The requirements for the preparation of documents by foreign trade document clerks are “correct, complete, timely, concise and neat”.
(I) Correctness
Correctness is the premise of foreign trade document work. If the documents are incorrect, it is impossible to collect foreign exchange safely.
(II) Completeness
(III) Timeliness
The timeliness of documents is reflected in the timely issuance and timely delivery of documents.
1. Timely issuance of documents
Timely issuance of documents means that the issuance date of various documents must be reasonable and feasible, and the issuance date of each document cannot exceed the validity period specified in the letter of credit or a reasonable date according to commercial practices. For example, the issuance date of an insurance policy cannot be later than the issuance date of the bill of lading; the bill of lading date cannot be later than the shipment period, etc.
2. Timely delivery of documents
Timely delivery of documents means that the exporter must deliver the documents to the bank within the delivery period specified in the letter of credit. Overdue delivery of documents will be rejected. In export business, document work is a multi-link comprehensive work. If document work is not done in time, it will seriously affect the work of related departments. For example, booking, customs declaration, inspection, settlement of exchange and other work are all based on documents, which are linked together. If one link is disconnected, the work of the next link cannot be carried out. The chain reaction affects the overall situation, which may disrupt the work order at the least and cause economic losses at the worst.
(IV) Concise
The content of the document should be filled in according to the requirements of the contract or letter of credit, and should be concise. Do not add unnecessary content to avoid making things worse. Simplifying documents can not only reduce workload and improve work efficiency, but also help improve the quality of documents and reduce errors in documents.
(V) Neat
Neatness refers to the cleanliness, beauty and generosity of the surface of the document; the clarity and recognition of the content of the document; and the concise and clear description of the content of the document. The neatness of documents requires that the design and preparation of document formats should strive for standardization and normalization, and the arrangement of document contents should be neat, orderly, with key items prominent and eye-catching, clear handwriting, smooth grammar, fluent sentences, and concise and appropriate words.
To sum up, the requirements of “correct, complete, timely, concise, and neat” document preparation work reflect the “concept of striving for excellence in documents”. First, according to the requirements of “correct and complete” document preparation work, foreign trade document clerks are required to achieve a 100% accuracy rate in each document preparation, pursuing the “zero error” craftsman spirit; secondly, according to the requirements of “timely” document preparation work, foreign trade document clerks are required not only to do it correctly, but also to do it quickly, pursuing the “high efficiency” craftsman spirit; finally, according to the requirements of “concise and neat” document preparation work, foreign trade document clerks are required not only to do it correctly and quickly, but also to do it beautifully, pursuing the “pursuit of perfection” craftsman spirit. “Concept of striving for excellence in documents” also reflects the mission awareness and responsibility awareness of foreign trade document clerks to become a strong foreign trade country.