What is a Commercial Invoice and Packing List?

To allow your shipment to clear customs, it must be accompanied by a properly completed commercial invoice and packing list.

What is a Commercial Invoice?

The commercial invoice for your shipment is part of the documentation you need to submit when making a customs declaration for importing goods. It details the quantity of products you are shipping, along with their value.

What is Included in a Commercial Invoice?

• The name and address of the supplier or manufacturer of the goods.
• The name and address of the company or individual purchasing the goods in the shipment, specifying whether this person is the importer.
• The name and address of the company or individual to whom the goods in the shipment are being sent.
• The country of origin of the shipment, indicating where the goods were manufactured.
• The quantity of individual items for each different type of product in the shipment.
• A brief but detailed description of each product, providing customs officers with information on what the product is, what it is made of, and its intended use or purpose. For example, simply describing a product as a “toy” is insufficient—a better description would be “plastic brick toys for children aged 4 to 7 years.” Note that the item’s SKU does not count as a product description.
• The value (per unit) of each product in the shipment. This information must be provided in both U.S. dollars and the currency used by the original supplier or manufacturer. Each item in the shipment must have a specific value, so indicating a value of zero for customs clearance purposes is not acceptable.

If you are not paying for the goods in the shipment for any reason, use the average market value of each product instead.

What is a Packing List?

The packing list is used as part of the customs declaration to document the number of items within your shipment, along with their dimensions, weight, and the number of cartons in which the goods are being shipped.

Both the commercial invoice and the packing list form an essential part of your customs declaration. It is crucial that the information provided in these documents matches. For example, when it comes to the number of items for each product type in the order.

Our team at Badr International Shipping is available to assist and guide you throughout the process to ensure that your shipment is properly documented and ready for transport. If you are having difficulty creating or filling out the required documents for your shipment, such as the packing list or commercial invoice, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We will be happy to assist you.