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International commercial invoice template for Purchasing

hey guys it's matt here from arc transportation and today i'm going to answer the question of what is a commercial invoice [Music] a commercial invoice is a special document that's required for international shipments to clear the customs process now why do customs agencies require commercial invoice well each country looks at the goods that are entering their borders and they must quickly determine what the product is where it came from and its monetary value so they can calculate the relevant taxes tariffs and duties now who pays for those charges is actually determined by their inco terms and we have a video explaining that if you're not sure what those are i'll link to that below now to create or fill out a commercial invoice you'll need to have the following information first is information on the buyer and the seller the seller being the exporter and the buyer being the importer which is also known as the consignee or the importer of record since they are the ones requesting the goods to enter the country you'll need both parties name or business names city and street addresses phone numbers postal codes countries and tax identification numbers next you're going to need an invoice number and an invoice date now the invoice number should be a unique number that will only be used for that shipment this could also be a booking number or a po number that's used for that order you will need a description of the products that you're selling as well as the quantity of units total weight the price per unit a subtotal and a total price now accuracy is key here as improper data can cause items to be flagged during the customs process you also need to provide the country of origin which is the country name of where the products were made and in some countries a certificate of origin may be required to prove where the items came from i'll link below for more information on that another number that needs to be included on a commercial invoice is a harmonized system code also known as an hs code hs codes are created by the world customs organization and they categorize and classify products based on the type of product its intended use and its nature now if you are in the us you will use a code known as a schedule b number which consists of the products six digit hs code as well as four more numbers indicating exactly what the product is now if you don't know what your product hs or schedule b number is there is a free online tool from the census bureau that can help you classify your product now these codes are updated every five years so make sure to check that your numbers are up to date and i'll link below to where you can find that information once you have all this information you're ready to create your commercial invoice now you can actually create your own document or you can look for a blank template online or give us a call if you need help you'll need three copies of your commercial invoice one for the customs agency of the exporting country one for the customs agency of the importing country as well as one for your customer or buyer you can also choose to attach a packaging list which would just be a detailed list of all the products being shipped as well as their sizes and dimensions now note if your items are hazardous you will need a dangerous goods declaration if you need help with either of those things as well as any international shipments or customs documents feel free to reach out to our team here at arc we'd be glad to help you thanks so much for watching subscribe to our channel for more tips and insights on shipping and logistics and have a great day [Music]