Import and Export Documentation

When a company or sole proprietor is preparing toassist you in filling out correctly, are outlined below:
participate in the exciting and fast paced international- Customs Invoice: This invoice is required in the USA,
import and export business, they need to keepCanada and Australia and must be properly prepared
something in mind. Import and Export is not so easyin the required format directed by the custom
as simply loading up a shipping container andauthorities of the importer's country.
contracting with a sea freight services company to- Consular Invoice: When a Commercial Invoice is duly
deliver it to the final destination. Both the Unitedsigned by the Embassy/Consulate of the importing
States government and foreign destinationcountry based in the country of exporter, such an
government will require thoroughly and correctlyinvoice becomes a legalized/ consular invoice. This
completed import and export documentation in orderkind of invoice is necessary in countries like Mexico
for your shipment to be allowed to both leave theand the Middle East countries.
United States, as well as to enter the foreign national- Legalized Invoice : The same as a consular invoice,
final destination, or vice versa.this term is utilized in countries including Latin
When the time comes for the novice firm or soleAmerican countries, Liberia, Taiwan, and Turkey.
proprietor to obtain and complete such import and- Packing List : These documents contain all of the
export documents, they will likely be plagued byinformation concerning the gross weight of the
several questions. How do they ensure that they getgoods, net weight of the goods, packing type, and
all of the needed forms? Perhaps most importantly,number of boxes, etc.
they will likely wonder did they fill the forms out- Certificate of Inspection/ Quality control : This is the
correctly and properly at all? Although an individual ordocument where certification is made concerning the
business representative will likely feel the temptationgood condition of the merchandise right before the
to simply arrange this themselves, one statistic toshipment. The buyer typically specifies the inspecting
keep in mind, courtesy of the U.S. Customs andorganization; generally this is a governmental body or
Border Protection agency, or CBP, is that for anyan independent inspection agency. This is commonly
single product imported into the U.S., five hundreddone by a third party and often obtained from
pages of customs rules and regulations exist, alongindependent testing organizations.
with literally thousands of tariff considerations that- Certificate of Insurance : This provides evidence
must be dealt with properly. This is where a goodthat an exporter covers the damage to or loss of
sea freight services company comes in to thethe cargo during shipping.
picture, in order to assist with this process, or in- Mate Receipt: - This is a receipt issued by the
some specific cases, to handle the process entirely.shipping firm when the goods are loaded aboard the
Documents used and required in the exportship. This receipt states the state in which the goods
procedures, which they will provide you with andare received by the shipping firm.