A waybill is evidence of a contract between a shipper and consignee, while a bill of lading conveys title. Waybills are differentiated by transport means and must bear the name of a consignee. A bill of lading is negotiable, while a waybill is not.
Both the waybill and the bill of lading are tools for facilitating international trade. The main difference between a waybill and a bill of lading is that while the bill of lading conveys title, the waybill merely serves as evidence that the consignee has entered into a contract with the shipper to carry the goods to an identified destination . A waybill typically contains a list of the items included in the cargo by the shipper, the condition of the cargo, and the name of the consignee. The sender will endorse the consignment note after acknowledging that the information provided on it is correct.
The waybill is differentiated according to the means of transport. For example, the consignment note issued for an ocean transport is known as a sea waybill. The same principle applies to air, road and rail transport. To illustrate the difference between the waybill and a bill of lading, it is helpful to consider a situation where a bill of lading does not reach the master of a ship who has been assigned to ferry cargo to a specific destination. The sea waybill will serve as adequate proof that the master has received the goods and has been instructed to ship them to a designated consignee.
Such master shall accept the sea waybill in lieu of the bill of lading for the purpose of shipment of the goods. The goods will be delivered to the consignee who has been identified on the waybill. Waybills must necessarily bear the name of a consignee who will receive the goods in the port of destination. This is another difference between waybill and bill of lading. The purpose of having a sea waybill is to expedite the process of unloading the goods once the goods have been ferried to their final destinations. Most of the time, the official bill of lading will not reach the captain in such a way as to allow timely unloading of the cargo.
Another difference between waybill and bill of lading is the fact that bill of lading is a negotiable instrument, unlike waybill. This means that the owner of the bill of lading can transfer the title to whoever he wants. It is not the same with a waybill, which must only be transferred to the person who was named on the document as the recipient. In this sense, the bill of lading can be used to obtain a loan or line of credit from a financial institution as collateral since the title can be passed to them. This is not the same with a waybill and banks will not accept them as collateral.
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