1.

Proforma Invoice

In a typical export exchange, everything starts when you receive an inquiry about one or more
of your products.

If the inquiry came from a domestic prospect, you probably have a standard quotation form to
use. However, in an international transaction, your quote would be provided as a proforma
invoice. That’s because your international prospect may need a proforma invoice to arrange
for financing, to open a letter of credit, to apply for the proper import licenses and more.

A proforma invoice looks a lot like a commercial invoice, and if you complete it correctly, they
will be very similar indeed. A proforma invoice specifies the following:

• The buyer and seller in the transaction.

• The classification of those goods.

• The price.

• The payment term of the sale, which would typically be expressed as one of the 11
current Incoterms.

• The delivery details, including how and where the goods will be delivered and how
much that will cost.

• The currency used in the quote, whether it’s U.S. dollars or some other currency.

Be sure to date your proforma invoice and include an expiration date. There can be a lot of
volatility in the export process, so minimize your risk by setting a specific time frame for your
quote.
2.Commercial Invoice

Once you’ve sent a proforma invoice to your international prospect and received their order,
you need to prepare your goods for shipping, including the paperwork that must accompany
the goods. Of those documents, the commercial invoice is one of the most important.

The commercial invoice includes most of the details of the entire export transaction, from start
to finish.

The commercial invoice may look similar to the proforma invoice you initially sent your
customer to serve as a quote, although it should include additional details you didn’t know
before. For example, once you have the commercial invoice, you probably have an order
number, purchase order number or some other customer reference number; you may also
have additional banking and payment information.

Make sure to include any relevant marine insurance information and any other details that will
ensure prompt delivery of the goods and full payment from your customer.
3. Packing List

An export packing list may be more detailed than a packing list or packing slip you provide for
your domestic shipments. It may be used in the following ways:

• Your freight forwarder may use the information on the packing list to create the bills
of lading for the shipment.

• A bank may require that a detailed packing list be included in the set of documents
you present to get paid under a letter of credit.

• Customs officials in the U.S. and the destination country may use the packing list to
identify the location of certain packed items they want to examine. It’s much better
that they know which box to open or pallet to unwrap rather than needing to search
the entire shipment.
The packing list identifies items in the shipment and includes the net and gross weight and
dimensions of the packages in both U.S. imperial and metric measurements. It identifies any
markings that appear on the packages, and any special instructions for ensuring safe delivery
of the goods to their final destination.

If cargo is lost or damaged, a packing list is required to file an insurance claim, and it is also
used if there is a disagreement between the carrier and the exporter regarding the weight or
measurement of the cargo.
4. Certificates of Origin

Some countries require a certificate of origin to identify in what country the goods originated.
These certificates of origin usually need to be signed by some semi-official organization, like
a chamber of commerce or a country’s consulate office. A certificate of origin may be required
even if you’ve included the country of origin information on your commercial invoice.

Usually a chamber of commerce will charge you a fee to stamp and sign your certificate or
require you to be a member of the chamber. You’ll need to deliver a completed form to the
chamber office where they will stamp and sign it for you.

More and more companies are foregoing the time-consuming process of relying on expensive
courier services or taking the time to hand-deliver a certificate of origin to a chamber of
commerce for certification and are relying on electronic certificates of origin (eCO) for their
shipments. An eCO is often quicker to turn around, allows you the option of delivering the
certificate electronically to the importer, and can be registered with the International Chamber
of Commerce to provide added credibility.
5. Certificate of Free Sale

Sometimes called a “Certificate for Export” or “Certificate to Foreign Governments,” a

A Certificate of Free Sale is used when you are registering a new product in a country. You’re
essentially informing the customs authority in that country, “This is a new thing I’m going to
start importing, and here are my support documents that confirm this product(s) is legal to sell
in the country of manufacture.”
6. Shipper’s Letter of Instruction

One of the most important people you will work with in the export process is your freight
forwarder, who usually arranges the transport of your goods with a carrier and helps ensure
you’ve taken care of all the details.

Depending on your agreed-upon terms of sale—remember, that’s typically the Incoterm you
choose—either you hire a freight forwarder to work for you, the exporter, or, in the case of a
routed export transaction, the buyer hires a freight forwarder.

Regardless of who hired the forwarder, it’s important you provide a Shipper’s Letter of
Instruction (SLI) with all the information needed to successfully move your goods. (Here are
several good reasons why a letter of instruction is necessary.)
AES Concerns

Depending on who hired the forwarder, the SLI may also grant the forwarder permission to file
the export information electronically through the Automated Export System (AES). Most
exports valued at more than $2,500 per item must be submitted to customs via AES, which
makes filing through AES an important consideration for many exporters.

If the freight forwarder is hired by the buyer, then the forwarder typically does the AES filing.
Even if you, as the seller, hire the forwarder, you may pay the forwarder to do the AES filing on
your behalf.

It’s simple to file the documents needed for shipping through AES, and doing it yourself gives
you more control over the process. More and more of our clients are assuming that
responsibility for every export shipment for just that reason—get a step-by-step guide to filing
here.
7. Inland Bill of Lading

An inland bill of lading is often the first transportation document required for international
shipping created for your export. It can be prepared by the inland carrier or you can create it
yourself. It’s a contract of carriage between the exporter and the shipper of the goods that
states where the goods are going; it also serves as your receipt that the goods have been picked
up.

In an international shipment, the inland bill of lading is not typically consigned to the buyer.
Instead, it is consigned to the carrier moving the goods internationally or, if not directly to the
carrier, to a forwarder, warehouse or some other third party who will consign your goods to the
carrier when ready.
8. Ocean Bill of Lading

If your goods are shipping by ocean vessel, you’ll need an ocean bill of lading. An ocean bill of
lading can serve as both a contract of carriage and a document of title for the cargo. There are
two types:

Straight Bill of Lading

A straight bill of lading is consigned to a specific consignee and is not negotiable. The consignee
takes possession of the goods by presenting a signed, original bill of lading to the carrier.

Negotiable Bill of Lading

A negotiable bill of lading is consigned “to order” or “to order of shipper” and is signed by the
shipper and sent to a bank in the buyer’s country. The bank holds onto the original bill of lading
until the requirements of a documentary collection or a letter of credit have been satisfied.
9. Air Waybill

Goods shipped on a plane require an air waybill. It is a contract of carriage between the shipper
and the carrier that is distributed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Unlike
an ocean bill of lading, an air waybill cannot be negotiable.

The major difference between an air waybill and a bill of lading is in regards to the title to
goods.

• An air waybill is a receipt of goods; the carrier or agent sends it in order to show the
place of delivery.

• A bill of lading is a document of title to goods. It is a receipt by the shipping company

If your products are considered dangerous goods by either the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) or the International Maritime Organization (IMO), you need to include the
appropriate dangerous goods form with your shipment. Shipping dang erous goods or
hazardous materials can be tricky. Before you do it, the appropriate people at your company
need to be trained to properly package, label and document these shipments.

The IATA form—the Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods—is required for air shipments.
There is a different version of the form for ocean shipments. Again, these forms need to be
completed by someone who has been trained to handle dangerous goods shipping.
11. Bank Draft

A bank draft is an important part of the international sales process for transferring control of
the exported goods from the seller in exchange for funds from the buyer. It is often called
a documentary collection, because the seller attaches various documents to a bank draft and a
cover letter.

Usually the seller’s bank will send the bank draft and related documents via the freight
forwarder to the buyer’s bank or a bank with which it has a relationship in the buyer’s country.
When the buyer authorizes payment for the goods, the buyer’s bank releases the documents
to the buyer and transfers the funds to the seller’s bank.

Reference:

https://www.shippingsolutions.com/blog/documents-required-for-international-shipping