The International Standard Banking Practice for the Examination of Documents under Documentary Credits (ISBP 821) reflects the existing practice. It has evolved into a necessary companion to the UCP for determining compliance of documents with the terms of documentary credits.

It is important to note that the ISBP does not amend the UCP 600. Instead, it explains how documentary credit practitioners apply practices expressed in the UCP 600. The ISBP and the UCP should be read in conjunction, not in isolation.

Incorporating the ISBP into the terms of a documentary credit is inappropriate, as the requirement to follow agreed practices is already implicit within UCP 600. Applied correctly, the ISBP helps reduce the large percentage of documents refused for discrepancies on the first presentation to a bank.

The ISBP publication outlines standard practice globally and encompasses an intelligent checklist of procedures for document checkers to examine documents presented under documentary credits. The intent is to explain how practices articulated in UCP 600 are applied by documentary credit practitioners, thus providing a framework under which a beneficiary may prepare its documents to a standard that can be accepted globally.

The content of the ISBP 821 comprises:

• Preliminary considerations
• General principles
• Drafts and calculation of maturity date
• Invoices
• Transport document covering at least two different modes of transport (multimodal or combined transport document)
• Bill of lading
• Non-negotiable sea waybill
• Charter party bill of lading
• Air transport document
• Road, rail, or inland waterway transport documents
• Insurance documents and coverage
• Certificate of origin
• Packing list, note, or slip (packing list)
• Weight List, note, or slip (weight list)
• Beneficiary’s certificate
• Analysis, inspection, health, phytosanitary, quantity, quality, and other certificates (certificate)