"Documentary consistency" is a core principle in letter of credit settlement, meaning that the complete set of documents submitted by the beneficiary must be consistent with one another in content, with no contradictions or conflicts. It is usually juxtaposed with "documentary compliance" (consistency between documents and letter of credit terms), and together they constitute the two major standards for banks' document examination. Its application scenarios are mainly concentrated in the document presentation and negotiation stage under a letter of credit, where banks strictly examine whether information such as the goods description, quantity, amount, date, and shipping marks in various documents, including commercial invoices, bills of lading, insurance policies, packing lists, and certificates of origin, matches one another. Precautions include: the goods name, specifications, quantity, weight, marks, and other details in each document should correspond exactly; the invoice amount must comply with the letter of credit requirements in relation to the draft amount and insurance amount; the bill of lading date must not be later than the insurance policy date, etc. The difference from "documentary compliance" is that the former focuses on horizontal consistency among documents, while the latter focuses on vertical consistency between documents and letter of credit terms. Violation of documentary consistency may lead to bank refusal of payment or the incurrence of discrepancy fees.
📝 Examples
1. When reviewing documents under a letter of credit, the bank found that the quantity of goods on the commercial invoice was 1,000 pieces, while the packing list showed 980 pieces. This violated the principle of "consistency between documents," so the bank raised a discrepancy and refused payment. (Note: The quantity inconsistency between the invoice and the packing list resulted in document inconsistency.)
2. Before presenting documents, the exporter self-checked and found a slight spelling difference between the consignee name on the bill of lading and the insured name on the insurance policy. To avoid refusal of payment by the issuing bank due to a "consistency between documents" issue, the exporter immediately contacted the shipping company and the insurance company to amend the documents. (Note: Self-checking in advance and correcting contradictions between documents ensures consistency between documents.)
💡 Foreign Trade Tips
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