Suppliers Credit

Email: sanjaymandavia@gmail.com     Mobile: +919825560186

 

 

 

What is Suppliers Credit ? 

 

 

 

Suppliers Credit relates to credit for imports into India extended by the overseas suppliers or financial institutions outside India.

 

 

 

Usance Bills under Letter of Credit issued by Indian Bank Branches on behalf of their importers are discounted by Indian Bank overseas branches or Foreign bank. Paying your suppliers at sight against Usance bills under letter of credits.

 

 

 

Why Required ?

 

 

 

  • Suppliers would ask for sight payment where as you want credit on the transaction.
  • At times, in capital goods, banks would insist on using term loan instead of buyers credit. By this way you can avail cheap LIBOR rate funds and your supplier would also not mind as he is getting funds at sight.

 

Benefits

 

 

 

For Importer

 

 

 

  • Availability of cheaper funds for import of raw materials and capital goods
  • Ease short-term fund pressure as able to get credit
  • Ability to negotiate better price with suppliers
  • Able to meet the Suppliers requirement of payment at sight

 

For Supplier

 

 

 

  • Realize at-sight payment
  • Avoid the risk of importer’s credit by making settlement with L/C

 

Process Flow of Transaction

 

 

 

  1. With transaction details importer approaches arranger to get suppliers credit for the transaction
  2. Arranger get an offer from overseas bank on the transaction
  3. Import confirms on pricing to overseas bank and gets lc issued from his bank restricted to overseas bank counters with other required clauses.
  4. Suppliers ships the goods and submits documents at his bank counters
  5. Suppliers Bank sends the documents to Supplier’s Credit Bank.
  6. Supplier’s Credit Bank post checking documents for discrepancies sends the document to importers bank for acceptance
  7. Importer accept documents. Importers Bank provides acceptance to Supplier’s Credit Bank LC guaranteeing payment on due date.
  8. Supplier’s Credit Bank based on acceptance, discounts the bill and makes payment to Supplier.
  9. On maturity, import makes the payment his bank and importers bank makes payment to Supplier’s Credit Bank

 

Cost Involved

 

 

 

  • Foreign bank interest cost
  • Foreign Bank LC Confirmation Cost (Case to Case basis)
  • Cost for the usance (credit) tenure.

 

Requirement 

 

 

 

  • Import transaction under LC
  • Inco terms : FOB/CIF/C&F
  • Arrangement has to be done before LC gets opened. Incase of Lc already opened, relevant amendment has to done.
  • LC to be restricted to suppliers credit providing bank under 41D clause of LC
  • Under Payment Term: 90 days Usance payable at Sight (mention tenure according to tenure and offer received)

 

Other Factors

 

 

 

At times foreign bank may insist on adding confirmation which would result into additional cost

 

 

 

RBI Regulations

 

 

 

The old RBI Building in Mumbai

 

Suppliers credit is governed by RBI Circular “Master Circular on External Commercial Borrowings and Trade Credits” Dated 01-07-2011

 

 

 

A) Amount and Maturity

AD banks are permitted to approve trade credits for imports into India up to USD 20 million per import transaction for imports permissible under the current Foreign Trade Policy of the DGFT with a maturity period up to one year (from the date of shipment). For import of capital goods as classified by DGFT, AD banks may approve trade credits up to USD 20 million per import transaction with a maturity period of more than one year and less than three years (from the date of shipment). No roll-over/extension will be permitted beyond the permissible period. AD banks shall not approve trade credit exceeding USD 20 million per import transaction.

 

b) All-in-cost Ceiling

 

 

 

The current all-in-cost ceilings are as under : All-in-cost ceilings over  6 Libor (* for the respective currency of credit or applicable benchmark) for the tenure upto 3 years has been capped at 350 bps **

The all-in-cost ceiling include arranger fee, unfront fee, management fee, handling / processing charges, out of pocket and legal expenses, if any.

C) Guarantee

 

AD banks are permitted to issue Letters of Credit/guarantees/Letter of Undertaking (LoU) /Letter of Comfort (LoC) in favour of overseas supplier, bank and financial institution, up to USD 20 million per transaction for a period up to one year for import of all non-capital goods permissible under Foreign Trade Policy (except gold, palladium, platinum, Rodium, silver etc.) and up to three years for import of capital goods, subject to prudential guidelines issued by Reserve Bank from time to time. The period of such Letters of credit / guarantees / LoU / LoC has to be co-terminus with the period of credit, reckoned from the date of shipment.

** RBI Circular : Trade Credit for Imports into India – Review of All-in-cost ceiling: Dated 30/03/2012

** RBI Circular : Trade Credit for Imports into India – Review of All-in-cost ceiling: Dated 15/11/2011