Commercial Invoice Form: Fill & Download for Free

The following documents are commonly used in exporting:Pro-forma InvoiceWhen a potential buyer’s send enquiry to an exporter, requesting to send information regarding price, quality, size, weight, grade, mode of delivery, payment terms, type of packing for export of goods. The exporter then sends a reply to the enquiry in the form of quotation known as pro-forma invoice.Bill of ladingA bill of lading is a legal document between the shipper of a particular good and the carrier detailing the type, quantity and destination of the good being carried. The bill of lading also serves as a receipt of shipment when the good is delivered to the predetermined destination.Commercial InvoiceThe commercial invoice is a legal document between the supplier and the customer that clearly describes’ the sold goods, and the amount due on the customer. The commercial invoice is one of the main documents used by customs in determining customs duties.Certificate of originThe certificate of origin acts as a proof that goods have actually being manufactured in the country from where export is taking place. Having received the excise clearance, exporter may have to obtain a certificate of origin from the trade consulate located in the exporter country.Inspection CertificationDifferent authorized institutions such as Tedfo, SGS, Intersect, Bureau Varitus provides all necessary quality assurance certificate to ensure that only good quality products are exported from a country.Dock receipt & warehouse receiptA dock receipt & warehouse receipt is issued by the warehouse supervisor or port officer certifying that goods have been received by the shipping company. Dock receipt are normally prepared by shippers or forwarders.Destination control statementThe destination control statement is a legal statement that the goods you are exporting are destined to the country indicated in all the shipping documents.Insurance certificateAfter forwarding the goods the exporting firm gets goods insured with an insurance company to protect against the risks of loss or damage of goods due to the perils of sea during transit.Export license(ERC)Having become assured about payment, the exporter needs to apply for export license to the appropriate authority.The following documents are needed for issuing ERC:Attested photocopy of valid trade license, Attested photocopy of membership certificate from local chamber of commerce or trade association, Attested photocopy of TIN, Original copy of Treasury Chalan, If a partnership business, partnership deed (Certificate attested copy), If a limited company company, attested copy of certificate of incorporation, articles of association & memorandum of association are needed.Bank certificate.Export packing listA packing list is prepared by the shipper & sent to consignee for accurate tallying of the delivered goods which included in each shipping package, giving the quantity, description & weights of the contents.

India took a leap forward in improving 'Ease of Doing Business' today by reducing the mandatory documents required for import and export of goods to three documents each. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a Notification to this effect today (Notification Link below).The Department of Commerce had set up an Inter Ministerial Committee under the Chairmanship of DGFT in July 2014 to study and recommend ways to reduce the number of mandatory documents required for export and import. The Committee held detailed discussions with all stakeholders and the concerned Departments/ Ministries/Agencies and also visited JNPT to study the ground situation and find ways to minimize the number of documents and reduce transaction costs and time for exports and imports. The Committee submitted its "Trading Across Borders" report to Prime Minister's Office in December 2014.Based on the recommendations of the report, the RBI has agreed to do away with the 'Foreign Exchange Control Form (SDF)' by incorporating the declaration in the 'Shipping Bill' (for exports) and dispensing with the 'Foreign Exchange Control Form (Form A-1)' (for imports). Customs have also agreed to merge the 'Commercial Invoice' with the 'Packing List' and have issued a Circular for accepting 'Commercial Invoice cum Packing List' that incorporates the required details of both the documents. The exporters and importers, however, have the option of filing separate 'Commercial Invoice' and 'Packing List' also, if they so desire. Shipping Ministry has also agreed to do away with the requirement of 'Terminal Handling Receipt' and make the process online.As a consequence, after issue of the DGFT's Notification dated 12-3-2015, only three documents each would be mandatory documents for export and import.MANDATORY DOCUMENTS FOR EXPORT & IMPORTS. No.EXPORTSIMPORTS1Bill of Lading/ Airway BillBill of Lading/ Airway Bill2Commercial Invoice cum Packing ListCommercial Invoice cum Packing List3Shipping Bill/ Bill of ExportBill of EntryIt may be recalled that India ranked 126 in 'Trading Across Borders" component of "Ease of Doing Business", out of 189 countries ranked by the World Bank, in its 2015 Report. The ranking methodology adopted by the World Bank for 'Trading Across Border' takes into account the number of mandatory documents required for export and import and the time and cost of exporting/importing a container out of/into the country. World Bank's 2015 Report listed 7 and 10 mandatory documents respectively for export and import from/to India.MANDATORY DOCUMENTS LISTED BY WORLD BANK IN DOING BUSINESS REPORT 2015S. No.EXPORTSIMPORTS1Shipping BillBill of Entry2Commercial InvoiceCommercial invoice3Packing ListPacking List4Bill of LadingBill of Lading5Foreign Exchange Control Form (SDF)Foreign Exchange Control Form (Form A-1)6Terminal Handling ReceiptTerminal Handling Receipt7Technical Standard CertificateCertified Engineer'sReport8Cargo Release Order9Product manual10Inspection reportAs such, after issue of DGFT's Notification only three documents each would be mandatory for export and import as two documents (Packing List and Commercial Invoice) required by Customs have been merged into one document, whereas one document required by RBI (Foreign Exchange Control Forms - SDF for exports and A-1 for imports) and one document required by Ministry of Shipping (Terminal Handling Receipt) earlier, have now been dispensed with. 'Cargo Release Order' is not a mandatory document required by any regulatory agency, but is a commercial document issued by the Shipping line to the concerned importer. As regards, 'Technical Standard Certificate'/ 'Certified Engineer's Report', 'Product manual' and 'Inspection report', these documents are required in specific cases/products/tariff lines only and are not mandatory for all products.The reduction in the number of mandatory documents would also lead to corresponding reduction in Transaction cost and time. It is expected that this step would not only facilitate the 'Ease of Doing Business' in respect of 'Trading across Borders' but also improve India's ranking on this parameter.

A good time to self-publish is when you are an established author, with a large fan base and a professional team of editors, artists and promotion experts.A new author should try to get a traditional contract. Not just because traditional publishers do act as a gatekeeper, but because working with the publisher’s editors will be your ultimate education in writing.The first time I got a professional edit back, I nearly cried. I had been a professional writer for 20 years (journalist), so how could my novel suck so badly?But I worked through all the edits, and realised my editor was almost always right, and I took all the things I learned from her and applied them to subsequent novels. No university course could have provided me with so much hands on knowledge so quickly.So just as a writer, you need to work with a professional editor that you do not employ. If you are paying the editor, she is going to be a lot more tactful and less direct than may be necessary. And you are free to ignore her, unlike with a publisher’s editor.Once you have published at least half a dozen books with a traditional publisher, and you have learned the skills of structuring a novel, self criticism, editing and polishing, and you have a fan base who are ready to rush out and buy anything you write, you can think about self-publishing.When you self-publish, you are in charge of everything. You have to find and pay the editor (and good ones are not cheap) and you have to listen to what she says. Editors are not there to fix your typos, they are there to help shape your book into the best it can be. Sometimes this means massive rewrites.You also have to provide the cover art. Stock photos which are fine for a story on Wattpad are not good enough and not legal for a commercial novel. Pay a good artist to give you a custom cover.You may need to pay a technical person to manage all the uploads and technical stuff and to help promote your book. Spamming Facebook and Twitter with “Buy my book” is not promotion.You are also in charge of all the money stuff, filling out tax forms and paying invoices etc.Self-publishing is not as easy as it looks.