A bill of lading is a generic term for a transport document, that covers transport by sea from a port of loading to a port of discharge.
Port of discharge can be defined as a port, where a vessel will unload its cargo, from where the cargo will be dispatched further to their final consignees.
Port of discharge, as stated by the letter of credit, should appear in the port of discharge field within a bill of lading.
If the issuing bank finds out that a port to port shipment ends in a different port of discharge than what is indicated in the letter of credit, then the issuing bank will raise a discrepancy, which is known as port of discharge different than letter of credit discrepancy.
Sample Port of Discharge Different Than Letter of Credit Discrepancy under a Letter of Credit:
A letter of credit has been issued in SWIFT format, subject to UCP latest version, with the following details:
Letter of Credit Conditions
Field 44E: Port of Loading/Airport of Departure: Port of Marseille, France
Field 44F: Port of Discharge/Airport of Destination: Port of Incheon, South Korea
Field 46A: Documents Required: Full set of marine bills of lading marked shipped on board issued or endorsed to the order of Kookmin Bank showing freight prepaid, notify applicant and showing the following details: Full applicant name, address as indicated in field 50.
The beneficiary presented a bill of lading with the following data:
Bill of Lading
Port of Loading: Port of Marseille, France
Port of Discharge: Port of Ulsan, South Korea
Discrepancy: Marine bill of lading shows a port of discharge different than what is stated in the letter of credit. Port of discharge should have been Port of Incheon, South Korea, but it was stated as Port of Ulsan, South Korea, which is not as per letter of credit conditions.
Reason for Discrepancy: A bill of lading is to indicate the port of discharge stated in the credit. The named port of discharge, as required by the credit, should appear in the port of discharge field on a bill of lading.
Required Port of Discharge : Port of Incheon
Wrong Port of Discharge : Port of Ulsan, S.Korea
