加载中…
标签：
杂谈 |
The process of exporting is incomplete without receipt of
payment. Export income is considered earned only when payment has
been received.
Letter of Credit （L/C）
The most popular and a safer method of payment is by a confirmed
irrevocable letter of credit at sight. Please see Documentary
Credits （Letters of Credit） for detail explanations.
Documentary Collections
Please click here for the detail information about documentary
collections.
Documents Against Payment （D/P）
Documents Against Acceptance （D/A）
In exporting to the offshore countries, payment by cheque and
bank draft occur more often in a small order, ranging from a few
hundred to a couple of thousand U.S. dollars. Cheques and bank
drafts are often used in open account and consignment trade
arrangements.
Both large and small companies may default in their payments,
regardless of the amount involved. In times of economic
uncertainty, both large and small companies may go out of business.
It is important to receive the cheque or bank draft before
releasing the shipment. Unless the integrity of the importer is
known, it is very important to wait until the cheque or bank draft
has cleared before the shipment. International clearing of cheques
and bank drafts takes 3 to 4 weeks usually （except in a sight draft
with a paying bank in the seller's country）.
Not all cheques and bank drafts are genuine, and not all genuine
cheques carry a cash value （please refer to the Fly-By-Night
Importers for related information）.
Open Account
In an open account trade arrangement, the goods are shipped to a
buyer without guarantee of payment. Quite often, the buyer does not
pay on the agreed time. Unless the buyer's integrity is
unquestionable, this trade arrangement is risky to the
seller.
Consignment
In a consignment trade arrangement, the seller ships the goods to
the buyer when there is no purchase made. The buyer is obliged to
pay the seller for the goods when sold. The seller retains title to
the goods until the buyer has sold them.
Cash In Advance （CID）
The cash in advance, which is the safest term of payment, most
often is effected using the cheque or bank draft. In some cases,
the CID term is paid using the telegraphic transfer （T/T）.
Telegraphic Transfer （T/T）
The telegraphic transfer——cable transfer or wire transfer——is the
equivalent of a cash payment that can be credited directly to the
seller's account （the name and address of the seller's bank and the
seller's bank account number are required by the buyer's bank）. It
is fast and safe. Unlike a payment by cheque or bank draft, in
which the mailing time alone may take several days to few weeks,
plus the clearing time of 3 to 4 weeks for a total of about 4 to 6
weeks before the seller may receive the cash, by means of T/T the
seller may receive the cash in a few hours or days.
It is important to wait until the T/T has been received before
making the shipment, especially when the integrity of the buyer is
unknown.
A combination of letter of credit （L/C） and telegraphic transfer
（T/T） is a popular means of payment in the undervalue arrangement.
The undervalue is an illegal way of reducing or avoiding the import
duties and taxes by underdeclaring the price of imported goods. It
is a sneaky way of bringing the landed cost of imported goods to a
competitive level. The undervalue is being practiced in certain
less developed countries, usually involving items whose import
duties are relatively high. There is no need to undervalue the
goods if the import duty is 10% or less. Sometimes, an item having
a 15% rate of duty may not need to be undervalued too, depending on
the method of import duty and sales tax calculations in the
importing country.
The undervalue arrangement is highly risky. To avoid trouble the
exporter should refrain from using this arrangement. Governments do
not encourage exports by undervalue. If an exporter does not
violate the foreign exchange control and tax laws of the exporting
country and international laws such as copyright and patent, the
government of the exporting country usually will not step into the
exporter's way in the undervalue arrangement.
The undervalue arrangement uses two sets of documents. For
example, an importer contracted 1,000 pieces of product X at FOB
US$8 each for a total of US$8,000. The importer may want to declare
25% only （10% to 50% of contract price is declared usually in the
undervalue arrangement） or at US$2 each for a total of US$2,000.
One set of documents will show 1,000 pieces of product X at US$2
each for a total of US$2,000, while the other set shows the true
value.
The importer opens an L/C for US$2,000 and remits the US$6,000
balance by T/T.
The importer has to buy the dollar from the black market and
remit it by T/T through a third country. Most often the T/T will
not reach the exporter on the agreed time. Quite often, the
shipment date arrives before the T/T reaches the exporter.
The undervalue arrangement hinges on mutual trust between
exporter and importer. The importer has to be very careful because
there is a danger that the exporter may run off after receiving the
T/T. In the event of a sour relationship, the importer may run the
risk of being blackmailed by the exporter through threat of
exposing the private arrangement.
With the growing free trade around the world, the undervalue
practice is diminishing.
Case Sample：
An unusual situation the exporter may encounter is that the
importer may request payment by a combination of letter of credit
（L/C） and telegraphic transfer （T/T） on the pretext of undervalue.
The importer may request to declare 80% （or on other percentage） of
the contract price for a product having a duty rate of less than
10%, and may promise that the T/T portion of each preceding order
will be remitted in the succeeding order. To an inexperienced
exporter the request sounds all right, but it is not. The request
is actually a scheme of 'hostage taking' of the T/T portion or 20%
of the contract price, which is a lot of money over time. Do not
expect that the T/T portion of the preceding order will come in on
time as promised when the buyer places the next order. A fraction
of the T/T from the first order will come in when the buyer books
the third order.
The buyer holds the T/T portion as a hostage to ensure that the
exporter will ship the next order, otherwise no payment will
follow. Moreover, the buyer uses the T/T to deduct for allegedly
defective products. The author once had such a customer from a
developed country. At a time when the buyer owed the company close
to US$9,000 in backlog payments, the buyer suddenly claimed that
there were accumulated defective products worth nearly US$4,000.
The author requested photographic proof but the buyer could not
present it. The buyer insisted on deducting the amount otherwise
they would not remit the balance payment. The company secretly
hired an independent surveyor at the buyer's country. The
surveyor's fee was based on an hourly rate plus the travelling
expenses. The surveyor, armed with a letter of authority from the
company, visited the buyer unannounced, following the company's
instructions. The truth ultimately came to light. The buyer was
lying. The company exerted pressure on the buyer and he came to his
senses. The balance amount, minus an amount for damaged products
（less than US$300） was turned over.
八、外贸结算英语词汇
现金帐户 Cash account
预付现金 Cash advance
凭提货单支付现金 Cash against Bill of Lading (B/L)
凭单据付现款||凭装货单付现款 Cash against Documents
现金资产 Cash assets
现金结存||现金差额 Cash balance
现收现付制||现金收付制 Cash basis
付现款后交货||交货前付现款 Cash before delivery
装运前付现款 Cash before shipment
现金交易 Cash dealing
现款押金||现金存款 Cash deposit
现金折扣||现金贴现 Cash discount
付现款||现金支付 Cash payment
现金结算 Cash settlement
货到付现款 Cash on delivery (C.O.D.)(Eng.)
货到收现款 Collect on delivery (C.O.D.)(Am.)
承兑后若干天付款 days after acceptance (D/A)
开票日后若干日 days after date (D/D)
见票后若干日 days after sight (D/S)
定期汇票 date draft
承兑交单 documentsagainst acceptance (D/A)||documentary Bill for
Acceptance (D/A)
付款交单 documents against payment (D/P)
折扣 discount (DC)
付现款时2%折扣 less 2% due net cash
现款5%折扣 5% for cash
一个月内付款2%折扣 2% one month
三个月内付款需现金 3 months net
立即付现款 prompt cash
付现款 net cash||ready cash||cash
汇票 (美) draft
汇票(英) bill of exchange
见票即付||即期汇票 draft at sight||sight draft
托收汇票
来取即付汇票 draft on demand||bill on demand
见票后 .. 天付款 draft at .. days' date
跟单汇票 draft with documents atta ched||documentary draft
无追索权汇票 draft without recourse
银行汇票 bank draft
银行汇票||银行票据 banker's draft
商业汇票 merchant's draft
电汇 cable draft
折扣汇票 discount draft
被拒付汇票 dishonoured draft
顶