10 January 2012
After shipment of goods, the exporter may submit the export bill to its bank for discounting/ purchase. This bill discounting facility may be a sub-limit to packing credit or may be a separate limit depends on the banks sanctioning authority.
In bill discounting, bank buys the export bills (i.e. bill of exchange/promissory note) before it becomes due for payment. The transaction is practically an advance against the security of the bill and the discount represents the interest on the advance from the date of purchase of the bill till it is due for payment.