Guarantee Scan Condition

Guarantee Scan Condition refers to a stipulation in international trade regarding the form of submission of a bank guarantee, commonly found in letters of credit or contract terms. It means the beneficiary only needs to provide a scanned copy of the guarantee (such as a PDF or fax) to satisfy the document presentation requirements, without submitting the paper original. It is often used in electronically issued letters of credit or electronic document presentation systems to speed up document circulation and reduce mailing costs. Precautions: 1) The clarity, file format, and method of transmission (e.g., email) of the scanned copy must be specified; 2) It should be agreed that the scanned copy has the same legal effect as the original to avoid refusal by the issuing bank; 3) Note the difference from 'original guarantee' and 'copy guarantee'—a scanned copy is not a copy but an electronic representation of the original; 4) If fraud risk is involved, the issuing bank may require subsequent submission of the original. Unlike 'electronic document presentation', the scan condition usually does not rely on a third-party platform but is transmitted directly via email or fax. Foreign trade practitioners should clarify the acceptability and verification method of scanned copies in the contract.