Commerce WASSCE (PC), 2016

Question 4

 

            Explain the following business documents and state two uses of each:

  1. Consignment note;
  2. Delivery note;
  3. Bill of lading;
  4. Bill of sight.

 

 

Observation

 

Few candidates attempted this question and performance was very poor.

The expected responses to the question include:

(a)        Consignment Note:    
It is a contract of carriage of goods between the carrier and the seller in home trade.

                        Uses:
(i)         It is used when goods are sent on sale or return basis to an agent;
(ii)        It is used when goods are sent by other means other than the sellers vehicles;
(iii)       It gives details of the goods and the consignee;
(iv)       It states whether freight has been paid or not;
(v)        It is used as an evidence of delivery of goods.

(b)        Delivery Note:
It is a document sent by the seller to the buyer to acknowledge the receipt
of goods sent.                                                                                                

                        Uses:
(i)         It contains description of the goods, the address to which it is sent
without price;
(ii)        Its purpose is to allow the buyer to check the details of the goods on arrival;
(iii)       It is used as evidence of goods delivered before invoices are issued in credit sales;
(iv)       It is used when goods are transported by the seller’s vehicles.

(c)        Bill of Lading:
It is a contract of carriage of goods between an exporter and the ship owner.         

                        Uses:
-           This is a document used in the shipping of goods;
-           It serves as evidence of contract of carriage;
-           It is the document of title to the goods which enables importers to clear goods at the port;
-           It gives the details of the goods and their destination;
-           It serves as an acknowledgement of the goods by the ship owner.

            (d)       Bills of Sight:
It is a document prepared by the importer stating the details of the goods pending the arrival of bill of lading.                                                              

Uses:
(i)         This is used pending the arrival of the bill of lading that contains details of goods;
(ii)        It contains details of the cargo to allow the importer to inspect the goods on arrival;
(iii)       It is used to calculate custom duties.