What Happens If the Invoice and Packing List Quantities Don't Match

A single unit of difference is a discrepancy. The bank does not decide which figure is correct. It only registers that the two documents disagree.

The short answer

In a letter of credit (LC) transaction, a quantity difference between the commercial invoice and the packing list is a discrepancy. Whether the gap is one unit or one hundred makes no difference.

The basis is UCP 600 Article 14(d). Data in a document need not mirror the wording of the credit or other documents, but it must not conflict with them. Quantity is a hard number, so any difference reads immediately as a conflict.

What the bank does not do

It does not determine which number is correct. It confirms the two documents differ and treats that as a discrepancy.

Where the difference comes from

Almost always a clerical error. The common cases:

Addition error across packing units. A line is omitted while listing quantities per carton, or the total is miscalculated. The invoice carries only the total, so the error stays invisible there.

Last-minute quantity change. Short stock forces a partial load, the invoice is updated, and the packing list is left as it was.

Unit inconsistency. The invoice states pieces while the packing list states sets, with no stated conversion. The physical quantity may be identical, but the bank sees two different figures.

Does the tolerance apply here

UCP 600 Article 30 provides a quantity tolerance. Where the credit does not state quantity in packing units or individual items, plus or minus 5 percent is allowed.

But that tolerance operates between the credit and the actual shipped quantity. It does not apply to a discrepancy between two presented documents.

If the credit called for 1,000 units and you shipped 950, that sits within tolerance and is fine. If the invoice says 950 and the packing list says 940, the two documents conflict and it is a discrepancy.

If documents are already presented

Once the bank issues a discrepancy notice, two options remain.

Request a waiver from the buyer. A quantity typo rarely affects the goods themselves, so buyers frequently waive. Bank discrepancy fees apply, but payment proceeds.

Correct and re-present. This requires that the presentation period (21 calendar days from the shipment date) and the credit expiry date both still allow it. If either has passed, re-presentation is not possible.

How to prevent it

Finalize the packing list first, then carry its total across to the invoice. Working in the reverse order makes it easy to break the total while reconciling per-package detail.

And when quantity changes just before shipment, amend both documents together. Correcting only one is the single most common cause of this discrepancy.

T flow L/C Checker reviews the document set against 53 rules grounded in UCP 600 and ISBP 821 before bank presentation, cross-checking quantity consistency between invoice and packing list and package counts against the bill of lading.

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