Commercial invoice for international shipping

A commercial invoice is a customs document first

Unlike a normal invoice, it is attached to the outside of the shipment and used by a customs officer who has never seen your shop, your website or your product photos. Everything they need must be on the page.

The fields customs looks for

• Exporter and importer names with full addresses
• A specific description of the goods — “cotton t-shirts, men’s, 100% cotton”, not “clothing”
• Quantity and unit value per item, plus the total declared value
• Currency of the declared value
• Country of origin of the goods, which may differ from where you ship from
• HS (harmonised system) code, at least six digits
• Incoterms, such as DAP or DDP, showing who pays duty

Why parcels get held

• “Gift” or “sample” as the whole description — it looks like an attempt to avoid duty and invites inspection.
• A value that does not match the sale price on the commercial paperwork.
• A missing HS code, so the officer has to classify the goods themselves.
• An importer phone number or tax number that is missing for destinations that require it.

Incoterms in one line each

DAP (delivered at place): you pay freight, the buyer pays duty and import tax. DDP (delivered duty paid): you pay everything, so the buyer receives the parcel with nothing to settle. DAP is the safer default for small sellers because an unexpected duty bill turns into a refund request.

Declared value: what counts

Declare the price the buyer actually paid for the goods. Freight and insurance are declared separately unless your Incoterms put them inside the goods value. Deliberately under-declaring to reduce duty is fraud in most jurisdictions, and it also voids the insurance payout if the parcel is lost.

Get it on one page, as a PDF

Use the export template on this site: it opens the generator with export fields in the notes, so the description, HS code, origin and Incoterms travel with the invoice. Download the PDF, print two copies — one inside, one in the pouch.