Which document do you need?
Documents that are frequently confused with one another. Each comparison sets out the differences, which document to issue, and the consequences of issuing the wrong one.
Nearly the same fields, different jobs. A proforma invoice quotes a sale before it happens. A commercial invoice records a sale that has happened.
Both state where the goods were made. The difference is who confirms it, and whether your destination accepts your own word.
Both give a price before the sale. A quotation is an indication. A proforma is close to an offer your buyer can accept.
A commercial invoice values goods for customs. A tax invoice shows the tax for a buyer who wants to reclaim it. Exports often need both.
Something on the invoice is wrong. Whether you issue a credit note or reissue the invoice depends on whether the document was wrong or the deal changed.
Same document, two levels of detail. HS codes and per-item dimensions are needed on some shipments and not on others.
One instructs your forwarder and authorises them to act for you. The other tells the carrier how the bill of lading should read.
A purchase order is the buyer's offer on the buyer's terms. A sales contract is one set of terms agreed by both sides. Which one is in force decides whose terms apply.
Terms that look interchangeable
A commercial invoice states the sale and customs value. A packing list states how the shipment is packed. See what belongs on each and what must match.
Net weight covers the goods, gross weight adds packaging, and container tare is the empty container. See which figure belongs on each document.
Country of origin follows the applicable origin rules. Country of export is where the shipment was dispatched. Transshipment does not normally change origin.
The seller makes the sale, the exporter carries the legal export role, and the shipper named in the transport contract presents the cargo for carriage.
The buyer purchases the goods, the consignee is named to receive them, and the notify party receives the arrival notice. They may be different companies.
Try it with a real shipment.
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