intermediary , and cannot be applied with the “irrevocable term ‘ for dealings which can become revocable at any time through out a transaction-

ISO: International Organisation for Standardisation.

INCOTERMS 2000: Fully defined as : International Rules for Interpretation of Trade Terms: As published in the year 2000 by Trademark owner , ICC Paris France.
Intermediaries acting on behalf of an undisclosed principal as Buyer or Seller must study matters of Incoterms delivery rules applications, in particular FOB and CIF applications.

INCOTERMS 3000 due for release 1st of January 2011. FTN exporting will remain with incoterms 2000 but has already advised matters of incoterms 3000 to which in its expert opinion FTN exporting finds incoterms 3000 is ambiguous and poorly defined and applied in comparison to Incoterms 2000.

ICC: International Chamber of Commerce.

IN HOUSE : In matters of UCP600; It is now allowed that a “in house” and not bank issued financial instrument could be used in certain circumstances to pay for goods or pay out on a Pay order. The intermediary first obtains the bank issued financial instrument from the end buyer to which, on his or her own stationary the intermediary makes an “In house” DLC or SLC under his own name for presenting or transferring to the participating applicant- The recipient then authenticates the in house credit via his bank , against the value of credit held in the buyer/seller account. Defined as a “ Back to back “ procedure- applicable for use by very experienced traders only.

INTERMEDIARY: A Mediator - A person acting between parties, to whatever level of their capability in doing so, may be.

ISSUING BANK: The bank of the End buyer.

INSURANCE (INCOTERMS 3000 ; This APPLICATION IS NEW - AS FROM 1st Jan 2011) Institute cargo clause “C” Coverage must now be obtained in a ie.: CIF deal (not “A” as before ) and that the minimum coverage is applied at 110%

Arguments will follow is this new insurance application as matter of private contract on the sale of goods has nothing to do with delivery applications. Possible: Argumentative: By passing this is effectively circumvented by “Specifying Insurance value” - ie; not defined in percentage but coverage is specified in dollars : I.e; insurance value for 10 million dollars. As it applies to parties to a contract -

I.e: FOB With amendment : Freight and insurance added- Makes it a FOB delivery protocol.Thus also circumventing the delivery rule.

Clarity on this matter will prevail in due course on www.itsi.itgo.com


INVOICE: ie:. The “Seller invoice” is the most crucial document as far as it concerns intermediaries . Such a document is produced by the intermediary from information obtained from the suppliers invoice- The price of the goods , the commission, the freight and all other appropriate charges are applied on the sellers invoice as passed to the buyer bank as a delivery document- the sellers invoice must be equal in value to the issuing banks financial instrument The issuing bank will only allow the release of funds to the value of the seller invoice.

IPG: Intermediaries (Personal Payment )and Protection Guarantee. An FTN in house created application.

IRREVOCABLE: THE DLC OR SLC is issued with a Guarantee of the Bank and not the buyer that so long as the conditions of the credit are met - Such a credit is indeed irrevocable and payment will be honoured. Only direct well informed provable claims of fraud can revoke the irrevocable status of a credit-

LASH: Lighter aboard ship.

LAY CAN: This is the period of time the seller and buyer have agree to be free time in allowing the ship to load cargo-It’s the basis of contract application in where ship arriving late or goods not at wharf ready for loading, as per said lay can time, will bear financial consequences to the entity who has cause such a delay- The concern to intermediaries is important as to ‘Delivery” date applications- in effect a breach of lay can is a breach transferred in obligation by the intermediary to the supplier or end buyer who ever is the entity actually causing the initial breach to lay can applications.

LCIA: London Court of International Arbitration.
L.C.L: Less than full Container Load.

L.O.I : Letter of Indemnity (Not “letter of intent”, which is an incorrectly often used term)
MANDATE SHIP: A person who claims to represent a principal , must disclose the name of the principal and produce “Mandate ship” papers upfront proving as such or no mandate position can be claimed, nor can any such position be held. Ie:. I am the mandated seller ..I am selling EXXON MOBIL crude oil .ie:. I am the mandated buyer, i am buying goods on behalf of my named principal Exxon Mobile. Mandate ship is not conferred upon a intermediary simply by holding the closest position in a string contract to a undisclosed principal-

MPA: Master Payorder Agreement: Nonsense application used by misguided untrained ill informed intermediaries.

METRIC TON: Defined as “TONNE”- represents 1000 kilograms of weight- regardless of goods being purchased, if “ MT” applies then the goods weight is offered appropriately- Should conversion factors need to apply , then the supplier must provide the correct conversion factor to the buyer- in where the buyer may still apply that the conversion factor be formulated to create a ‘MT” quantity application- A metric ton of feathers or a Tonne of lead- implies 1000 kilograms of product,for both regardless if the volumetric or area being covered .

NCND Agreement: Non Circumvention non Disclosure Statement:May be applied on the sales contract but ineffective for use by intermediaries in protecting interests and commissions. An Intermediary must no reply upon the virtues of a NCND agreement in surrendering information based on such NCND issuance and signing of such-

CUMULATIVE:Tending to accumulate: increasing in force-Ie:. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc..etc..as opposed to “ NON CUMULATIVE” in where stability is applied, in where constant force prevails-Ie:. 12 payments is guaranteed by the DLC issuance - 3 payment of such remains active at all times- 1 delivery made -3 payments drops to 2 payments upon collection of DLC, to which original payment returns to 3, and remains 3 in advance at all times after each delivery payment is collected upon- until the last 3 shipments has been delivered to which the credit reduces from 3 to 2 to 1: ie:. “NON Cumulative” revolving UCP 600 Irrevocable transferable DLC- is the term applied by Intermediaries using a revolving credit.Intermediaries do not use “ Cumulative revolving credits”

OFFER: A well informed document defining greatly all matters of goods being offered or goods being sold. A document accepted prior to contract issuance. An offer is advised as being “accepted” or” rejected”. "Meeting of minds”- Two party agreeing upon the basis of what is being offered.In America an offer may be rejected after acceptance-unless informed in contrary on the contract. Not so in English law- Acceptance is a legally binding obligation applied to performance.

O.C.L: Ocean Container Line.
PPI: Policy Proof of Interest ( Not P.O.P : “Proof of Product” in an incorrect term. )

ORIGINAL: A Document marked as original is now allowed to be accepted as an original by banks, even though its a copy of the original documents.Important factor for intermediaries and presentation of documents.


ORIGIN: a “Certificate of Origin” forms part of the delivery document presentation regime, unless specifically asked not to supply- when offered, the cost of such is made for the account of the buyer- The certificate of origin is needed by most importers as part of customs regulation applied to such importation of goods- without such; customs will not or may not release goods into the possession of the buyer- A preferential or non preferential certificate of origin is available- defined as one, issued from the the applicable statutory authority from the actual country the goods are coming from or ; where such is issued as “Non preferential “ in where the certificate could be obtained from the consulate of the country exporting goods, as situated in another country.

OTS: Offer to Sell: An FTN created edict; A form applied specifically to the Seller/buyer as issued from a supplier. An OTS is not an “offer” and is used when a supplier wants to bring to the attention to a Buyer/seller goods they have possession of and wish to sell as advised without solicitation of such goods. A pre advice issued before an official offer is issued. A Buyer/seller who specifically solicits goods from a supplier should not not ask for an OTS but an Quote or Offer- OTS is an invitation to buy goods based on information provided by a supplier to the buyer/seller at will without solicitation .

PAY ORDER: Two parts of a commission payment applications. An order which allows payment to be collected based upon its issuance condition. The issuer give a “Personal guarantee” to honour such a “Pay order” based on the condition contained therein. The first part is the “Personal Guarantee” in which a second part is to follow if the nature of business being applied closes successfully with gains applied. The second part is issued as a “In house” financial instrument-

PSI: Pre shipment inspection. Goods are inspected prior to loading on “board’ by a third party independent inspector- such a cost is payable by the buyer, unless offered as such on contract by the supplier.This type of certification is defined as a “In Personanm” certificate of Inspection/Analysis and is mostly often issued by world wide inspection agencies such as SGS, BOV, or SAY BOLT and others. When a certificate of such is issued as a general certification not subject to pre shipment inspection then such a general factory issued certification is said to be an “In Rem” certificate- The buyer may accept the general “In Rem” certificate at cost of the supplier or ask the supplier to arrange a PSI “ In personam” certificate of which the cost is for the account of the buyer.

PRE ADVISED CREDIT: A DLC issued as operational but not active until a pre condition has been met. Ie:. PPI issued first, making the pre advised Credit into an fully active credit- Such a credit cannot be transferred until the pre advised application has been satisfied. As it applies to a UCP600 endorsed Pre advised credit. A pre advised DLC cannot be used to buy goods until its first made active.

P.G: Performance Guarantee; intermediaries can only apply to us a P.G if required supporting a “Guarantee of Performance” to deliver clean presenting title document and not goods.

P.B: Performance Bond: Not an appropriate terms for intermediary use: A Performance Bond, follows goods to imply that such goods are delivered in a state as ordered-to final destination port and person. The intermediary is only required to Guarantee his Performance in being able to deliver clean documents - long before the actual goods arrive into the hand of the buyer- Intermediaries cannot “Guarantee” good that they do not have “possession” of-

PBG:Prime bank guarantee: No applicable for trade: No to be used by intermediaries in any form.

POSSESSION: Intermediaries must no deal in actually possession of goods. The end Buyer obtains possession of goods ,. the supplier is the person offering goods they “Possess” and Intermediary only deals in the documentary title of such goods being purchased and resold.

PRESENTATION: The Buyer/ Seller presents all the documents to the issuing bank who has 5 days to examine such , ask for amendments on such, or allow collection procedures to apply on such .

QUOTE: A document issued carrying some information as to the goods being bought or sold- A quote among other basic information MUST carry a price value. A quote is issued before an offer is issued. A quote if accepted is “confirmed’ as such. Confirmation of quote acceptance is generally not a legally binding application,but could be produced to apply as such,if a notice to the contrary is not apparent.

RF: Rubbish Fodder: FTN in house created term- meaning Deal being contemplated is “Rubbish” and should be trashed.

RFQ: FTN created terms: “Request for a Quote”- A form outlining to a seller the buyers information relating to goods they want to consider purchasing- A form used by the seller to his Supplier on the same basis.

Ro/Ro: Roll off /Roll on:
RSA: Refine Sugar Association.

R.W.A: Ready Willing and Financially Able: Applied to matters of Money -(not goods)
An intermediary who is acting as a private Agent in the position of “Seller “ on any given side becomes “R.W.A” when the financial instrument is issued from the End Buyer to the Seller. One cannot be RWA to supply goods- Only RWA in being ready to issue payment.

S.S Co BOL: Steam Ship company Bill of Lading; The “ S.S Co” Technically may still be applied as its a left over term from days of Sail and or Steam driven vessel- B.O.L is an acceptable term.

SELLER:An intermediary seller acting as a Buyer/Seller- who buys goods from a Supplier in possession of goods being offered , and selling documentary title of such though his own sourced end buyer-A supplier is defined to mean person or entity holding possession of goods being offered for selling-

SECURITY INFORMATION;(INCOTERMS 3000 ; NEW REQUIREMENT - 1st Jan 2011) AGAIN very AMBIGUOUS OR EVEN BIZARRE REQUEST - IN THE OPINION OF FTN EXPORTING SENSELESS- - It’s another money making charge related Application in where security information relating to Cargo-as secured by the seller payable from buyers account - I dare say some kind of Chamber of Commerce and or Consular document.

So cargo is highly explosive - Does this means sale does not eventuate?
Whether Explosive or Dangerous or not how is the related information going to assist anyone , Beyond what already has applied in the past? I.e: Steel - Could be used for making weapons?


Any goods for that matter can apply security issues to prevail or be made to prevail.
strange ineffective information indeed.
SIGHT: The banker issuing the credit must obtain a clean copy of the delivery documents , before “Collection” of the credit is allowed to proceed.

STRING CONTRACT: A chain of Intermediaries involved in the one single contracted deal -

SLC UCP600: Standby Letter of credit which can only be transferred once. Used mainly for payments of commission or for other matters such a performance guarantee issuance. No ‘”SLC” are used for payment of goods by intermediaries.

SLC ISP 98: Same as above except this type of SLC can be transferred many times among a trading group.

SOURCING INTERMEDIARY: One who acts between a Supplier and a Principal Agent in Sourcing of goods, in where the Agents looks after the fiduciary interests of the Intermediary based on performance- or where the said such entity after completing the first act of Sourcing, takes on the position as head of its Agency as a “Buyer/Seller”

SGS: Societe Gernale de surveillance S.A
SWIFT: Society for World wide Inter bank Financial Telecommunications.
UCC: Uniform Commercial Code (USA)

TRANSFERABLE:In the matter of financial instruments used to pay for goods- The DLC can only be transferred once , and be marked as transferable. The DLC is Issued from the issuing bank of the buyer to the Buyer/seller, who them may transfer it Once only directly to the supplier and not another Seller/buyer. In the matter of the Bill of lading- Such is not transferable is allowed to be “transferred” from the buyer/.seller to the end buyer if “ Notify party’ is marked in place of consignee, in where its “blank endorsed’ over to the end buyer- While an BOL may be endorsed many times in theory once the blank endorsement is applied it must be handed over to the end buyer. The blank endorsement of such disallows the BOL from being transferred any further-In the matter of all other delivery documents - all are endorsed over to the end buyer from the buyer/seller except for the buyers/sellers invoice- in where a new copy is made carrying with it a new total.

TITLE: A set of documents defining that the holder of such owns the goods being transacted upon. The most important of such being the Clean on board Bill of Lading, and Sellers invoice. Intermediaries deal in title documents - not possession of goods.

UCP:Uniform Custom and Practice for Documentary Credits; Must be specified and used by all FTN URPIB intermediaries.
URC: Uniform Rules of Collection; Rules applied when DLC is being collected upon.
URPIB: A FTN EXPORTING in house create doctrine for international trade intermediaries to use as a uniform trading edict for world wide use-