Documents required in an export transaction

1.  Documents related to goods

• Export Invoice: An export invoice is a bill prepared by the seller giving information about the quantity of bill, the number of packages, the amount of bill, the name of the destination port, terms of delivery, etc.
• Packing list: The packing list states the number of packs and the nature of goods contained within the packages.
• Certificate of origin: A certificate of origin specifies the name of the country in which goods are being produced. It helps the exporter to avail of the benefits given by the importer country to an exporter of some specific countries.
• Certificate of inspection: A certificate of inspection acts as a guarantee that goods to be exported are of good quality. Such a certificate is issued by government authorized agencies, such as the Export Inspection Council of India (EICI).

2.  Documents related to shipment 

• Mate’s receipt: A Mate’s receipt is issued by the captain of the ship to the Port Superintendent after the goods are loaded on the ship. Port Superintendent, on receipt of port charges, passes on the receipt to the exporter or the C&F agent. The mate’s receipt is important for computing freight charges.
• Shipping Bill: A shipping bill is issued by an export firm that gives details of the goods, the name and address of the exporter, the name of the loading port, the name of the destination, and so on. The shipping bill is the most important document required to obtain customs clearance.
• Bill of lading: After the computation of freight charges, the shipping company issues a bill of lading issued as proof of accepting and delivering the goods to their destination. When the transit is done through the airways, Airway Bill is issued instead of the bill of lading.
• Marine insurance policy: Marine insurance policy is a certificate issued by an insurance company as a promise to indemnify any loss of the insured goods in case of transit-related tragedies.

3.  Documents related to payment

• Letter of credit: A letter of credit is a guarantee given by the importer’s bank that in case of non-payment by an importer, the bank shall pay a certain amount of export bill to the exporter’s bank on the behalf of the importer.
• Bill of exchange: Bill of exchange is a financial instrument drawn by an exporter in the name of the importer for demanding a payment related to the export consignment. The exporter’s bank transfers the necessary documents to the importer only after acceptance of a bill of exchange.
• Bank certificate of payment: Bank certificate of payment is a certificate to ensure that the important documents related to a particular export consignment have been transferred to the importer and the payment has been received.   

Export is one of the main components of International business and involves the movement of goods and services across the nations and the exchange of foreign currencies between the dealing parties. This makes export a complex process and the exporter is bound to follow the legal, and compulsory formalities imposed by the exporting country. No country in today’s world wants to deliver illegal or bad quality goods and services to other nations, as now international trade is governed under the strict rules of the World Trade Organization. Therefore, a series of strict procedures have to be followed by the exporter before the goods leave the boundaries of the home country.