Import documents: what belongs with your shipment

What it is for: shows what was bought, for what amount and on what terms. Customs uses the invoice for the customs value and for the description of the goods.

What must be on it: customs must be able to take the data for the declaration and the customs value from it. In practice that means:

• name and address of seller and buyer
• invoice number and date
• per line a description precise enough to classify the product, the quantity, the unit price and the amount
• the total and the currency
• the Incoterm with the place, for example "FOB Ningbo"
• the country of origin
• costs shown separately, such as freight, insurance or commission

An HS code, weights and payment terms make your forwarder's work easier.

Often wrong: a vague description such as "spare parts" or "accessories", an Incoterm without a place, or an amount lower than what you actually pay. The customs value starts from the price you actually pay (UCC Article 70). A proforma invoice is common in practice when nothing is sold, such as free samples. For a sale, the real invoice belongs with the declaration.

What it is for: shows how the shipment is packed: what is in which box or on which pallet. During a physical check it helps customs find what it wants to see. In practice your forwarder and the carrier almost always ask for it.

What is on it: usually a reference to the invoice number, the number and type of packages, per package the contents and number of pieces, gross and net weight, dimensions, and the marks and numbers on the boxes.

Often wrong: quantities or weights that do not match the invoice or the transport document. A difference in gross weight between the packing list and the bill of lading stands out at once during a check.

What it is for: the transport document for sea freight. The carrier confirms with it that it has received the cargo, and it is evidence of the contract of carriage. In practice an original bill of lading works as a document of title: the shipping line releases the goods to whoever hands in an original. If originals are issued (usually a set of three), you only get the container released when you hand one in. With a telex release or a sea waybill that is not needed.

What is on it: usually shipper, consignee or "to order", notify party, vessel and voyage number, port of loading and discharge, container and seal numbers, number of packages, description of the goods, gross weight, whether freight is prepaid or collect, and the date the goods went on board.

Other modes of transport: for air freight it is an air waybill (AWB), by road a CMR consignment note, by rail a CIM consignment note. In practice these do not work as documents of title: the goods go to the consignee named on them. If a forwarder consolidates shipments, you have a house bill from the forwarder and a master bill from the shipping line or airline.

Often wrong: a consignee, number of packages or weight that differs from the invoice and packing list, or a generic description. Before the shipment enters the EU, the carrier sends the cargo data to customs (the entry summary declaration, UCC Article 127, through ICS2). Sometimes the forwarder or importer files part of it. Customs does not accept general terms such as "general cargo" or "spare parts" for this.

What it is for: shows in which country the goods were made. That is not always the country you buy them from or ship them from. Origin helps decide which duty you pay and whether measures such as anti-dumping apply. There are two kinds:

• Preferential origin. If the EU has a trade agreement with the country of export, or the country falls under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP), you can get a lower rate. The proof is a certificate such as the EUR.1, or a statement by the exporter on the invoice (statement on origin). Under the GSP and some agreements the exporter must be registered in the REX system for that. Without valid proof you pay the normal rate.
• Non-preferential origin. Usually a certificate from a chamber of commerce or authority in the country of export. It does not give a lower rate, but customs can ask you to prove the origin (UCC Article 61), for example when anti-dumping applies to goods from a certain country.

The EU has no trade agreement with China, and China is no longer in the GSP. So there is no preferential rate for goods from China.

What is on it: exporter and consignee, description and quantity of the goods, the country of origin, and for a certificate the stamp and signature of the issuing authority. Which proof and which wording are needed is set in the agreement or in the GSP rules.

Often wrong: a description or quantity that does not match the invoice, claiming a preferential rate with proof that does not fit the agreement, or an origin that is wrong because the goods were only transshipped or repacked. Origin lies where the last substantial processing took place (UCC Article 60). If a preferential rate later turns out to be wrong, the duty can be claimed back.

What it is for: customs clearance in the EU is done with the declaration for release for free circulation. With it you ask customs to release the goods. The import duty and import VAT are set at that point. The declaration is electronic (UCC Article 6), usually through your broker.

What is in it: in practice your broker asks for, among other things, the EORI number of the importer, the commodity code per item (usually 10 digits on import), the country of origin, the customs value, the Incoterm, the number of packages and the weight, and references to the invoice, the transport document and any certificates and licences. The data comes from the documents above. If something is wrong there, the declaration is wrong too.

Often wrong: an HS code copied from the supplier, a customs value without the freight to the place of entry into the EU, or a preferential rate without valid proof of origin. If the declaration is in your name, the claim comes to you. Customs can notify it up to 3 years after the debt arose, longer in case of a criminal offence (UCC Article 103).

Who is the importer of record?

The term "importer of record" does not appear in the Union Customs Code. The declarant is the debtor of the customs debt, and the declarant is whoever lodges the declaration in its own name or in whose name it is lodged (UCC Articles 5 and 77). If your broker declares in your name (direct representation), you are the debtor. If it declares in its own name on your behalf (indirect representation), you both are (UCC Articles 18 and 77). Read more, also about EORI and VAT, in who is the importer.

Export declaration

The seller makes it in its own country, except under EXW. Which Incoterm covers what is in our Incoterms guide.