In the course of time, a number of practices, expressions and terms have evolved between banks dealing with documentary credits. To ensure uniformity of interpretation in international trade, the International Chambers of Commerce in Paris has worked out the "Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credit". These have been revised and brought up to date several times in the past. The latest in the line of revisions is the UCP 500 (w.e.f. January 1, 1994) which updates and consolidates the previous UCP 400. They are now applied by the banks in nearly all countries including India.