Article-35-UCP-600-Disclaimer on Transmission and Translation

This article contains three disclaimer, these disclaimers help to safeguard the bank if a bank acted in a good faith and as per credit requirement.

Disclaimer-1-A bank assumes no liability or responsibility for the consequences arising out of delay, loss in transit, mutilation or other errors arising in the transmission of any messages or delivery of letters or documents, when such messages, letters or documents are transmitted or sent according to the requirements stated in the credit, or when the bank may have taken the initiative in the choice of the delivery service in the absence of such instructions in the credit.

A bank is not held responsible for consequences arising out of any delay, loss in transit, mutilation or other errors in the transmission of any messages, letters, documents etc., if those are sent or transmitted according to the credit requirement or if in case credit does not state; a bank may chose its best possible way to transmit or send the documents.

Even ‘errors’ resulting from a SWIFT or telex advice of a documentary credit being mutilated (not completely being transmitted or few part of the message received) between the sending and receiving of the message. It is not the issuing bank responsibility if rekeyed data are correct that its customer has provided.

For an example if an application from issuance of a credit receives by its customer which does not indicate the advising bank, an issuing bank may chose a bank by their own choice to transmit the credit, however, in case credit is not being advised further by that advising bank or that advising bank does not act; the issuing bank will not be responsible. 

Disclaimer-2-If a nominated bank determines that a presentation is complying and forwards the documents to the issuing bank or confirming bank, whether or not the nominated bank has honoured or negotiated, an issuing bank or confirming bank must honour or negotiate, or reimburse that nominated bank, even when the document have been lost in transit between the nominated bank and the issuing bank or confirming bank, or between the confirming bank and the issuing bank.

It case documents are lost in transit between a nominated bank and the confirming bank or issuing bank, in the event of a nominated bank examining documents and determining that they are complying, and irrespective of whether or not it has honoured or negotiated those documents, an issuing bank or confirming bank will remain liable to honour or to reimburse the nominated bank if it is already negotiated by nominated bank.

In these circumstances, the issuing bank or confirming bank don’t have rights to request the beneficiary to submit the replacement of original documents, such as original transport document, and must require to complete its examination process based on copies of the documents that have been lost.

Disclaimer-3-A bank assumes no liability or responsibility for errors in translation or interpretation of technical terms and may transmit credit terms without translating.

An advising or second advising bank may add its own standard wording in relation to certain matters, such as sanction clauses, discrepancy fees, delivery instructions for the documents, etc. However, an advising or second advising bank is not required to translate any of its text or interpret any technical terms while advising the credit or amendments and not responsible for any problems if arises due to that.