Documents A written or printed paper that bears the original, official, or legal form of something and can be used

to furnish decisive evidence or information. Transport The system of transporting passengers or goods in a particular country or area.

The documents that serves as an evidence of acceptance & receipt of goods for carriage and may also serve as a document of ownership.

Transport and distribution are key considerations when planning for international trade. Choosing the right mode of transport is essential to ensure your import or export operation is efficient and cost-effective. There are four ways of importing and exporting - road, rail, air and sea - although you may need to use more than one type of transport. When making your choices, you will also need to decide whether to handle logistics by yourself, or outsource the work to a freight forwarder.

Transport documentation is necessary for providing

instructions about your consignment to the carrier, receiving authority or forwarder.

Mode of Shipment

Document

Ocean Shipment
Air Cargo Road/Rail Transport Courier Postal Services

Bill of Lading
Airway Bill Consignment Bill/ Rail Receipt Way Bill/ Courier Receipt Way Bill

 Bill of Lading (in case of sea freight) Air Waybill (in case of air freight) Consignment Bill (in case of road transport) Rail Receipt (in case of rail transport) Certificate of Origin Combined Transport Document Bill of Exchange Packing List Inspection Certificate

This is a transport document, which represents the movement of goods by water. A Bill of Lading is a formal receipt given by a ship owner or their authorized agents stating that the goods mentioned therein (quantity, quality, description etc.) are shipped on a specified date and are deliverable to the person mentioned therein or to his order after payment of all dues of the shipping company.

This is the second type of Transport document after Bill of Lading. Airway Bill is a receipt issued by an international airline for goods and an evidence of the contract of carriage, but it is not a document of title to the goods.

Document prepared by a consignor and countersigned by the carrier as a proof of receipt of consignment for delivery at the destination. Used as an alternative to bill of lading (specially in inland transport), it is generally neither a contract of carriage nor a negotiable instrument.

The Rail Receipt makes sure that goods have been received for transportation by rail. A Rail Receipt is an acknowledgement issued by the Railway Authority stating that they have received the goods detailed therein(number of packages, quantity and nature of goods).

A C/O is a document which is used for the certification that the products are fully obtained & fully produced in the specified country. It is generally an integral part of documents.

Combined Transport Document is also known as Multimodal Transport Document, and is used when goods are transported using more than one mode of transportation. In the case of multimodal transport document, the contract of carriage is meant for a combined transport from the place of shipping to the place of delivery.

The B/E is an instrument in writing containing an unconditional undertaking signed by the maker directing a certain person(s) to pay a certain sum of money only on the order of a certain person(s) or to the bearer of the instrument. Parties involved: Drawer Drawee The Payee The Endorser The Endorsee

The Packing List is a consolidated statement of the contents of the total number of cases of packs.

A Packing List contains the following details: Contents of case in terms of quantity and weight Marking numbers Name of the Exporter Name of the Importer Importers Order Number Number & Date of B/L Name of Vessel/ Flight

An Inspection Certificate (also known as Certificate of Inspection) is a document describing the condition of goods and confirming that they have been inspected. Certificates of inspection are documents issued by governing bodies to confirm that something has been checked and found to comply with documented specifications. It is usually required with shipments of perishable goods.

In international trade, the goods move from the warehouse of the exporter to the warehouse of the importer. The goods may move by land water or air or a combination of one or more of these modes. In international trade, such transport documents are more in number and it is very important to know the significance of each type of document and its nomenclature, etc. One of the important aspects to be remembered with regard to any transport document is that it must show the name of the carrier.