Date of Shipment

Date of Shipment is a key time node in international trade, referring to the date on which the seller actually loads the goods onto the vessel or delivers them to the carrier. It is commonly used in letters of credit, sales contracts, and transport documents, and serves as a core basis for determining whether the seller has performed its obligations on time. Use scenarios include: letters of credit requiring the submission of a bill of lading with a date of shipment within a specified period; determining the point of risk transfer under trade terms such as FOB and CIF; and calculating the period for document presentation and the time limit for claims. Points to note: the definition of date of shipment varies under different modes of transport. For sea freight, it is the date of the "shipped on board" bill of lading; for air freight, it is the issuance date of the air waybill; and for multimodal transport, it may be the date of "taking the goods in charge." If a letter of credit stipulates a "latest shipment date," the seller must ensure that the document date is no later than that date; otherwise, it constitutes a discrepancy. The difference from "Date of Dispatch" is that the latter is mostly used for land transport or express delivery and refers to the date on which the goods are handed over to the carrier, whereas Date of Shipment specifically refers to the date on which the loading operation for maritime transport is completed. In addition, the Date of Shipment may be consistent with the "bill of lading date," but if the bill of lading is a "received for shipment" bill of lading with an "on board" notation added, the date of the notation shall prevail. Foreign trade practitioners must strictly check the terms of the contract and the letter of credit to avoid refusal of payment or breach of contract due to date discrepancies.