If you engage a freight forwarder and customs broker, part of his/her responsibility is to ensure that all documentation is properly prepared and filed with appropriate parties.
Your product and country of destination will in part determine the kinds of documents that must be prepared. If you are shipping items of smaller size by air, the carrier will generally be able to ensure you’ve prepared the correct documents and they can prepare them for you.
However at a minimum, the commercial invoice must contain information that is present in the bill of lading and/or other documents. It is important to ensure that the description of goods is the same as that in the Letter of Credit, if applicable. Also, to ensure that there is no conflict in the description, it would be good practice to keep the description as short and clear as possible.
In the majority of cases the exporter should make sure that the following documents are available:
- Commercial Invoice
- Customs Invoice
- Bill of Lading
- Air Consignment Notes or Airway Bills
- Insurance Policies or Certificates
In the U.S., good valued at more than U.S. $2,500 require a shipper’s export declaration or Automated Export System (AES). You must file online using this Website: http://www.aesdirect.gov/