FIATA is the acronym for the French term “Fédération Internationale des Associations de Transitaires et Assimilés”, which in English means “International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations”. It is a non-governmental organization representing the interests of around 40,000 members who are mainly forwarding and logistics firms across 150 countries. FIATA has created several documents and forms to establish a uniform standard for use by their members worldwide. These FIATA documents have an excellent reputation internationally and are recognized as documents of tradition and trust, the FIATA Bill of Lading being one of them.
For the carriage of goods, the FIATA members use below forms as their Bill of Lading.
- FBL (negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading)
- FWB (non-negotiable FIATA Multimodal Transport Waybill)
So how is a FIATA Bill of Lading different from a Carrier’s Bill of Lading or other House Bills of Lading issued by other forwarders?
In terms of the role of the bill of lading, the FIATA bill of lading performs the same role of a forwarder or carrier’s bill of lading which is :
- Evidence of contract of carriage
- Receipt of goods
- Document of title to goods
The main difference is that the FIATA bill of lading has its own terms and conditions to cover their members. Only paid-up members of FIATA are allowed to use these bills of lading legally and only paid-up members receive the FIATA Bill of Lading stationery with the FIATA logo.The member freight forwarder may further customise it with their own logo but always keeping the FIATA logo visible and on the FIATA Bill it is usually a watermark.
The FIATA bill of lading may be printed and issued only by associations or members authorized by FIATA which ensures the security of the bill of lading. Any claims received for shipments under a FIATA bill of lading may be entertained only if the claiming member is fully subscribed with FIATA.
The FIATA multimodal transport bill of lading is recognized worldwide. It is considered and acknowledged as a negotiable document of title in line with the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Rules.
The FIATA bill carries the logo of the ICC in addition to that of FIATA and may carry the logos of the freight forwarder and any other association that the freight forwarder may belong to, like BIFA (British International Freight Association). Since FIATA is such a prestigious institution, many scamsters and fraudsters use the FIATA logo illegally on their website and/or bill of lading to gain mileage out of this association. FIATA encourages their members to always use the FIATA website to verify the authenticity of the forwarders displaying the FIATA logo.
The FIATA bill of lading is very commonly mentioned in Letters of Credit and shipping instructions as the preferred document of transport and is recognized by the ICC Banking Commission Group as a carrier’s bill of lading. In line with the digitalization of the freight industry, FIATA has joined forces with essDOCS to offer FIATA members and their customers an electronic version of the FIATA Bill of Lading (eFBL). As per FIATA’s website, this is how their electronics solution will work :
CargoDocs™ solution allows for the electronic FIATA Bills of Lading (eFBLs) to be drafted online, before a FIATA member signs and issues them electronically. All actions are handled by the same parties that would handle paper FBLs.
Exporters can supplement the eFBL with supporting documents (commercial invoice, packing list, etc.) and the whole set of Original eDocs can be instantly transferred within essDOCS’ secure, online Exchange to Importers or their Banks. Banks signed up to treat the eFBL as the legal equivalent to the paper FBL under L/C transactions.
Finally the eFBL is surrendered to the agent at destination electronically, eliminating any need in the whole process to courier or hand-carry documents between parties. Release of cargo then happens as today.
Benefits
- Shipping Instructions can be sent to FIATA members electronically, while CargoDocs™ Collaborative Drafting tool improves the eFBL drafting process
- This reduces time for drafting/approving documents, allowing faster release of eFBL to shipper/exporter, with more accuracy
- No courier fees or delays resulting from physical distribution of documents
- Significant time and cost saving when eFBLs or other documents require amending (e.g., if Bank finds a discrepancy against L/C, or a COD requires new documents)
- In Trade Finance applications, eDocs are delivered directly to the L/C or eDoc Collection team, bypassing the local office and speeding up L/C review
- Eliminates risk of fraudulent B/Ls being presented at destination for collection of goods
- No more lost bills of lading
- eDocs archived electronically, and searchable so can be accessed at any time, reducing paper storage
Summary and Professional Advice
FIATA is recognized by many governmental organizations, governmental authorities, private international organizations in the transport and logistics industry. Among them are the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Union of Railways (UIC), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The FIATA Bill of Lading is widely recognized by banks, shipping lines, trade organizations etc and is one of the most trusted documents for a forwarder and their clients.
Therefore for forwarders, it is in their best interest that they are registered with one of the forwarding associations that is accredited to FIATA in order to enjoy the privileges, benefits and protection that this traditional body/document has to offer.
