Export Documentation

Export documentation

Once the goods are ready the exporter has to prepare

and execute various documents of different tags of
sending the shipment of goods to the importer

The various documents are vital to the exporter and

bank which is a media of payment

Importance of Export document

As an evidence of shipment and title of goods

For obtaining payments

Transportation of the goods

Custom clearance of the goods

And many other purposes

Export document

The documentary requirement are both regulatory and

operational in nature and have to comply with the rules
and regulation with the Indian government as well as the
importing countries for different type of products.

These requirement are different for different type of

products

Accuracy and completeness are the prime necessities in

documents covering export shipments

Export document cost

Export documentation work constitutes a heavy charge

in exports activity

Its costly, complex and cumbersome

Minor discrepancies of any kind either in the date itself

or any typing error in the document which looks harmless
might proves costly

Export document

Any alteration or addition made by an authority issuing

the documents should be endorsed properly, with the
signature of the person issuing the document only

If the documents are not the correct ones and not filled
properly the importers may not be able to get the goods
when the ship carrying them arrives

Legal importance

Legal Importance

Before granting the permission, the custom officer

however ensures that the goods being exported are in
accordance with the different regulation particularly in
terms of following:

The goods are same type, sort and values as declared

by the exporter

The duty or cess livable has been properly determined

and paid

Legal importance

Aligned documentation system

The Government of India made it mandatory for every

exporter to use standardized preshipment export
documents w.e.f. September 1,1991

This is properly known as aligned documentation system

The preshipment document on a standard layout was first

introduced by Sweden in 1956

Paper size and specifications

All documents under the system are to be prepared on

A4 size of paper

Standard margin 10mm---top 20mm----left

The size of the individual boxes should be as per the

specification

Maximum tolerance is 1 mm

Specifications

The captions inside the boxes should be printed in 6

points sans serif face and should be located as near on
the top left corner of the boxes as possible

Documents need to generated mechanically

Paper should be found in stable form 50-60% relative

humidity

Documentation practice in India

In India, on an average about 25 documents are

associated with the preshipment stages to export
transaction

These documents are classified in to two categories:

commercial
regulatory

Commercial Documents

Regulatory

Important documents

Proforma invoice
Commercial invoice
Consular invoice
Packing list
Mate receipt
Bill of lading
Letter of Credit (not a export document)

Performa Invoice

The starting point of the export contract is in a form of a

offer made by an exporter to the foreign customer

The offer made by an exporter is in the form of a

proforma invoice

It is a quotation given as a reply to an enquiry

Importance of proforma invoice

It forms the basis of all trade transaction

It may be useful for an importer to obtain

the import license or foreign exchange

Commercial Invoice

A commercial invoice is a bill for the goods from the

seller to the buyer

Its an important and basic export document

These invoices are often used by the government to

determine the true value of goods for duty purposes

Significance

Significance

Consular invoice

A consular invoice is a document that is required by

some countries
It describes the shipment of goods and information such
as importer, exporter and value of the consignment for
custom purposes
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, New Zealand,
Myanmar, Iraq, Australia, Fiji, Cyprus, Nigeria, Ghana,
Guinea,

Packing List

Export packing list is considerably more detailed and

informative then a domestic packing list

It also shows the individual net, gross weight, and

measurement for each package

The list is used by the shipper or forwarding agents to

determine the total shipment weight & volume and
whether the correct cargo is being shipped

Bill Of lading

The bill of lading (in ocean transport), waybill or

consignment note for rail, air, or road transportation and
receipt in postal or courier delivery are collectively
known as transport document

Bill of lading is issued by shipping company or its agent

stating that goods are either being shipped or have been
shipped

Bill of lading

Bill of lading

Significance

Bill of lading is the only evidence to file a

claim against a shipping company in the
event of no delivery, defective delivery or
the short delivery of the cargo at the
destination