Bill of LadingB/L

A bill of lading has three functions:

1. Receipt for the goods, describing quantity and condition.
2. Evidence of the contract of carriage between shipper and carrier.
3. Document of title: whoever lawfully holds the original bill can claim the goods at destination. This is why it is central to LCs and documentary collections, since control of the bill means control of the goods.

Types include:

• Order B/L ('to order' or 'to the order of' a bank), which is negotiable by endorsement, and straight B/L, made out to a named consignee and not negotiable.
• Shipped on board versus received for shipment B/L.
• Clean B/L (no notation of defects) versus claused or dirty B/L; LCs normally require clean on-board bills.
• Through and multimodal (combined transport) B/L covering more than one mode of transport.

Bills are usually issued in a set of originals (often three), and delivery against one makes the others void.

For air shipments, an air waybill is used, which is a receipt and contract of carriage but not a document of title. For Nepal's imports via Indian ports, multimodal transport documents are common because cargo moves by sea and then by land.

बिल अफ लेडिङका तीन काम:

१. सामानको रसिद। २. ढुवानीकर्ता र पठाउनेबीचको ढुवानी सम्झौताको प्रमाण। ३. स्वामित्वको कागजात: सक्कल बिल वैध रूपमा राख्नेले गन्तव्यमा सामान दाबी गर्न सक्छ; त्यसैले प्रतीतपत्र र कागजाती सङ्कलनमा यो केन्द्रीय हुन्छ।

प्रकार: अर्डर B/L (समर्थनद्वारा हस्तान्तरणयोग्य) र स्ट्रेट B/L (नामित प्राप्तकर्ता, हस्तान्तरणयोग्य नहुने); जहाजमा लोड भएको र ढुवानीका लागि प्राप्त; क्लिन र क्लज/डर्टी; मल्टिमोडल B/L।

प्रायः तीन सक्कल प्रति जारी हुन्छ र एउटाबाट सामान लिएपछि बाँकी निष्क्रिय हुन्छन्। हवाई ढुवानीमा एयरवे बिल प्रयोग हुन्छ, जुन स्वामित्वको कागजात होइन। भारतीय बन्दरगाह हुँदै आउने नेपालको आयातमा मल्टिमोडल ढुवानी कागजात सामान्य हुन्छ।