Glossary of Customs and Trade Terms

							Glossary of Customs and Trade Terms

B

B/L              Abbreviation for Bill of Lading
B/L, amended     B/L requiring updates that do not change financial status; this is
                 slightly different from corrected B/L.
B/L, cancelled   B/L status; used to cancel a processed B/L; usually per shipper's
                 request; different from voided B/L.
B/L, clean       A B/L that bears no superimposed clause or notation which
                 declares a defective condition of the goods and/or the packaging.
B/L, combined B/L that covers cargo moving over various transports.
B/l,             B/L combined or consolidated from two or more B/L's.
consolidated
B/L, corrected   B/L requiring any update which results in money or other
                 financially related changes.
B/L, duplicate   Another original Bill of Lading set if first set is lost. Also known as
                 reissued B/L.
B/L, house       B/L issued by a freight forwarder or consolidator covering a single
                 shipment containing the names, addresses and specific
                 description of the goods shipped.
B/L,             B/L covering cargo moving via multimodal means. Also known as
intermodal       Combined Transport B/L, or Multimodal B/L
B/L,             The B/L is a title document to the goods, issued ‘to the order of’ a
negotiable       party, usually the shipper, whose endorsement is required to
                 effect is negotiation. Thus, a shipper's order (negotiable) B/L can
                 be bought, sold, or traded while goods are in transit and is
                 commonly used for letter-of-credit transactions. The buyer must
                 submit the original B/L to the carrier in order to take possession
                 of the goods.
B/L, non-        See Straight B/L. Sometimes means a file copy of a B/L.
negotiable
B/L, original    The part of the B/L set that has value, especially when
                 negotiable; rest of set are only informational file copies.
                 Abbreviated as OBL.
B/L,             B/L set which has completed a prescribed number of edits
reconciled       between the shippers instructions and the actual shipment
                 received. This produces a very accurate B/L.
B/L, stale       A late B/L; in banking, a B/L which has passed the time deadline
                 of the L/C and is void.
B/L, status      Represents whether the bill of lading has been input, rated,
                 reconciled, printed, or released to the customer. (Marad)
B/L, Terms &     The fine print on B/L; defines what the carrier can and cannot do,
Conditions       including the carrier's liabilities and contractual agreements.
B/L, Through     A bill of lading that covers transportation by more than one
               carrier from the point of issue to the final destination. Example, a
               bill from New York, via Curacao, to Pampatar, Venezuela.
B/L, unclean   A B/L that bears a superimposed clause or notation that declares
               a defective condition of the goods and/or the packaging.
B/L, voided    Related to Consolidated B/L; those B/L's absorbed in the
               combining process. Different from Cancelled B/L.
Back haul      To haul a shipment back over part of a route which it has already
               travelled; a marine transportation carrier’s return movement of
               cargo, usually opposite from the direction of its primary cargo
               distribution.
Back-to-Back   A credit issued against the security back of another credit
Credit         (master credit) on the understanding that reimbursement will
               stem from documents eventually presented under the first credit
               (master credit) issued. It follows therefore that each side of a B/B
               transaction covers the shipment of the same goods.
BAF            Abbreviation usually appearing on B/L for ‘Bunker Adjustment
               Factor.’ Used to compensate steamship lines for fluctuating fuel
               costs. Sometimes called ‘Fuel Adjustment Factor’ or FAF.
Baggage               See also personal effects
                      Personal property of passengers or crew carried on an aircraft by
                      agreement with the operator. . (ICAO Annex 9)



Balance of     A tabulation of a country's credit and debit transactions with
Payments       other countries and international institutions. These transactions
               are divided into two broad groups: current account and capital
               account. The main items included are exports and imports of
               goods and services (the balance of trade), foreign direct
               investments, intergovernmental loans, transfer payments, capital
               inflows and outflows, and changes in official gold holdings and
               foreign exchange reserves.
Bank           Guarantee issued by a bank to a carrier to be used in lieu of lost
guarantee      or misplaced original negotiable bill of lading.
Barter         Trade where goods are exchanged for other goods.
Benchmark      A specific measurement comparing company (or other agency)
               performance against another industry or best practice standard.
Benelux        Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Bern           The International Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic
Convention     Works, signed at Bern, Switzerland, on September 9, 1886, with
               additional protocols and revisions signed in 1914, 1928, 1948,
               1967, and 1971, is a major multinational treaty concerning the
               scope of copyright protection to be afforded works prepared by
               foreign persons whose countries are signatories. It provides
               copyright protection in the form of national treatment and also
               requires member countries to provide certain minimum
               protections for specified types of works. For instance, it requires
               that literary works be protected for the life of the author plus 50
               years and forbids imposition of formalities (e.g., a copyright
               notice) as a condition of protection.
Bilateral        An agreement/arrangement between two parties/countries,
                 usually global (eg a cooperative agreement between NZ Customs
                 and Australian Customs)
Bill of          -See draft, bank. Correct name for a ‘draft’
exchange         -An unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to
                 another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to
                 whom it is addressed to pay on demand or at fixed or
                 determinable future time a sum certain in money to or to the
                 order of a specified person, or to bearer.
Bill of sale     Confirms the transfer of ownership of certain goods to another
                 person in return for money paid or loaned.
Biometric        Systems that use a series of complicated algorithmic equations to
Identification   identify people by searching through a database and instantly
                 analysing a person’s facial (or other) features, including eyes,
                 face and shape.
Board feet       The basic unit of measurement for timber/lumber. One board foot
                 is equal to a one-inch board, 12 inches wide and one foot long.
                 Thus, a board ten feet long, 12 inches wide, and one inch thick
                 contains ten board feet.
Bollard          A line-securing device on a wharf around which mooring and
                 berthing lines are fastened.
Bond             An undertaking in due legal form, by which a person binds
                 himself to the Customs to do or not to do some specified act.
                 (WCO)
Bonded goods     Goods stored in a warehouse without the payment of duty until
                 that duty is paid or the goods are exported or legally dealt with.
Bounty           Payment by governments to producers of goods, often to
                 strengthen their competitive position.
Break bulk       - To unload and distribute a portion or all of the contents of a rail
                 car, container, or trailer.
                 - Loose, non-containerized cargo.
Brokerage        Freight forwarder/broker compensation as specified by ocean
                 tariff or contract.
Bulk cargo       Not in packages or containers; shipped loose in the hold of a ship
                 without mark and count. Grain, coal and sulphur are usually bulk
                 freight.
Bulk carriers    Vessels designed to carry bulk cargo such as grain, fertilizers,
                 ore, and oil.
Bulkhead         A partition separating one part of a ship, freight car, aircraft or
                 truck from another part.
Bunker charge An extra charge sometimes added to steamship freight rates;
              justified by higher fuel costs. (Also known as Fuel Adjustment
              Factor or FAF.)
Bunkers          A Maritime term referring to Fuel used aboard the ship. Coal
                 stowage areas aboard a vessel in the past were in bins or
                 bunkers.