You issue the house bill in your own name
An NVOCC is a carrier to its customers and a customer to the ocean line. The ocean line issues you a master bill. You issue a house bill in your own name to the shipper. That difference changes who is liable, whose name appears where, and which document a bank will accept. It is why a forwarder's paperwork and an NVOCC's paperwork are different.
The house bill you issue to your shipper. Fill it in here, and the consolidated packing list for the same container is filled in from it.
| Marks and Numbers | Container / Seal No. | No. of Pkgs | Kind of Packages | Description of Goods | Gross Weight (KG) | Measurement (CBM) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RECEIVED by the Carrier the goods described above in apparent good order and condition unless otherwise stated, to be transported to such place as agreed, authorised or permitted herein and subject to all the terms and conditions appearing on the front and reverse of this Bill of Lading. In accepting this Bill of Lading the Merchant agrees to be bound by all such terms and conditions as if each had individually signed it.
Parties, ports, container and line items carry across every document.
The carrier's receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and a document of title the consignee must surrender to collect the cargo.
One packing list covering several orders or invoices consolidated into a single shipment.
Tells the carrier exactly how the bill of lading should read: parties, routing, cargo description and freight terms.
Books a consignment with a freight forwarder: collection details, routing, cargo particulars and who pays which charges.
Where the house bill and master bill must match
The master bill names you as shipper and the ocean carrier as carrier. The house bill names your customer as shipper and you as carrier. The parties are meant to differ. Container and seal numbers, weights, vessel and voyage must be identical on both, because they are physical facts. If the two bills disagree on a physical fact, customs at destination treats it as a misdeclaration, not as a typing error.
Banks reject house bills unless the credit allows them
Under UCP 600 a bank checks whether the transport document was issued by a carrier or its named agent. A house bill issued by an NVOCC is routinely refused if the letter of credit does not expressly allow a forwarder's or NVOCC's bill. Check the credit before you issue the bill, not after it is presented. The fix afterwards is an amendment your customer has to ask their buyer for.
Switch bills: what may change and what may not
A switch bill is legal and common. It is usually used to hide the original supplier from the final buyer in a three-party sale. Shipper, consignee, notify party, port of loading and goods description can be reissued. Container number, seal number, weight and vessel cannot. Those describe the box, and changing them makes the bill a false document. Never let two full sets of bills circulate at once. That is how the same cargo gets claimed twice.
One container, several shippers
Consolidating means several house bills sit under one master bill. Each shipper needs their own house bill and their own line on a packing list, and the lines must add up to what the carrier weighed. The consolidated packing list is made for this: detail for each shipper that adds up to one container's gross weight and one verified gross mass.
Field-by-field walkthroughs of the documents above.
+What makes an NVOCC different from a freight forwarder?
A forwarder arranges carriage as your agent. An NVOCC contracts as the carrier itself, issues its own bill of lading, and takes on carrier liability for the leg it covers. Many companies do both, on different shipments.
+Do I need to issue three originals of a house bill?
Only if it is negotiable. A house bill made out to a named consignee needs no original surrendered. One made out to order works like any negotiable bill and is usually issued in a set of three.
+Can I issue a telex release on a house bill?
Yes, once all originals are surrendered to you and the freight is paid. You then have to get the same release on the master bill from the ocean carrier. The order matters. If you release the house bill before you hold the master release, you are exposed.
+Whose weight goes on the VGM?
The shipper named on the bill of lading certifies it. On a consolidated container, settle this in writing before loading, because the master bill names you as shipper.
Exporters
Make the invoice, packing list and certificate of origin for a shipment in one go, without typing the consignee's address four times.
Freight forwarders
Turn a client's spreadsheet into a clean set of documents that a customs broker will accept.
Customs brokers
Rebuild a missing or unusable document from the details you already have.
Try it with a real shipment.
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