A bill of lading is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that details the type, quantity, and destination of goods being transported. It serves as a receipt for the shipment and as a contract between the carrier and shipper. The bill of lading must accompany the goods and be signed by representatives of the carrier, shipper, and receiver. It helps prevent theft by allowing for segregation of duties in verifying that goods received match what was ordered. There are various types of bills of lading that can be used depending on the transport method and terms of the shipment.

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2. TOPICS TO BE COVERED
DEFINITION FUNCTION TYPES

3. DEFINITION
• A bill of lading (BL or BoL) is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that
details the type, quantity, and destination of the goods being carried. A bill of lading also
serves as a shipment receipt when the carrier delivers the goods at a predetermined
destination. This document must accompany the shipped products, no matter the form
of transportation, and must be signed by an authorized representative from the carrier,
shipper, and receiver.

4. PROCESS

5. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• A bill of lading is a legal document issued by a carrier to a shipper that details the type,
quantity, and destination of the goods being carried.
• A bill of lading is a document of title, a receipt for shipped goods, and a contract
between a carrier and shipper.
• This document must accompany the shipped goods and must be signed by an
authorized representative from the carrier, shipper, and receiver.
• If managed and reviewed properly, a bill of lading can help prevent asset theft.
• FORMAT GIVEN IN NEXT SLIDE

7. EXAMPLE
• Assume, for example, XYZ Fine Dining receives shipments of fresh meat and fish five times a week. The restaurant
manager determines the type and amount of meat and fish the restaurant needs to order. They then fill out
a purchase order (PO), and XYZ’s owner reviews and initials each PO before it is emailed to the food vendor. The
vendor gathers the meat and fish and signs a bill of lading along with a representative from the overnight carrier.
• Next, the carrier delivers the food to the restaurant, and the manager compares the information on the bill of lading
to what was requested on the PO. If the information matches, the PO and the bill of lading are sent to the owner,
who reviews the documents and writes a check payable to the food vendor.
• In this example, the owner does not issue a check to the vendor without reviewing the purchase order and the bill of
lading. This step ensures XYZ only pays for what it ordered and what it received. If the two documents do not match
when the restaurant manager compares them, the manager will ask the vendor about the exception. A third
employee reconciles the bank statement and makes company deposits. All of these steps must be in place to prevent
theft.

8. IMPORTANCE
• Essentially, a bill of landing works as undisputed proof of shipment.
Furthermore, a bill of lading allows for the segregation of duties that is a
vital part of a firm's internal control structure to prevent theft.
• The importance of a bill of lading lies in the fact that it's a legally binding
document that provides the carrier and shipper with all of the necessary
details to accurately process a shipment. This implies that it can be used
in litigation if the need should arise and that all parties involved will take
great pains to ensure the accuracy of the document.

9. CONSTITUTES OF BOL
 Typically, a bill of lading will include
 The names and addresses of the shipper (consigner) and receiver (consignee)
 Shipment date
 Quantity & exact weight
 Value & freight classification
 Complete description of the items including whether they're classified as hazardous
 Type of packaging used
 Any specific instructions for the carrier & any special order tracking numbers are
included.

10. DESCRIPTIONS OF CONSTITUTES OF BOL
• Names and Addresses
• In this section, the full names and addresses of both the shipper and the receiver should be mentioned so that it would be very easy to locate the document.
• Purchase Orders or Special Reference Number
• These numbers are considered important to the business in terms of freight that has to be released for pickup or accepted at delivery.
• Special Instruction
• Under this section, all the instructions for the carriers that are not for extra service requests like lift gate or delivery notification are taken down.
• Date
• The pickup date will be mentioned here that will be used as a reference to track the freight when shipping invoices are composed.
• Description of Items
• All shippers have to note the number of shipping units, the dimensions and weight, and the description about the material and its makeup.
• Packaging Type
• Items such as cartons, crates, pallets and drums that are used when shipping have to be noted.
• NMFC Freight Class
• Freight classes impacts the cost of the shipment. In general, freight shipments are broken down into 18 classes based on the weight, dimensions, density, storage
capability, ease of handling, value and liability.
• Department of Transportation hazardous Material Designation
• Hazardous shipments have to be clearly mentioned and special rules and requirements are applicable while shipping.

11. TYPES OF BOL
 Given below are the types of Bill of Lading.
 Clean Bill of Lading
 Received for Shipment Bill of Lading
 Through Bill of Lading
 Claused Bill of Lading
 Container Bill of Lading
 House Bill of Lading
 Master Bill of Lading
 Charter Party Bill of Lading
 Multimodal Transport Document/ Combined Transport Document
 Forwarders Bill of Lading
 Stale Bill of Lading
 Short-term/ Blank Back Bill of Lading
 Straight Bill of Lading
 Order Bill of Lading
 Bearer Bill of Lading
 Surrender Bill of Lading

12. DESCRIPTIONS OF TYPES OF BOL
• Clean Bill of Lading
• Clean Bill of Lading is issued by the Shipping Company or by its agents without any declaration on the defective Constitution of the goods/
packages taken on Board/ stuffed in containers.
• Received for Shipment Bill of Lading
• Received Bill of Lading is a document that is issued by a carrier as evidence of receipt of goods for shipment. It is issued prior to the vessel
loading and is therefore not an onboard bill of lading.
• Through Bill of Lading
• Through Bills of Lading are complex than most BOLS. The document permits the shipping carrier to pass the cargo through several modes
of transportation or through several distribution centers. This bill includes an Inland Bill of Lading and an Ocean Bill of Lading depending
on the destination.
• Claused Bill of Lading
• Claused Bill of Lading is issued when the cargo is damaged or when the quantity goes missing.
• Container Bill of Lading
• Container Bill of Lading is a document that gives information about goods that are delivered in a safe container or containers from one
port to another.

13. • House Bill of Lading
• House Bill of Lading is a document generated by an Ocean Transport Intermediary freight forwarder or non-vessel operating company.
The document is an acknowledgement of the receipt of goods that are shipped, issued to the suppliers when the cargo is received. This Bill
of Lading is also known as Forwarders Bill of Lading.
• Master Bill of Lading
• Master Bill of Lading is a document that is created for shipping companies by their carriers as a receipt of transfer. The document specifies
the terms that are required for transporting the freight, details of the consignor or the shipper, the consignee and the respective person
who possess the goods.
• Charter Party Bill of Lading
• Charter Party Bill of Lading is an agreement between a charterer and a vessel owner. The document is issued by the charterer of the vessel
to the shipper for the goods that are shipped on board the vessel.
• Multi modal Transport Document/ Combined Transport Document
• Multi Modal Transport Document or Combined Transport Document is a type of Through Bill of Lading the involves a minimum of two
different modes of transport, land or ocean. However, the modes of transportation can be anything from freight boat to air.
• Stale Bill of Lading
• Stale Bill of Lading is presented for negotiation after 21 days from the date of shipment or any other date/ number of days stipulated in
the documentary credit.

14. • Short-term/ Blank Back Bill of Lading
• Short term or Blank Back Bill of Lading is issued when the detailed terms and conditions of the carriage contract are not given on
the body of the Bill of Lading or on the back of the Bill of Lading.
• Straight Bill of Lading
• Straight Bill of Lading indicates that the goods are consigned to a particular person and it is not negotiable free from the existing
equities. This means that an endorsee acquires no better rights other than those that are held by the endorser. This bill is also
called as a non-negotiable bill of lading. Whereas, from a banker’s perspective, this type of lading is not safe
• Order Bill of Lading
• Order Bill of Lading is the bill that expresses words that make the bill negotiable. This explains that the delivery is to be made to
the further order of the consignee using terms such as ‘delivery to A Limited or to order or assigns.
• Bearer Bill of Lading
• Bearer Bill of Lading is a bill that states that the delivery shall be made to whosoever holds the bill. These bills are specially created
or it is an order bill that does not nominate the consignee in its original form or through an endorsement in blank. A bearer bill can
be negotiated by physically delivering it.
• Surrender Bill of Lading
• Surrender Bill of Lading works under the term ‘import documentary credit’, where the bank releases documents on receipt from
the negotiating bank. The importer does not make the payment to the bank until the maturity of the draft under the relative credit.

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