Air Waybill

BL for Air shipment.

Certificates of Origin

A Certificate of Origin is a document attesting that goods in a particular shipment are of a certain origin. Virtually every country in the world considers the origin of imported goods when determining what duty will be assessed on the goods or, in some cases, whether the goods may be legally imported at all.

Certificates of Origin are prepared by the exporter or freight forwarder, notarized and attested by a local Chamber of Commerce. The General certificate is acceptable for most countries unless a specific form is otherwise required.

Inland Bill of Lading

The Inland Bill of Lading (also known as Straight Bill of Lading) may be presented in several formats. Each of these provides the required information for the inland transport of goods by motor carrier, rail, or by a combination of these modes. The form also acts as a Contract for Carriage between the shipper and the carrier. The Bill of Lading for inland transport has three purposes:

1. Receipt for the goods tendered to the carrier
2. Contract for carriage
3. Document of title if applicable (negotiable or non-negotiable) depending on the terms of sale

LOI (letter of indemnity)

Undertaking given to compensate for (or to provide protection against) injury, loss, incurred penalties, or from a contingent liability. A shipping company, for example, will ask for a bank's indemnity for releasing a shipment to a consignee who has lost original shipping documents. The bank in turn will require the consignee to sign a counter-indemnity before issuing its indemnity to the shipping company. This way the consignee gets the release of shipment in completion of a transaction, and both the shipping company and the bank are protected in case some dispute arises out of that transaction. See also letter of indemnity.