Meaning & features of a bill of lading in Business Studies.
Bill of lading is a contract where the ship-owner acknowledges the receipt of the goods on the board and undertakes to carry the goods to the destination port as per conditions stated therein. It contains name of the ship, the place of loading, destination, name of the importer and full description of goods. These are prepared in five copies where the first three copies are given to the importer and one copy is retained by the captain and another copy is handed over to the exporter.
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The features of a bill of lading are:
- It is an evidence of contract.
- It serve as a document of title-to-goods.
- It may be marked freight paid or freight forward.
- A clean bill states that packing of goods are free from defects.
- A foul bill states that the packing is defective.