FCR

Fiata FCR (Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt)

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Fiata Documents, Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt, Letter of Credit Documents , , ,
FCR (Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt)

On this post, I will explain Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt, an international trade document, only issued by freight forwarders, whom are the members of FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations).

Freight forwarder is a person, who is expediting goods to the consignee on behalf of the shipper; may be an agent or company who performs services (such as receiving, trans-shipping or delivering) designed to assure and facilitate the passage of goods. (1)

FCR is an acronym, which stands for “Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt”.

FCR is a standard form of a trade document, which was prepared by FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) for general use in international shipments.

FCR is available to FIATA members only.

Why Exporters and Importers are Using a FCR Certificate?

FCR certificate mainly used in international transactions where Ex Works (EXW) trade term is selected by the parties.

According to ICC’s Incoterms 2010 rules “Ex Works” means that the seller delivers when it places the goods at the disposal of the buyer at the seller’s premises or at another named place (i.e., works, factory, warehouse, etc.).

The seller does not need to load the goods on any collecting vehicle, nor does it need to clear the goods for export, where such clearance is applicable.

Under Ex Works trade term, the Seller can prove to the Buyer that he has already places the goods at the disposal of the buyer’s forwarder with the presentation of a Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt.

Also, if the payment will be made via a letter of credit, banks would like to see the FCR document.

What are the Main Characteristics of a FCR Certificate?

FCR document does not contain a contract of carriage. For this reason it is not accepted as a transport document under letter of credit rules.

  1. By issuing a FCR document a freight forwarder certifies to the consignor that,
    1. the freight forwarder has assumed control of the goods as indicated on the forwarder’s certificate of receipt in apparent good order and condition at the disposal of the consignee or
    2. the freight forwarder has assumed control of the goods as indicated on the forwarder’s certificate of receipt in apparent good order and condition with irrevocable instructions to be forwarded to the consignee.
  2. FCR document is not negotiable. It is non-negotiable so that consignee need not to present an original copy to collect the goods from the transport company.

What are the Differences Between a FCR (Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt) and a B/L (Bill of Lading)?

Bill of Lading

  1. Bill of lading contains a contract of carriage between port of loading and port of discharge.
  2. Bill of lading can be issued in a negotiable form as shown on the below examples:
    -made out to the order of the issuing bank.
    -made out to order and blank endorsed.
  3. At least one original bill of lading must be surrendered to the carrier for delivery of the goods in case bill of lading was issued in negotiable form
  4. Bill of lading is a transport document in regards to letter of credit rules.
  5. Bill of lading should show port of loading, port of discharge and shipped on board date on its face.

Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt

  1. Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt does not contain a contract of carriage.
  2. Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt can’t be issued in negotiable form.
    Consignee can clear the goods from the carrier without surrendering the original copy of
  3. Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt.
  4. Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt is not a transport document in regards to letter of credit rules.
  5. Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt need not to state port of loading, port of discharge and shipped on board date on its face.
  6. Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt is not a transport document as defined in UCP 600 articles 19‐25. This document is to be examined only to the extent expressly stated in the credit, otherwise according to UCP 600 sub‐article 14 (f).

Sample Form of FCR (Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt)

Sample FCR (Forwarder’s Certificate of Receipt)

References:

  1. Transportation Best Practices Manual, PF Collins International Trade Services, 2003, Page:44

Fiata Documents

Ozgur Eker (CDCS) Fiata Documents, Letter of Credit Documents , ,
fiata documents

On this post, I will explain freight forwarders, freight forwarders association and the documents published by the freight forwarders association in a global scale.

Forwarding agents are also known as freight forwarders, freight brokers, transit agents, and they may also act as clearing agents or customs brokers.

In most instances buyers and sellers are not themselves in a position to carry out the necessary arrangements for the shipment of their cargo.

They rely on the services of specialized firms for this work and for processing customs formalities. (1)

Freight forwarders can arrange door-to-door shipments, decrease transportation costs by offering more competitive freight quotes, increase the efficiency of carriers, exporters and importers by giving professional logistics services, consolidate small orders, offer storage, handling, packing, distribution and customs breakage services to their clients. (2)

Freight forwarders around to world are gathered together and formed an association that shapes the international transportation.

FIATA stands for International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations. FIATA was founded in Vienna/Austria on May 31, 1926.

FIATA, a non-governmental organisation, represents today an industry covering approximately 40,000 forwarding and logistics firms, also known as the “Architects of Transport”, employing around 8 – 10 million people in 150 countries. (3)

Fiata has created several documents and templates in order to reach a uniform standard for use by freight forwarders in a global scale.

Fiata documents are known as FCR, FCT, FWR, FBL, FWB, SDT, SIC and FFI. These documents have been printed in different colors so that they can be distinguished from each other.

Fiata Documents

fiata documents

Main Features of Fiata Documents

Here are some important features of Fiata documents:

  • Fiata documents are highly standardized.
  • Only national freight forwarders associations (general members of FIATA) can issue FIATA documents.
  • Fiata documents can only be used by Fiata members.
  • Every Fiata document must bear the Fiata logo at the right head section of the documents.
  • Only negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading and non-negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Waybill are accepted as a transport document in terms of letter of credit rules. Other Fiata documents are not considered as a transport document in UCP 600 latest L/C rules.
  • Some major countries that are using Fiata documents are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, South Korea, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam.

References:

  1. Shipping and Incoterms, Practice Guide, UNDP Practice Series, Page.10
  2. What are the functions of freight forwarders in international transportation?
  3. Who is FIATA