In international exchanges, in order for the parties to the contract to have sufficient information about the full specifications of the goods to be exchanged and the way of transportation, packaging of the goods (packaging of export goods) and the terms of payment, they use all kinds of commercial documents to show this. cases and even, if possible, there is no ambiguity in terms of the agreements made. Such documents are called commercial documents.
In this regard, some companies can help by conducting business correspondence. Commercial documents are considered as the first documents in international trade and are exchanged before buying and selling and transporting goods.
The most important commercial documents are as follows:
- Proforma Invoice
- Business list
- Certified list
- Approved list
- Consular list
- Certificate of origin
- Packing list and product specifications
- Weight certificate
- Certificate (quality and inspection) of the product manufacturer
- Third party inspection certificate
- Certificate of decomposition of goods
- Blacklist certificate
- Health certificate
- Certificate of disinfection
PROFORMA INVOICE
Proforma invoice or pre-invoice or pre-list is a document that the seller of goods sends to potential buyers in order to announce the price and conditions of the goods he wants to sell, and the difference in appearance with the commercial list is that only the word PROFORMA is on it. Written.
When this pre-list or pro-invoice is accepted by the buyer of the goods, the buyer submits it to the authorities of his country for permission to enter the goods and after their acceptance, he also receives permission to pay the value of the goods.
In the Invoice proforma, the terms of the transaction, unit price of the product, total price, shipping conditions, type of shipping, name of the shipping origin, delivery time, terms and type of payment (advance payment for visual or term collection documents and visual or term letters of credit) are usually stated. Is.
The proforma invoice or the list of price proposals for the company is also used in this case.
COMMERCIAL INVOICE
The commercial list is one of the most important types of commercial documents that the seller issues with the name of the buyer and is sent to the buyer of all types of commercial documents based on the sales contract.
The sale of the contracted goods prepares the price and other specifications and information related to the goods in the commercial purchase list to be sent directly or through the bank (depending on the type of contract).
The following information should usually be included in the business list:
- The name and address of the seller and buyer of goods on the marked paper and the date of issuance of the list
- Order or contract number, quantity of goods, full description, unit price and mention of all other costs that were previously mentioned when concluding the contract and included in the unit price of the goods, as well as the total price of goods and costs
- Product weight, number of packages and shipping mark as well as its number
- Delivery terms as well as payment terms
- If the name of the ship carrying the goods is requested by the buyer, it should be mentioned in the order
The customs of some importing countries also demand the following specifications:
- Business list signed by the seller.
- The country of manufacture of the product should be mentioned in the list.
- The port of loading and unloading or the place of loading and delivery should be specified in the list.
Also, if it is requested, the details and cost of transportation and insurance cost should be specified separately.
CERTIFIED INVOICE
A certified list is a commercial list in which the seller has certified:
- The goods are according to the contract concluded or pre-listed
- The product is made in a certain country or it is not made in the countries prohibited in the contract
- Any other specifications that the buyer requests from the seller, the seller should write and certify under the business list
Usually, the sellers and exporters of such a list are asked to submit the said list to the approval of the local chamber of commerce or the local official of commerce.
LEGALISED INVOICE
Some countries ask the sellers of goods to have the commercial list certified by the embassy or consulate of the buyer’s country in the seller’s office. In this case, the list signed by the seller is also certified by the embassy after being certified by the local Chamber of Commerce.
This list is also called VISAED INVOICE and some countries in the Middle East demand such lists.
CONSULAR INVOICE
Some countries demand a consular list from importers. This list is a printed form and is provided to sellers by the embassies of the seller’s country. It is filled out by the seller and then stamped by the embassy, and the seller pays for them. becomes
Some South American countries require that the country of manufacture of the goods be specified in the consular list, and this is so that the sale price of the goods can be checked with the current price of the said goods in the domestic market to determine that the buyer’s country has not suffered from dumping.
Secondly, it is used by the customs authorities of the importing country in terms of adopting a basis for levying duties.
The terms of the consular list are as follows:
- The consular list form must be on paper marked and sealed with the seal and signature of the embassy or consulate of the buyer’s country in the seller’s country.
- If 2 copies of the consular list are requested, both copies must be in consular-branded format and stamped with the signature of the embassy or consulate of the buyer’s country, usually, in this case, the copy of the first copy is not accepted.
- Shipping mark, number of packages, weight and entry permit number of the goods in the consular list must be equal to what is stated in the commercial list or bill of lading.
- There should not be any changes or amendments in the consular list, and if the seller wants to amend a sentence, he must submit it separately in an amendment sheet attached to the consular list form that has been signed by the embassy.
- Shipping conditions such as FOB, C&F, CIF should be mentioned in the consular list as mentioned in the commercial list.
- The name of the ship carrying the goods in the consular list must match the name of the ship mentioned in the bill of lading.
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN
The certificate of origin is a document that specifies the name of the country that produced the goods. Although this document is filled by the seller or his representative in some countries, it is usually filled in the form provided by the local chamber of commerce and certified by that chamber.
In the text of this document, the description of the product and the country of its manufacture were stated. And it is signed by hand by the Chamber of Commerce and sealed with the seal of the local Chamber of Commerce.
This document may be issued by the seller in combination with the list. The certificate of value of goods and the manufacture of goods in the Commonwealth of Nations is a combination of list and manufacture certificate and is an example of this type.
The certificate of origin may also be issued and certified by a third party such as the local Chamber of Commerce.
In case of letters of credit, if the certificate of origin is requested and no other details and specifications are mentioned in it, the bank accepts the certificate of origin as presented.
PACKING LIST & SPECIFICATION
These commercial documents show the details of the packaged goods and are often used by customs officials to check the contents of the box or carton.
In the packing list, there is no need to mention the detailed price of each unit of packaged goods, and for this reason, the detailed price of the packaged goods is not indicated in the PACKING LIST, but in the SPECIFICATION list, the detailed price of the packaged goods is indicated.
WEIGHT CERTIFICATE
This certificate is issued by the seller or mainly by a third party and it only shows the weight of the goods, which must match the weight shown in other types of commercial documents.
MANUFACTURER’S OR SUPPLIER’S QUALITY OR INSPECTION CERTIFICATE
It is a document by which the factory or the supplier of goods declares that it has checked the goods and certifies that the goods are in accordance with the concluded contract or pre-list.
According to the uniform provisions of letters of credit, the bank accepts any document presented as a certificate of quality and inspection of the goods unless its specifications are precisely determined in the text of the letter of credit.
THIRD PARTY INSPECTION CERTIFICATE
This type of goods inspection certificate is issued by third parties or an independent inspection institute. These institutions inspect the goods in terms of quantity and quality (depending on the type of contract or the conditions set in the letters of credit) and certify that they checked the goods during transportation or in the warehouse of the factory and found them to be equal to the given specifications. or that they mention the product specifications exactly in the certificate.
In order to prevent the losses that may occur due to non-compliance of the goods with the specifications mentioned in the credit, the buying institutions delegate the responsibility of inspecting and controlling the goods to independent institutions known as inspection companies.
Because usually, according to the credit conditions, it may not be possible to inspect the goods by the buyer or his representative, and in addition, most of the sellers, because the inspection of the goods by the buyer puts the control of the payment completely in the buyer’s hands, they refuse to accept the conditions in which If the inspection certificate of the goods issued by the buyer is mentioned, they refuse, therefore, in such a situation, the inspection of the goods by independent inspection companies helps the buyer in the field of controlling the quality and quantity of the goods.
MANUFACTURER ANYLYSIS CERTIFICATE
This certificate describes the components and raw materials and their proportions in the manufacture of chemical and medicinal substances by means of analysis. In some cases, the issuance of this certificate is requested by an independent laboratory or institution.
BLACK- LIST CERTIFICATE
Countries that are at war with another country, or in terms of political tensions with a country, have declared a ban on buying from the said country, request to provide the above certificate. The following information can be requested in this document:
- The product is not made in the desired country.
- The parties involved in the transaction process (such as the goods manufacturer, bank, insurance company, goods transport company, etc. may have friendly relations with such a foreign country) are not included in the list.
- The vehicle carrying the goods should not stop at the ports of that country unless it is forced to stop for a specific reason.
Of course, institutions and chambers of commerce in most countries are reluctant to give such a certificate.
HEALTH VETERINARY AND SANITARY CERTIFICATE
This type of certificate is usually requested by the authorities of the buyer’s country for the purchase of food and livestock products and animal skins, and its authenticity must be confirmed by the health, agriculture or animal husbandry authorities of the seller’s country.
FUMIGATION CERTIFICATE
This certificate is usually issued when the health authorities of the buyer’s country request such a certificate when the goods arrive, and therefore the seller is obliged to disinfect the agricultural goods before loading, and the health authorities of the seller’s country also certify and confirm that the sold product is free from any type of plant pest.
Of course, it should be noted that the company transporting agricultural goods is also obliged to disinfect its warehouses before loading, and if the related goods are damaged due to lack of disinfection, the responsibility will be directed to the transportation company.
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