Commercial Invoice Requirements for Customs: A Worldwide Checklist

The fields every customs authority expects

Customs uses the commercial invoice to check what the goods are, what they are worth and where they come from, and the importer's broker usually copies its data into the import declaration. Countries word their rules differently, but an invoice with the fields below meets the common core almost everywhere. US rules let any required information go on an attachment to the invoice instead.

• Seller or exporter, and buyer, with full names and addresses. Add the consignee if the goods go elsewhere, the importer of record if different, and tax, EORI or importer numbers where the destination uses them.
• Invoice number and date, and references such as the order or contract number.
• A description of each line in plain trade language: what the item is, its material, use, grade and model, for example "women's knitted cotton T-shirts", not "garments". DHL warns that "samples" or "parts" alone is not an adequate description, and a model number alone tells customs nothing.
• HS code for each line: few countries require it on the invoice, but brokers copy it, so give a code you have checked against the destination tariff.
• Quantity and unit of measure, unit price, line total and invoice total, with the currency as an ISO code such as USD or EUR, not just "$".
• Delivery terms: the Incoterms 2020 rule and named place, such as "FOB Busan, Incoterms 2020".
• Country of origin for each line.
• Packages: number and kind, marks and numbers, net and gross weights, matching the packing list and the transport document.
• Payment terms and discounts, with freight, insurance, packing and commissions shown as separate amounts.
• The reason for export when there is no sale (sample, repair, return, gift), the name of a person who knows the transaction, and any signature or statement the destination requires.

Customs value: what to show separately and what to add

Under the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, customs value is normally the transaction value: the price actually paid or payable for goods sold for export, adjusted under Article 8. Costs the buyer bears that the price leaves out are added: selling commissions, containers and packing, assists such as moulds, tools or engineering supplied by the buyer free or at a reduced cost, royalties and licence fees paid as a condition of sale, and any resale proceeds that go back to the seller.

Article 8.2 lets each country decide whether transport, loading and insurance to the place of importation are part of the value. The EU and UK include them up to the point where goods enter their territory, a CIF-type value (Union Customs Code, Article 71). The US leaves out international freight and insurance, which is why 19 CFR 141.86 asks for every charge itemized by name and amount. Japan, China and India also use CIF-type values, and Canada and Australia FOB-type values.

So show freight, insurance, packing and other charges as separate amounts, even on a CIF or DDP invoice. HMRC, for example, lets importers leave out costs after arrival only with evidence such as the amount shown separately on the seller's invoice. List every discount, and never issue a second, lower invoice for customs: customs can ask for the contract and payment records, and undervaluation leads to holds, extra duty and penalties.

United States: 19 CFR 141.81 to 141.92

A commercial invoice must be presented for each shipment when the entry summary is filed, and one invoice may not cover more than one shipment by one consignor to one consignee on one vessel or conveyance, except installment shipments arriving within 10 days (19 CFR 141.81, 141.82). The exemptions in 19 CFR 141.83, such as goods not for sale or consigned to a US government agency, set no value threshold, and since the USD 800 de minimis exemption was suspended on 29 August 2025, low-value courier parcels need an entry too.

The importer or broker adds the HTSUS subheading unless invoice data goes to CBP electronically (19 CFR 141.90), and 19 CFR 141.89 asks for extra details for about 45 classes of goods, such as footwear, textiles, machinery and iron or steel. If the commercial invoice is not ready at entry, a pro forma invoice can be filed under a bond, and the invoice must follow within 120 days (19 CFR 141.85, 141.91). US exporters of items on the Commerce Control List other than EAR99 must also put the destination control statement on the invoice (15 CFR 758.6).

Under 19 CFR 141.86 the invoice itself must show:

• The port of entry, and when, where, by whom and to whom the goods were sold; for goods not sold, where, when, by whom and to whom they were shipped.
• A detailed description: the name each item is known by, its grade or quality, the marks, numbers and symbols under which it is sold, and the marks and numbers of the packages.
• Quantities in the weights and measures of the shipping country or the US.
• The purchase price of each item in the currency of the purchase; for goods not sold, the value each item would fetch in usual wholesale quantities in the country of exportation.
• All charges itemized by name and amount: freight, insurance, commission, cases, containers, coverings and packing. Packing and inland freight to the port of export may stay in the price if the invoice says so.
• Rebates, drawbacks and bounties allowed on export, the country of origin, and assists (dies, molds, tools, engineering work) not included in the price.
• What each package contains, every discount from list price, page numbering on paper invoices, English or an accurate English translation, and the name of a responsible employee of the exporter who knows the transaction.

European Union and United Kingdom

EU law sets no invoice format. The invoice is a supporting document that must be in the declarant's possession and available to customs when the declaration is lodged, and handed over when EU law requires it or customs asks (Union Customs Code, Article 163). The broker takes the price, currency, delivery terms, origin and charges from it, so the core fields are what it needs, with EORI numbers where the parties have them. The new Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, entered into force in September 2026 and applies in stages, so watch for changes.

A lower duty rate usually depends on a statement on origin written on the invoice or another commercial document, in the exact wording the agreement sets. Under the EU GSP the exporter must be registered in REX unless the originating goods in the consignment are worth EUR 6,000 or less; under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a statement for a consignment over EUR 6,000 carries the exporter's REX number (EU) or EORI number (UK).

In the UK, HMRC uses the seller's invoice, or whatever document asks for payment, as evidence of the transaction value, and adds delivery costs up to the place where goods enter the UK. Under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, any exporter in a beneficiary country can make an origin declaration on an invoice or other commercial document that describes the goods well enough to identify them. A business not established in the UK imports into Great Britain only through someone acting for it indirectly.

Canada, Brazil and other markets

For commercial shipments, Canada requires either a Canada Customs Invoice (form CI1) or a commercial invoice with the same information, in English or French (CBSA Memorandum D1-4-1). The data include the vendor, consignee and purchaser, the country of origin, the place of direct shipment to Canada, the conditions of sale and terms of payment, the currency of settlement, packages, a description that states the condition of goods that are not new, quantity, unit price, weights, and the transport, insurance and export packing costs included in or left out of the total. The exporter, importer or an agent can add some of these. CBSA can ask for supporting documents, due within seven days, and import records are kept for six years.

Some countries set stricter rules. Brazil's customs regulation lists the invoice contents, including the countries of origin, acquisition and provenance, gross and net weights, freight, payment terms and the Incoterm. It accepts Portuguese, English, French or Spanish, and the original must be signed by the exporter, by hand or with a digital certificate (Regulamento Aduaneiro, Article 557 and related articles).

In Australia, Japan, China and India the importer or its broker files the declaration from your invoice data, so the core fields apply. Rules on certified or legalized invoices, local-language translations and HS codes on the invoice differ by country, especially in the Middle East and Latin America, so ask the importer or its broker before the first shipment.

Courier shipments, samples and goods sent free of charge

Express carriers clear goods using your invoice, so the same rules apply. UPS requires a commercial invoice, or pro forma invoice, for all cross-border shipments except documents with no commercial value. FedEx accepts a pro forma invoice for free goods such as samples, but notes that not all countries accept one and recommends a commercial invoice in every case.

"No commercial value" means no payment, not no value. FedEx says a customs value is required even without a transaction value and that zero is not acceptable, and US rules ask for the value each item would fetch in usual wholesale quantities. Add a statement such as "Samples of no commercial value, not for resale. Value for customs purposes only" (see Triplicate's note on shipping samples).

Low-value relief has narrowed: the US suspended its USD 800 de minimis exemption on 29 August 2025, and since 1 July 2026 EU distance sales in consignments up to EUR 150 pay a EUR 3 customs duty per item. Expect courier parcels to be checked against the invoice like any other import. Rules change often; this is practical guidance, not legal advice, so confirm with the destination customs authority or a licensed customs broker.