Letter of Credit is issued by the bank of an importer guaranteeing to honour a draft of a certain amount drawn on it by the exporter. It is an important document because, in international transactions, there is always a risk of the importer defaulting on payment once the goods are received. Thus, to minimise the risk of such defaults, the exporter often demands a letter of credit. A letter of credit enables the exporter to assess the credit worthiness of the importer. It is the most appropriate and secure method of payment for settling an international transaction.

Mate's Receipt is issued by the captain or commanding officer of a ship to an exporter. This receipt acts as evidence that the exporter's cargo has been loaded on the ship. It contains information such as the name of the vessel, berth, date of shipment, condition of the cargo when it was loaded, description of the packages of the cargo, number of packages and marks on the packages. Once the port dues are received, the port superintendent gives the Mate's Receipt to the C and F agent concerned. It is only after the Mate's Receipt has been obtained that the shipping company will issue the bill of lading.

Shipping Bill contains information about the goods that are exported. That is, it contains particulars such as the name of the vessel, port at which the goods are to be discharged, country of final destination and exporter's name and address. A Shipping Bill is essential for an export transaction as it is on the basis of this document that the customs grants clearance to the export.

Before the final loading of goods for export, it is necessary for the exporter to get the goods cleared by customs. This is known as Securing Customs Clearance. In this regard, an exporter first requires to submit the following documents to the customs appraiser at the Customs House
(a) Shipping bill
(b) Export order
(c) Letter of credit
(d) Commercial invoice
(e) Certificate of origin
(f) Certificate of inspection, if necessary
(g) Marine insurance policy.
After the submission of the documents,  carting order is obtained from the superintendent of the port concerned. The carting order acts as a gate pass for the cargo to enter the dock as it gives the necessary instructions to the staff. The physical movement of cargo then takes place from the dock to the port area and finally the goods are stored in an appropriate storage. It may not be possible for the exporter to be present at all times for performing these formalities, and therefore the task is assigned to a Clearing and Forwarding (C and F) agent.

Pre-shipment inspection refers to the inspection of goods before their final shipment measures such as compulsory inspection of certain goods by promulgating the Export Quality and Inspection Act, 1963, and designating various agencies to undertake inspection. Exporters are required to contact the Export Inspection Agency (EIA) or another designated agency and obtain an inspection certificate after getting the goods checked. However, in the case of goods exported by star trading houses, export houses, 100per cent export-oriented units and industrial units set up in Export Processing Zones (EPZs) or Special Economic Zones (SEZs), no such inspection is required.in order to ensure that only quality goods are exported. The Government has initiated.

(1)To Earn Foreign Exchange: Every country in the world is trying to earn a share in the global trade. This is due to the lowering of trade barriers since the inception of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),increased import bills, and increased global competition in the domestic market. Also, most developing countries row heavily from financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other sources to finance their developmental activities and reduce the balance of payment deficits. It is, therefore, imperative that the import bills as well as foreign loans be paid back in foreign exchange. In order to achieve this, earning foreign exchange through various export activities is the need of the hour.
(2)To Motivate Organisations to Export: In order to motivate organisations to export and earn precious foreign exchange, governments offer certain incentives. These incentives help reduce the tax burden of the exporters and also achieve a competitive price-edge for their products in foreign markets. However, being a member of WTO, each country has to ensure that the incentives offered by its government do not give an unfair advantage to the exporters. Thus, no country is to give special trading advantages to another or to discriminate against its all nations stand on an equal basis and share the benefits of any move towards lower trade barriers (branch). Also, all export incentives have to comply with WTO norms and should be in line with its various principles.
(3)To Promote Interests of Indian Exporters and keeping commitment of WTO: In India, the framework of export incentives in the form of duty exemption and remission schemes has been devised keeping in mind the interests of exporters as well as the commitments India has made to WTO. The Duty Exemption Scheme helps exporters import duty-free inputs required for manufacturing export products. The Duty Remission Schemes enable post-exports replenishment/remission of duty on inputs.
(4) To Import Capital Goods: In addition to this, the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme enables exporters to import capital goods at concessional rate of duty and suitable export obligation.
(5)To Reduce Bureaucratic Hurdles: The incentives detailed above are available to all eligible exporters in India. In addition, the government has launched the very ambitious scheme of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in order to reduce bureaucratic hurdles in importing inputs for exports and exporting finished products from India. These SEZs are modelled on the highly successful Chinese Economic Zones. It is expected that the SEZs will be the engines of growth in international trade for India.
(6) To Correct Unfavourable Balance of Trade: During the period of planning, except two years, all other years have witnessed unfavourable balance of trade. It not only reduced the foreign exchange reserves of India but also made it difficult to achieve plan targets. Successful completion of plans, therefore, calls for turning of unfavourable balance of trade into favourable one which requires increase in exports
(7)To Reduce Foreign Loans: India has to row large foreign funds to import essential machinery for economic and industrial development. Till March 2009, India had contracted foreign loans amounting to Rs.11,42,618crore. These loans are to be repaid one day. To pay interest and repay the principal amount of these loans, it is necessary that a policy of export promotion be adopted. Foreign exchange earned as a result of larger exports will be utilized for the repayment of foreign loans.
(8)To Achieve the Objective of Self-Reliance: One of the main objectives of Indian plans is to make the country independent of foreign assistance. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to promote exports. By accelerating exports, large amount of foreign currency can be earned.
(9) To Sell Surplus Production: During the period of planning, new industries have been set-up in India. In order to increase the sale of the products of these industries, their export is to be promoted. It becomes easy to increase exports under export promotion program.
(10) To Finance Imports: Successful execution of the plans necessitates import of machines and other capital goods from abroad. To earn necessary foreign exchange to meet their import bills, it becomes necessary to increase exports.

Export procedure: Imports and Exports (control) Act, 1947 regulates exports of goods from India. The Central Government announces rules, policies, procedures and incentives for exports from time to time. The procedure of export of goods from India is guided by these rules and regulations of the Government of India. But, in general, an export transaction has to pass through the following stages:
(i) Receiving enquiries and sending quotations: The exporter receives order from importer and sends quotations for goods.
(ii) Receiving of Order or Indent: The order is received for export of goods containing instructions regarding goods, price, quality, quantity etc.
(iii) Credit enquiry or obtaining Letter of Credit: The credit worthiness of the importer is verified.
(iv) Obtaining Export License and Quota: The exporter of goods gets a license under Import and Export Control Act for sending the goods.
(v) Compliance with Foreign Exchange Regulations: The exporter gives an undertaking to comply with foreign exchange regulations and deposit the exchange with Reserve Bank of India on receipt of price.
(vi) Fixing the Exchange Rate: The exchange rate is fixed on which the price is to be received.
(vii) Obtaining the Shipping Order: The exporter takes steps in regard to packing and marketing of goods. Packing is done as per the instructions of the indent.
(viii) Preparation of Invoice and Consular Invoice: After completing other formalities the exporter prepares the invoice. The invoice contains details such as name of ship, destination, packing marks, etc.
(ix) Obtaining Customs Permit: Some customs formalities are observed before goods leave the country. Custom authorities clear the goods after getting export duties
(x) Paying Dock Dues: Dock dues are paid to dock authorities.
(xi) Shipping of Goods: Before the goods are actually loaded custom officials verify the goods and their quantity.
(xii) Mate's Receipt: A receipt for the goods is issued by captain of the ship or his assistant acknowledging the receipt of goods.
(xiii) Bill of Lading: It is a memorandum signed by master of ship acknowledging the receipt of exporter's goods.
(xiv) Effecting Insurance: An insurance policy is obtained to safeguard the goods against the peril of the seas.
(xv) Certificate of Origin: Some importing countries require a certificate of origin for goods. This certificate is issued by the designate authorities of the country.
(xvi) Securing Payment: The exporter will secure payment for the exports.
(xvii) Obtaining Various Export Incentives: The exporter may be allowed some incentives by the government and these are received after completing the process of export.

The IMF, or the International Monetary Fund, came into existence in 1945 with the objective of establishing a healthy and orderly monetary system. It aimed at facilitating a system of international payments and taking care of the adjustments in exchange rates among national currencies. It is one of the three international institutions-the other two being the World Bank and the International Trade Organization-that were created for facilitating and monitoring the economic development of the world.
Objectives of the IMF
(a) To aid the balanced growth of international trade and market, thereby promoting the growth of employment and income;
(b) To promote international monetary cooperation among the member countries;
(c) To facilitate the orderly exchange of goods between the member countries;
(d) To facilitate international payments with respect to the exchange transactions between the member countries
Functions of the IMF
(a) Providing short-term credit to member countries;
(b) Maintaining stability in the exchange rate of the member countries;
(c) Fixing and altering the value of a country's currency whenever required, to facilitate the adjustment of exchange rate of member countries;
(d) Collecting the currencies of member countries so as to allow them to borrow the currency of other nations;
(e) Lending foreign currency to member nations and facilitating international payments with respect to the exchange transactions between member countries.

The World Bank is an International Financial Institution that was established in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference
The following are some of the main objectives behind the setting up of the World Bank
(a) To facilitate the task of reconstruction of the war-affected European countries.
(b) To focus on the development of underdeveloped nations of the world.
(c) To encourage investments in infrastructure development, agriculture, health and industry;
(d) To eradicate poverty, increase the income of the poor and provide technological support
The following are some of the affiliates of the World Bank:
(a) MIGA: MIGA, or the Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency, was established in April 1988 with the objective of encouraging foreign direct investments in the less developed nations ofthe world. It also aims at insuring investors against political and non-commercial risks and providing advisory services.
(b) IFC: The IFC, or the International Finance Corporation, was formed in 1956 as a separate legal entity to provide finance to the private sector in developing nations. Although the IFC is an affiliate of the World Bank, it has its own funding, besides functions that are managed independently.
(c) IDA: The IDA, or the International Development Association, was established in 1960with the affiliation to the World Bank. The basic objective ofthe association is to provide loans and grants on a soft-loan basis to the less developed member countries-it aims at providing loans at concessional rates to the member countries whose per capita income is very low. It is because of this objective that the IDA is also known as the World Bank's soft-loan window

International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes

Five regional and four international

Mate Receipt is a receipt issued by the commanding officer of the ship when the cargo is loaded on the board.

Import License.

GATT and GATS.