HBL vs MBL - What is Difference Between

 Many shippers often hear MBL and HBL when dealing with freight forwarders, but how much do they know about HBL and MBL? Is there a difference between HBL and MBL? The following is to answer those things about the bill of lading HBL and MBL.

Content list:

Definition of HBL and MBL

The characteristics of HBL and its difference from MBL

HBL and MBL Operation Process

Definition of HBL and MBL

The full name of MBL is Master Bill of Lading. If there are Part Bills, MBL is usually also called Master Bill.

The full name of HBL is House Bill of Lading. If Part Bills are to be issued, then Part Bills must be issued by freight forwarders. Since they are issued by freight forwarders, all Part Bills are HBLs—but not all HBLs are Part Bills. Because a lot of them don't come out of Part Bills. There are also a small number of people who call HBL the Forwarder Bill of Loading.

It should be noted that the bill of lading (whether MBL or HBL) is only for sea freight. Aviation is Airway Bill (AWB for short); railway is Railway Bill, which is essentially different from Bill of lading (MBL&HBL) by sea.

Bill of Lading, referred to as B/L or BL, its main feature is the "document of title" - unique to shipping.

The so-called "property certificate" refers to the certificate, document, certificate and other written documents that prove that the owner of the real right has the real right. MBL, HBL, etc. are a kind of document of title because they can be endorsed and transferred; Railway Bill and Airway Bill are not documents of title. The above-mentioned documents are also the receipts for the goods carried by the carrier.

Simply put, the waybill is nothing more than a receipt for the goods; and the ocean bill of lading (MBL, HBL, etc.) has the attribute of representing the ownership of the goods.

The characteristics of HBL and its difference from MBL

The main body of MBL is the shipping company. The issuer of HBL is the freight forwarder.

The title of MBL is Shipping Company, Ship Owner. And the title of HBL is Freight Forwarding.

MBL can pick up the goods directly from the shipping company at the port of destination, while HBL must first exchange the owner's bill of lading (MBL) with the agent at the port of destination, and then go to the shipping company or its agent to pick up the goods with the exchanged MBL.

In container liner transportation, MBL is only applicable to FCL transportation, and the shipping company will not issue a LCL bill of lading. HBL can be used for both FCL and LCL, and HBL must be used for LCL transportation, because Part Bills are required for LCL, and Part Bills are issued by LCL freight forwarders.

Seeing this, will you have a question: since there is MBL, why do you need HBL?

From the issuer of the bill of lading, one is the shipping company and the other is the freight forwarder, you can know which one is more flexible. MBL tends to be rigid and not easy to change, and it is not easy to issue bills of lading according to the customer's requirements (especially when the L/C letter of credit terms).

In addition, it is more convenient to issue the freight forwarder bill of lading when the freight forwarder is not designated by the customer. Because after all, you are the freight forwarder you find yourself, you are the customer, and it is easier to communicate. In short, the freight forwarder is better to talk about, especially the freight forwarder you find yourself. However, the shipping company is not so easy to talk about.

There is also a possible reason. When there are intermediaries, the intermediaries may not want to let the final customer know the key information such as the source of the goods. They often issue HBL and only give the HBL to the final customer, so as to achieve the purpose of keeping business secrets.

HBL and MBL Operation Process

1. Shipper sends the consignment note to Forwarder, indicating whether it is FCL or LCL.

2. The Forwarder makes a booking with the shipping company and the ship is on board. Shipping company issues MBL to Forwarder.

3. Forwarder signs HBL to Shipper. HBL's Shipper is the real shipper. CNEE generally does the letter of credit as TO ORDER.

4. Shipping carriers deliver the goods to the port of destination after the ship has opened.

5. Forwarder will send MBL to the branch of destination port via DHL/UPS/TNT. (INCLUDING: CUSTOM CLEARANCE DOCS)

6. After the Shipper gets the bill of lading, it will present the bill to the domestic free-paying bank within the period of presentation, and settle the foreign exchange. If you do T/T Shipper, you can directly send documents to foreign customers.

7. Negotiating Bank settles the full set of documents to the issuing bank.

8. CNEE pays the redemption note to the issuing bank.

9. Forwarder takes the MBL to the shipping company to exchange the order to pick up the goods and clear the customs.

10. CNEE took HBL to forwarder.

The above is the general practice of international freight forwarding.

Their difference is:

HBL is a bill of lading issued by the freight forwarder and cannot be used to pick up the goods. MBL is the bill of lading issued by the ship owner, which can be used to pick up the goods

HBL can give to the shipper whether it is paid on delivery or prepaid. If MBL is paid on delivery, it is generally not given. The shipping company must control the goods, but the prepayment can be given to the shipper. Some shipping companies are directly designated by the guests.

The letterhead of HBL is generally the letterhead of the freight forwarder designated by the customer, and the signature is also the letterhead of the freight forwarder. The header of MBL is the letterhead of the shipping company. For example, if you go to YANGMING, his letterhead is YANGMING LING....... The signature is also YANGMING’s.

When picking up the goods, use HBL to exchange MBL to mention the goods

Forwarders Cargo Receipt, or FCR for short, Cargo Receipt, is a receipt issued to the shipper when the freight forwarder receives the consignment. In addition, it is also a contract to transport the goods to the destination listed on the FCR. It is not a document of title, unless If the letter of credit is specially authorized, the bank will not accept such documents. The bill of lading is a document of title. Unlike Cargo Receipt, which has no strict unified regulations, the bill of lading has a strict meaning. The main focus is on the security of foreign exchange collection, because you hand over the goods to The freight forwarder has completed the delivery task. At this time, because there is no bill of lading, the goods are no longer owned by you, and the customer can also pick up the goods directly, and you should get the money after evaluating the documents, because you have lost the goods. B/L stands for property right and is a certificate of ownership, cargo receipt is just a receipt and does not represent property right.

Cargo Receipt: It is a cargo receipt issued by the chief mate of the carrier ship to the shipper after the cargo is loaded, indicating that the cargo has been received and loaded on board. After receiving the original bill of lading, the consignee exchanges the bill of lading with the agent of the carrier; after the agent issues the bill of lading, the contents of the original bill of lading, manifest and bill of lading must be consistent; After the formalities, go to the port warehouse or the ship to pick up the goods; after the goods are cleared, the bill of lading will be kept in the port warehouse for future reference; when the consignee actually receives less than the bill of lading or is damaged, he must ask for the cargo overfill or damage list. and claim against the carrier through the agent.

Cargo receipt should be one of the unloading documents handled by the consignee. Generally, because the customer is chartering the ship and booking space, and he hopes to receive the bill of lading as soon as possible to pick up the goods, the cargo receipt is required to be presented in the L/C, and the full set of originals is required. The bill of lading is sent directly to the applicant by the beneficiary or directly to the applicant with the ship. This practice usually exists on the basis of considerable mutual trust between the two parties. That is to say, the customer finally picks up the goods, relying on the full set of B/L; but this set of B/L is circulated outside the letter of credit. The actual transfer of the right of goods is also outside the letter of credit; under the letter of credit, the applicant will also try to simplify the document requirements for the aforementioned reasons - in the CASE I actually saw, this kind of cargo receipt is usually issued by the beneficiary himself or by the beneficiary. It is issued by its freight forwarder (not the shipping company).

From STU Supply Chain: HBL vs MBL - What is Difference Between