Commercial Documents Evidence Act, 1939

This 1939 Act modifies ordinary court evidence rules to make certain international trade and shipping documents easier to rely on in litigation, building on the general Evidence Act, 1872. Section 2 provides that statements of fact contained in documents listed in the Schedule, about the matters those documents usually cover, count as relevant facts in their own right. Section 3 goes further: for documents listed in Part I of the Schedule, a court 'shall presume' they were genuinely made by the proper authority and that their contents are accurate, a strong, near-automatic presumption; for documents in Part II, the court 'may presume' the same, a more discretionary presumption. Section 4 defines a 'recognised Chamber of Commerce' as one recognised by its home government as competent to issue certificates of origin, or a similarly recognised association.

The Schedule's Part I, carrying the stronger presumption, lists documents such as Lloyd's Register of Shipping, a ship's official log book, safety and load line certificates, marine insurance policies, aircraft registration and airworthiness certificates, consular certificates and invoices, customs duty receipts, and company registration documents filed under the Companies Act, 1913. Part II, carrying the discretionary presumption, covers documents like cargo survey reports, dock and port authority certificates, weight and measurement certificates, aircraft log books, passenger manifests, customs passes, and a company's balance sheet, profit and loss account, and audit report as filed with the Registrar of Companies.

This is an old statute (1939), amended since its original enactment, so the exact list of covered documents should be checked against the current official text if relied upon for a specific transaction.