A bank reported that a number of refusal notices had been issued citing a photocopy of a document had been presented instead of an original. This appeared to relate to the presentation of documents that were created through an electronic platform, in PDF format, that is then printed by the beneficiary and presented to the bank.
In the past, it would seem that the documents were printed in colour but are now in black and white. The point was made in the query that the colour of the ink should not be a determining factor in deciding compliance of a document. The questions posed focussed around the colour ink that is used and whether this should be a determining factor for banks and does a black and white document infer a copy?
The analysis stated that the colour of the ink is not a determining factor of whether a document is an original or not. The document must comply with article 17 (as expanded in ISBP 745, paragraph A27) to be considered as an original.
There are no guidelines or rules in UCP regarding determining a photocopy as opposed to an original, although some documents are easily distinguishable as originals.
See opinion TA.843rev for the full transcript of the above.