The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) held its technical meeting in Tbilisi，Georgia，in October，and a segment of the meeting was called "Documentary Credit Practices: Controversy & Guidance". One of the topics discussed during this segment was "usage of drafts under documentary credits: is there a real need?"

In addition to that discussion，the ICC is working on a document titled "Drafts under Documentary Credits Guidance Paper." That document has been circulated for comments by the ICC National Committees，and the deadline was set for November 23，2018.

The purpose of this article is to present some of the comments made during the above-mentioned discussion，as well the recommendations in the ICC Guidance paper.

But first; a historical overview of the usage of these drafts in documentary credits: