Commercial invoice actually is a bill or invoice from seller to the buyer which describes the agreement of both parties about the terms involved on the selling or purchasing of goods. The primary utility of commercial invoice in foreign trading is to calculate tariffs. If any change is required in the trading then it can be done easily before the generation of invoice. It is the final invoice exchanged between the seller and the buyer.
The commercial invoice is mainly used in the import and export of goods between countries , but for international trading, commercial invoice is also very important. Though there is not any specific format for commercial invoice template, it does have some important things which are required to be incorporated into it. This final bill consists of the goods that are being transported, the place from which the good are transported, to which place it being transported, the cost of the goods and also about the names of the parties or businesses involved in the transportation of goods.
Commercial invoice is created only after the sales of the goods and this final bill is considered as an agreement between the seller and the buyer. The commercial invoice is normally used to provide information to the customs and should include all the necessary details related to the good to make sure that the goods can be transported legally between countries. This kind of document is also used by the governments to understand the exact cost of the goods to calculate the customs duty, gathering statistics and to examine the quality of the goods transported. It should also show that all the dues on the goods are paid.
Various types of information are required to be filled out in the commercial invoice sample document, even though some information in the document is not necessary. The document is usually created on the letterhead of the exporter and is addressed in the name of the importer. The most important information to be filled out in the document is the name of the business or company that is exporting the item and the individual or company receiving the item. It is crucial that this document should clearly mention the difference between the dutiable goods, other non-dutiable charges and total value associated with the order.
Different countries have different rules and tax regulations but the basic remains the same. In the case of a business, it is necessary to provide the contact name. Addresses and contact number of both exporter and the importer should be mentioned in the commercial invoice. For commercial invoice sample, the commercial invoice should be created with invoice date and the date should be mentioned in terms of delivery date. Towards the bottom of the document, you can also include the sales terms and it is mandatory to tell the importer that where to pay and where to send the payment. The document also requires some space to write down the invoice numbers that are usually used internally by exporter or the importer. According to the terms mentioned in the document, the buyer will ask his/her bank to provide a credit letter. It must contain the information regarding the weight of the product and the quantity of the items that are being shipped. The validity or expiry date of the commercial invoice should be included along with signature of the exporter. The description of the products also should be included and sometimes tax information is also required for keeping the records properly.
invoice form template sample – commercial invoice sample
Most countries are very strict with the goods exported from and imported to their countries. In today’s time of increasing terrorism and money, laundering it is necessary to have such stringent rules for cross border trading. The invoice should help custom departments of both exporting and importing countries to evaluate real value of goods. It should have clear information about seller and buyer should be mentioned on the form at the place of contact information. It should include freight charges and associated insurance charges to a particular shipment should be clearly mentioned and Volume, weight and quantity of the shipment along with the packaging details should also be mentioned.
For more commercial invoice samples you can easily find them on the internet.
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