UCP 600 Article 18: the commercial invoice
The invoice is the beneficiary’s document
Article 18 is short and it is strict about parties. A commercial invoice must appear to have been issued by the beneficiary named in the credit. It must be made out in the name of the applicant, unless the credit is transferable and the transfer rules produce a different applicant name. The currency must be the currency of the credit. A third-country trader’s invoice, or an invoice in a currency the credit did not state, is not repaired by a matching goods description.
Description and signature
Article 14(e) sits beside Article 18. The description of the goods in the commercial invoice must correspond with the credit. Other documents may be more general, provided they do not conflict. Article 18 itself does not demand a signature. Banks that refuse an unsigned invoice under a silent credit are adding a condition. If the credit says “signed commercial invoice”, that credit term controls. ISBP 745, where it is the practice publication being used, also says a document titled provisional or pro-forma is not the invoice the credit called for unless the credit allows that title.
An invoice above the credit amount
Article 18(b) is the excess-invoice rule. A nominated bank acting on its nomination, a confirming bank, or the issuing bank may accept a commercial invoice issued for an amount in excess of the amount permitted by the credit. The decision binds all parties, provided the bank has not honoured or negotiated for an amount in excess of the credit. The drawing itself still must not exceed what the credit allows. Tolerance under Article 30, where “about” or “approximately” gives 10 percent, is a different calculation and should not be mixed into Article 18.
Instalments, part shipments, and the amount
If the credit prohibits partial shipments, an invoice for part of the quantity is not saved by Article 18. If partial shipments are allowed, the invoice should cover the drawing being made, and the amount claimed must still fit the credit, including any Article 30 tolerance. A Bangladesh issuing bank that pays the full invoice while the credit covers less has gone beyond both Article 18 and its reimbursement position. The accepted excess, if any, stays for the applicant’s account under the facility, not as an increase of the credit.
Desk limit
This page does not calculate VAT, AIT, or the bank’s commission. Those are charges outside UCP 600. It also does not say that every invoice heading used in the garment trade is acceptable. Read the credit’s document schedule, then Article 18, then the ISBP edition you are actually applying. Do not treat ISBP 821 as the automatic companion of a credit that only incorporates UCP 600.
Source
ICC, UCP 600, Article 18. Summary only, not a copy of the article. See iccwbo.org. Open the cited source.
Frequently asked questions
Must the invoice be signed?
Article 18 does not require a signature. A credit that expressly demands a signed invoice is a credit term, not the default rule.
In whose name is the invoice made out?
It must appear to be issued by the beneficiary and, except in a transferable credit, made out in the name of the applicant, in the same currency as the credit.
Can the invoice exceed the credit amount?
A nominated bank acting on its nomination, a confirming bank, or the issuing bank may accept an invoice for more than the credit allows. That decision binds the other parties only if the bank has not honoured or negotiated for more than the credit amount.