Commercial Invoice - Your Golden Document

OK, in the last article I described the importance of providing good hard-copy documentation of your business tax ID number to your freight forwarding company whenever your new business is going to import goods into the U.S. This article is going to focus on the second, but equally important, document that can assure you of a more trouble-free experience with importing, the commercial invoice. As an import support specialist, I can tell you, the invoice your shipper gives you is definitely not always the same as she gives me.

If your vendor sends you an invoice that is vague, hand-written, or devalued to the point of silliness, expect that mine is worse. Although importation has come a long way, there are habits that have been ingrained through decades of, shall we say, playing a game. I will grant you, it still sometimes works. Customs has a huge job to do, and those men and women are dedicated to do their best, but we are the number-one importing country in the world and that's a heck of a lot of work for those Inspectors. On the flip side, you, as a respectable business person, don't even want to be associated with possibly trying to scam the system, especially accidentally!

So, the commercial invoice provided by your vendor must contain certain things that will easily allow U.S. Customs to determine what goods you are importing, what quantity you are importing, and a reasonable value per each item. Sounds pretty simple, eh? It is, actually, but as I intimated earlier in this article, the commercial invoice your vendor sends you is not necessarily the same invoice they provide to your freight carrier. It doesn't hurt for you to confirm this with the carrier. Again, this whole series of articles is about making the import process as stress-free for you, as a business owner, as possible. I will emphasize time and again how important it is that you control as much of it as possible. Yes, your carrier can assist you in this, but you can make a big impact on the smoothness of any given shipment.

As we go forward, I want to talk to you about the Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes for various goods you import. The Harmonized codes are basically what U.S. Customs uses to determine what your goods are, and how much, if any, they can be dutied (taxed) at. Some goods are duty-free, but others can be very expensive. Knowing your Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code for a product can not only ease your shipment's entry to the U.S, but can reflect favorably with Customs when they have to do their part of the job.

In closing, take away these two items. Your commercial invoice tells U.S. Customs exactly what commodity you are importing to the States and your freight company may not be looking at the same invoice that you are. In a situation where your invoice is different than the one Customs is looking at, simply providing the better invoice can result in a resolution. If you are in front of your goods, you can make a huge difference in the accurate and timely entry of your shipment into the country, and delivery to you for that all important client meeting. Next article we will talk about those codes and some ways you can avoid paying the wrong duty percentage. To your success!