Import letter of credit procedure

In LN, the import letter of credit (L/C) procedure entails maintaining and processing letters of credit from the buyer's perspective.

These types of letters of credit are used:

  • Import letters of credit - for international trade
  • Domestic purchase letters of credit - for trade within the same country
Step 1. Initial letter of credit

Based on the purchase and sales agreement, and the L/C requirements from the seller, the buyer draws up a draft letter of credit. The status of the initial letter of credit is Preliminary.

Import letters of credit are maintained in the Import Letter of Credit (tcgtc0650m100) session, and domestic purchase letters of credit in the Domestic Purchase Letter of Credit (tcgtc0650m300) session.

Step 2. Link document to letter of credit

When the letter of credit is satisfactory, an authorized user links the relevant document to the letter of credit. This is to ensure that the document is processed according to the terms of the letter of credit.

These documents are available for import or domestic purchase letters of credit:

See Link and unlink letters of credit.

Step 3. Approve letter of credit

After linking the document or documents, the user approves the letter of credit by selecting Approve on the appropriate menu of the Import Letter of Credit (tcgtc0650m100) or the Domestic Purchase Letter of Credit (tcgtc0650m300) session.

Usually, at this stage the buyer uses the approved letter of credit to officially request his bank to open a letter of credit. Approved letters of credit cannot be changed, but if required, you can change an approved letter of credit by selecting Unapprove on the appropriate menu.

See To change letter of credit data or status.

Step 4. Set to Definitive

To continue the procedure, the user must set the status of the letter of credit to Definitive. This allows the linked documents to be approved.

Document compliance checks are performed to verify if the document and the receipt meet the requirements of the letter of credit. See Compliance checks for documents linked to letters of credit.

Step 5. Set to Requested

When the buyer has sent the request to open a letter of credit to the issuing bank, the user must set the status of the letter of credit to Requested.

Step 6. Set to Received

When the letter of credit is received from the issuing bank for final approval, the user must set the status of the letter of credit to Received.

Step 7. Set to Issued

When the issuing bank has issued the letter of credit to the advising bank, set the status of the letter of credit to Issued.

This status allows the linked document to be released to Warehousing.

When the document is released to Warehousing and when the receipt related to the document is confirmed, document compliance checks are performed to verify if the document and the receipt meet the requirements of the letter of credit. See Compliance checks for documents linked to letters of credit.

Step 8. Set to Paid

If the payment made for the purchase order lines linked to the letter of credit is equal to the maximum amount of the letter of credit, the status of the letter of credit (L/C) is automatically set to Paid.

Users can also manually set the status to Paid.

Step 9. Set to Closed

After payment is made, the user can set the status to Closed.

Note
  • The previous steps reflect the normal flow. However, if the letter of credit requires adjustment, at various stages in the procedure you may be required to change the data or to set the letter of credit to an earlier status. See To change letter of credit data or status
  • Users can set the letter of credit to Canceled at any stage in the procedure.