How to fill out a commercial invoice
A commercial invoice is the document customs uses to decide what your shipment is worth, and so how much duty is owed. It is not the same as your accounting invoice. Customs needs three things: the transaction value of the goods, the terms they were sold on, and enough detail to classify them. Get those three right and the rest is routine.
The 25 fields on a commercial invoice
Taken from the document itself, in the order it prints them.
- Document No.
Your own reference number. It must be unique. Customs, your bank and your freight forwarder will all quote this number back to you. If two invoices share a number, nobody can tell which shipment is meant.
- Date
- PO Reference
- Incoterms
This field decides who pays for freight and insurance, and so what the invoice total should include. Always write the three-letter code followed by the named place, for example FOB Yantian or CIF Hamburg. An Incoterm without a place is incomplete. Customs may query it.
- Payment Terms
- Currency
The currency the goods were actually sold in, not your home currency. Customs will convert it at their own published rate. If you convert it for them, or show two currencies, expect a valuation query.
- Shipper / Exporter
The legal entity selling the goods, with its trading address. A trading name with no registered address is a common reason for rejection, because customs cannot check who the seller is.
- Consignee
The party that takes delivery. In most countries this is also the party liable for the duty. If the buyer and the delivery address are different, put the buyer here and put the warehouse in the notify party field.
- Notify Party
The party the carrier contacts when the goods arrive. This is usually the customs broker, not the consignee. If you leave it blank, the arrival notice goes to the consignee, who may not be the one clearing the goods.
- Method of Dispatch
- Vessel / Voyage
- Port of Loading
- Port of Discharge
- Country of Origin
Where the goods were made, not where they were shipped from. These are different for anything transhipped. Writing the port country instead of the country of manufacture can cost you a preferential duty rate.
- Country of Destination
- Discount
- Freight
Show freight as a separate line. Do not build it into the unit price. Under CIF and CIP, customs adds freight to the dutiable value. Under FOB it does not. If freight is hidden in the price, you either pay too much duty or look like you are undervaluing the goods.
- Insurance
Same rule as freight. Show it on a separate line. It is only dutiable under the terms that include it. If the shipment is not insured, write that instead of leaving the box empty.
- Other Charges
- Bank Details
Needed when payment is by bank transfer or letter of credit. Under a letter of credit these details must match the credit exactly, including the account name. Banks reject documents over a single wrong character.
- Notes
- Name
- Title
- Place
- Date
The line-item columns
One row per product. Columns can be hidden, renamed or added in the generator.
- Item #
- Description
What the goods are, in plain words. Do not use your internal part number. “Ceramic floor tile, glazed, 600x600mm” will clear. “Item 4471-B” will not, because nobody at the border can classify it.
- HS Code
The tariff classification. This field decides the duty rate. The first six digits are the same worldwide. The digits after that are set by each country. Give at least six digits, and use the destination country's full code if you know it.
- Qty
- Unit
- Unit Price
The price actually paid or payable per unit. If the goods are free of charge (samples, replacements, warranty stock) you still state a value for customs and mark it as such. Most customs authorities do not accept an invoice with a zero value.
- Amount
- Net Wt
- Gross Wt
- Origin
One per line, because a mixed shipment can have several origins. If every line has the same origin, put it in the header field and leave these blank.
A working commercial invoice, prefilled with a sample shipment. Every field above is editable here, and it downloads as a PDF.
| Item # | Description | HS Code | Qty | Unit | Unit Price (USD) | Amount (USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
We hereby certify that this invoice is true and correct, that the goods described are of origin, and that the prices stated are the actual prices paid or payable.
Parties, ports, container and line items carry across every document.
The four things that get an invoice queried
A vague goods description. A missing or too-short HS code. An Incoterm with no named place. A total that does not match the packing list. Customs officers see thousands of invoices. They stop the ones where the numbers do not agree with each other. Before sending, check that the invoice total equals the sum of the lines, and that the gross weight matches the packing list for the same shipment.
Commercial invoice against proforma invoice
A proforma invoice is issued before the sale is final. It is a quotation in invoice form, used to open a letter of credit or apply for an import licence. A commercial invoice records a sale that has already happened. The two carry almost the same fields, so people often send the wrong one. A proforma presented at the border is not evidence of transaction value.
Does it need a signature
Not in most countries. An unsigned invoice is normally accepted. Some destinations still ask for one, and some letters of credit require it, so adding a signature block costs nothing and avoids a problem. Where a country requires consular legalisation, it is the signature that gets legalised.
+Is a commercial invoice required for every international shipment?
For commercial goods, yes in practice. Gifts and personal effects below a value threshold can travel on a simpler declaration. Anything sold across a border needs one.
+Can I use my normal sales invoice?
Only if it shows everything customs needs: HS codes, country of origin, Incoterms with a named place, gross and net weights, and a full goods description. Most accounting systems produce none of these. That is why a separate document exists.
+What if the goods are free of charge?
State a value for customs anyway and mark the invoice “value for customs only, goods supplied free of charge”. Duty is charged on what the goods are worth, not on what was paid.
+How many copies do I need?
Usually three. One travels with the goods, one goes to the consignee before arrival, and one stays in your own file. Some destinations ask for more. A letter of credit will state exactly how many it wants.
Try it with a real shipment.
Everything above is already on the form. Fill it in and download the PDF — no account needed.
Open the commercial invoice generator