In international trade, accurate and complete documentation is essential for the smooth import and export of goods. These documents ensure compliance with customs regulations, facilitate transactions, and help manage logistics and finance.

There is a phrase in the industry that ‘the documents are more important than the goods’ which holds a lot of truth in a world where so many elements of international transport is organised, controlled and monitored remotely.

Here are some of the basic international trade documents that are commonly required:

Purpose: Acts as a bill of sale between the exporter (seller) and the importer (buyer). It includes detailed information about the goods, their value, and the terms of sale. This document is generally the primary document from which data is extracted from that is required to be submitted to customs to facilitate customs clearance.

You can also find our commercial invoice checklist here.

Note: Proforma invoices are considered to be a preliminary bill of sale and is often treated as a drafted document (as opposed to a finalised version) and so may be rejected by customs as being an evidential or substantiating document.

Certificate of Origin
EUR1 Certificate
Letter of Credit
Inspection Certificate

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