Cross-border & sourcing

Commercial invoice

Definition

The document that states what was sold, to whom, at what price, and under what terms — the primary document US Customs and Border Protection uses to value the shipment and assess duty. It must match the packing list and the actual goods exactly.

Defined in Freight & Customs: The Manufacturer's First Shipment.

Where Commercial invoice comes up

The guides that put this term to work, rather than just defining it.

South AsiaThe US Compliance Checklist for South Asian Exporters

Related terms

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ISF: Also called '10+2' — a filing of shipment and party data that must be lodged with US Customs before ocean cargo is loaded at the origin port. Missing or late ISF filings carry monetary penalties and can trigger cargo holds on arrival.
Margin headroom: The gap between a realistic US retail price and your fully-loaded landed cost, after accounting for marketplace fees, launch advertising, and a returns allowance — the buffer that lets a new listing survive its first unprofitable months.
Marketplace facilitator law: A state law making the marketplace — Amazon — responsible for calculating, collecting, and remitting sales tax on third-party sales. Every US state with a sales tax now has one, which is why marketplace-only sellers generally do not register state by state.
Children's Product Certificate: The certificate a manufacturer or importer must issue for any product designed primarily for children 12 and under, based on passing tests performed by a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory. General-use products subject to a CPSC rule need the self-issued equivalent, a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC).
Importer of record: The party legally responsible for a shipment's entry into the US — accurate classification, duty payment, and compliance with every applicable regulation. For a South Asian exporter this is typically your US entity, or you as a foreign importer of record with a customs bond and a broker.

All 112 terms

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