Export document
Commercial invoice and packing list
The commercial invoice states what was sold and for how much. The packing list states what is physically in the container and how it is packed. Every other document in the set is read against these two, and a disagreement between any of them stops the consignment or the payment.
The essentials.
- The invoice
- Seller, buyer, goods, quantity, unit price, total, currency, Incoterm and named place, and the terms of payment. Customs value the shipment from it.
- The packing list
- Cartons, net and gross weights, dimensions, marks and numbers, and how the goods are distributed across the packages.
- Why they matter more than they look
- The bill of lading, the certificate of origin and any health or legality document are all checked against them. One mismatch is a query, and a query is time.
Who asks for it.
This travels with the goods wherever they go. Either Indonesia requires it on the way out, or it is an ordinary trade document that any buyer, bank and carrier expects to see.
What it does not cover.
They are the seller's statement
Nobody independent checked the contents against the list. A packing list is what the exporter says is in the box, which is why a pre-shipment inspection exists.
Getting them wrong is expensive twice
Customs may query the value or the description, and a bank will refuse a presentation under a letter of credit for a discrepancy as small as a spelling. Both cost days.
Questions buyers ask.
What is the most common mistake?
Descriptions that do not match between documents, and weights that do not add up. Both are avoidable by having one person check the whole set against itself before anything is couriered or presented.
Can the invoice value be adjusted?
It has to state the real transaction value. Understating it to reduce duty is a customs offence in every jurisdiction that matters, it makes the goods uninsurable at their true value, and a supplier who offers it is telling you how they treat rules generally.
Need this document for a real shipment?
Tell us the product and the destination port. We come back with the full document set for that route, who issues each one, and how long it takes.