Documents
SMGS and CIM rail waybills
The international rail consignment notes: SMGS for China, Central Asia and Russia, CIM for Europe, Turkey and some Middle East states.
In four languages
International rail freight uses one of two legal regimes. The SMGS waybill is the standard on China to Central Asia and China to Russia trains, used by members such as China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan. The CIM waybill applies in most of Europe and in Turkey, Iran and Iraq. On through trains to Europe, a combined CIM/SMGS consignment note avoids re-documenting the goods where one regime ends and the other begins. Rail waybills are not documents of title: the goods go to the named consignee, and the sender keeps a duplicate that lets it change instructions until delivery. Example: a container from Yiwu to Almaty by rail via Khorgos travels on an SMGS waybill naming the Almaty buyer as consignee, who collects the cargo at the destination station.
Questions
Can I pay by letter of credit for rail freight?
Yes. Under UCP 600 a rail waybill is an accepted transport document, but because it is not a document of title the bank does not control the goods themselves.
Which waybill is used from China to Europe by rail?
Usually the combined CIM/SMGS consignment note, so the goods do not need new documents at the border between the two rail systems.