Definition
A bill of lading is the contract of carriage between the shipper and the carrier. It serves as a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and a document of title. An ocean shipment uses a master bill of lading (carrier to forwarder) and often a house bill of lading (forwarder to shipper).
Why it matters
The B/L carries the authoritative shipper, consignee, vessel, container, and cargo description used to create the lot and the customs entry. Discrepancies between the B/L and the invoice are a common source of filing errors.
How TIO handles it
TIO extracts B/L fields with source attribution and flags mismatches against the invoice for your team to resolve before approval.
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