Export Procedures

Documents Required

Certain documentation takes place while exporting from India. Special documents may be required depending on the type of product or destination. Certain export products may require a quality control inspection certificate from the Export Inspection Agency. Some food and pharmaceutical product may require a health or sanitary certificate for export.

Shipping Bill/ Bill of Export is the main document required by the Customs Authority for allowing shipment. Usually the Shipping Bill is of four types and the major distinction lies with regard to the goods being subject to certain conditions which are mentioned below:

Export duty/ cess Free of duty/ cess

Entitlement of duty drawback

Entitlement of credit of duty under DEPB Scheme

Re-export of imported goods

The following are the documents required for the processing of the Shipping Bill:

GR forms (in duplicate) for shipment to all the countries. 4 copies of the packing list mentioning the contents,

quantity, gross and net weight of each package.

4 copies of invoices which contains all relevant particulars like number of packages, quantity, unit rate, total f.o.b./ c.i.f. value, correct & full description of goods etc.

Contract, L/C, Purchase Order of the overseas buyer.

AR4 (both original and duplicate) and invoice.

Inspection/ Examination Certificate.

The formats presented for the Shipping Bill are as given below: White Shipping Bill in triplicate for export of duty free of

goods. Green Shipping Bill in quadruplicate for the export of

goods which are under claim for duty drawback.

Yellow Shipping Bill in triplicate for the export of dutiable goods.

Blue Shipping Bill in 7 copies for exports under the DEPB scheme.

Note :- For the goods which are cleared by Land Customs, Bill of Export (also of 4 types - white, green, yellow & pink) is required instead of Shipping Bill.

Documents Required for Post Parcel Customs Clearance

In case of Post Parcel, no Shipping Bill is required. The relevant documents are mentioned below:

Customs Declaration Form - It is prescribed by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and international apex body coordinating activities of national postal administration. It is known by the code number CP2/ CP3 and to be prepared in quadruplicate, signed by the sender.

Despatch Note, also known as CP2. It is filled by the sender to specify the action to be taken by the postal department at the destination in case the address is non-traceable or the parcel is refused to be accepted.

Prescriptions regarding the minimum and maximum sizes of the parcel with its maximum weight :Minimum size: Total surface area not less than 140 mm X 90 mm.Maximum size: Lengthwise not over 1.05 m. Measurement of any other side of circumference 0.9 m./ 2.00 m.Maximum weight: 10 kg usually, 20 kg for some destinations.

Commercial invoice - Issued by the seller for the full realisable amount of goods as per trade term.

Consular Invoice - Mainly needed for the countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, New Zealand, Burma, Iraq, Ausatralia, Fiji, Cyprus, Nigeria, Ghana, Zanzibar etc. It is prepared in the prescribed format and is signed/ certified by the counsel of the importing country located in the country of export.

Customs Invoice - Mainly needed for the countries like USA, Canada, etc. It is prepared on a special form being presented by the Customs authorities of the importing country. It facilitates entry of goods in the importing country at preferential tariff rate.

Legalised/ Visaed Invoice - This shows the seller's genuineness before the appropriate consulate/ chamber of commerce/ embassy. It do not have any prescribed form.

Certified Invoice - It is required when the exporter needs to certify on the invoice that the goods are of a particular origin or manufactured/ packed at a particular place and in accordance with specific contract. Sight Draft and Usance Draft are available for this. Sight Draft is required when the exporter expects immediate payment and Usance Draft is required for credit delivery.

Packing List - It shows the details of goods contained in each parcel/ shipment.

Certificate of Inspection - It shows that goods have been inspected before shipment.

Black List Certificate - It is required for countries which have strained political relation. It certifies that the ship or the aircraft carrying the goods has not touched those country(s).

Weight Note - Required to confirm the packets or bales or other form are of a stipulated weight.

Manufacturer's/ Supplier's Quality/ Inspection Certificate.

Manufacturer's Certificate - It is required in addition to the Certificate of Origin for few countries to show that the goods shipped have actually been manufactured and are available.

Certificate of Chemical Analysis - It is required to ensure the quality and grade of certain items such as metallic ores, pigments, etc.

Certificate of Shipment - It signifies that a certain lot of goods have been shipped.

Health/ Veterinary/ Sanitary Certification - Required for export of foodstuffs, marine products, hides, livestock etc.

Certificate of Conditioning - It is issued by the competent office to certify compliance of humidity factor, dry weight, etc.

Antiquity Measurement - Issued by Archaeological Survey of India in case of antiques.

Transhipment Bill - It is used for goods imported into a customs port/ airport intended for transhipment.

Shipping Order - Issued by the Shipping (Conference) Line which intimates the exporter about the reservation of space of shipment of cargo through the specific vessel from a specified port and on a specified date.

Cart/ Lorry Ticket - It is prepared for admittance of the cargo through the port gate and includes the shipper's name, cart/ lorry No., marks on packages, quantity, etc.

Shut Out Advice - It is a statement of packages which are shut out by a ship and is prepared by the concerned shed and is sent to the exporter.

Short Shipment Form - It is an application to the customs authorities at port which advises short shipment of goods and required for claiming the return.

Shipping Advice - It is prepared in aligned document to be used to inform the overseas customer about the shipment of goods

Import Export Documents.Documentation in International Trade. Bill of Lading BL Contents:

- Import export documents. Documentation in international trade.- Documents of origin (Certificate of Origin)- Commercial documents (Proforma, Invoice, Packing List...).- Transport documents. - Administrative documents.- Other documents.

Objectives:

The main objectives of this Learning Unit are to learn about different types of documents used

in international trade (import and export), which documents are usually required by customs, the requirements for various documents and how to fill in these documents correctly.

In this unit you will: Learn about the various types of documents used in international trade.

This will be achieved by:

Analyzing the various classifications and requirements of export documents. Learning what functions export documents perform.

Learning the different types of documents of origin that evidence the origin of goods.

Analyzing the various commercial and administrative documents.

Examining other documents that may be required in international trade transactions.

Summary

Foreign trade documents: Certificat of Origin, Packing List, Commercial, Transport, Administrative. Invoice. Insurance documents.

Most international trade transactions require certain transport documents, administrative documents, commercial documents and insurance documents. There are a great variety of documents that may need to be produced to complete export/import transactions; some estimates indicate over 200 different documents are used in international trade. However, in most export transactions, only a few certain documents are used (invoice, packing list and transport document.).

Documents fulfill the following functions:

Proof of contract. Documents such as transport documents (bill of lading), insurance documents, etc. Evidence the existence of contracts of sale and conditions stipulated there.

Title to the goods. Certain transport documents represent title to the goods, that is, they give the right to collect the goods from the carrier (just as a bank draft gives you the right to collect funds against the drawer).

Information. Certain documents provide information on the price for the goods (invoice), the contents of package units (packing list), etc.

Customs. The customs of the country of destination require documents that evidence the origin of the goods, etc. in order to establish whether the goods are importable to the country and in order to charge appropriate taxes and duties.

Proof of compliance. Certain documents serve as proof that the conditions stipulated in the contract of sale are complied with, such as date of shipment (transport documents),

the origin of the goods (certificate of origin), etc.

DOCUMENTS OF ORIGINThe purpose of these documents is to show where the goods originated. Therefore, they play an important role in order to establish the taxes and duties to be paid on the goods at the customs. One must find out what type of document exactly is required at the customs in order to be able to benefit from possible reduced tariffs.

 

logistics and transport management

Objectives:

Understand the importance of correct logistics and transport management for international trade.

Analyze these 4 modes of transport and their characteristics as well as the transport documents required for each mode of transport and how to complete them.

Understand the functioning of marine transport, documents required for sea freight and how to complete them.

Familiarizing the student with different types of packaging, packaging materials, the use of pallets and containers, packing marks, modes of transport and packaging, and the criteria to be used when selecting an appropriate packaging for particular shipments.

Summary:

International transport: air, road, rail, multimodal. Bill of Lading BL. Insurance. Logistics and transport management for international trade.

No exporter can approach an export transaction without taking into account its transport and logistics requirements. This course will give you a thorough understanding of the main modes of transport in international trade and address the more common management issues related to them. Analyze the 4 modes of transport and their characteristics as well as the transport documents required for each mode of transport. Understand the functioning of marine transport, documents required for sea freight. Examine different types of packaging options, which materials, the use of pallets and containers, packing marks, modes of transport and packaging.

Transport is one of the main component factors taken into account when determining the final price of a product. Logistics is the process of planning, implementation and control of both the physical and information flow, as well as the storage of raw materials, semi-finished and finished products, from point of origin to the end consumer in the most efficient and effective

way possible.

In recent years air freight has been developing rapidly and air carriers have been able to offer an ever widening range of services. Freight costs can be paid in advance, at destination or against reimbursement. IATA (the International Air Transport Association) has simplified the handling of export documentation for air freight and has unified tariffs and conditions of carriage.

Road freight is the only mode of transport perfectly suited to provide door-to-door services that are the goods can be collected at the exporter's premises and delivered directly to the importer by the same trailer.

Today, Rail transport is one of the safest modes of transport. It can carry various consignments from small packages to containers. In terms of cargo capacity rail transport can compete with marine transport.

Carriage by multimodal transport is the continuous movement of goods by more than one means of transport (marine, land, etc.) under one and the same document and one contract of carriage.

Of all means of transport, marine transport carries the greatest volume of goods in international trade. Marine transport is practically the most cost-effective means of transporting large volumes of goods from one country to another. This unit examines the marine transport market and the key aspects of shipping lines and charters.

Although the packaging of goods might seem of little importance, it is one of the fundamental aspects of international trade. Good packaging should protect the goods during transport and prevent theft, it should be economical and achieve a balance between effectiveness and cost (both from the point of view of the material used and the time spent on packing the goods). Companies with little experience in international trade are recommended to work with an intermediary company who has experience in packaging for export

Transport Documents

Detailed information about all of the documents discussed on this page can be found on the International Trade OnLine website.

Ocean/Marine Bill of Lading

Receipt

A Bill of Lading is essentially a receipt for the goods, issued by the carrier by the shipper at the time of loading the goods boards the ocean going vessel. This receipt will need to be presented to the carrier or his agent at the port of destination to obtain releaseof goods detailed on the document.

Non Negotiable

A Bill of Lading if drawn showing goods consigned to a specific party is a quasi non negotiable document as the goods will only be released to the named party.

Negotiable

If the Bill of Lading is drawn to ' Order' without naming a consignee, it is regarded as drawn to bearer, the Bill of Lading becomes a true document of title as the holder of the original Bill of Lading can demand delivery of the goods from the carrier.

Drawn to Order

If the Bill of Lading to ' Order of the consignee' it affords the named consignee the opportunity to endorse the Bill of Lading to another party, who inherits the right to claim delivery of the goods from the carrier by virtue of this endorsement.

Indemnity

Should the original Bill of Lading be lost and no other be available, the carrier may release the goods to the consignee against an Indemnity , usually underwritten by a Bank, as protection for him should he inadvertently release the goods to the wrong consignee.

Contract of Carriage

The Bill of Lading provides evidence of a Contract of Carriage between the shipper and the carrier. The terms of the contract will include the terms of the Bill of lading with any other terms agreed between the carrier and the shipper.

Hague/Visby Rules

These Rulesimpose certain responsibilities of the shipper with regard to the marine part of transportation activity, including the carriers liabilities in respect of compensation.

Non Negotiable Sea Waybill

Use of the Sea Waybill

The non negotiable seawaybill allows the consignee to take delivery of goods from the carrier without the need to produce an original non negotiable Bill of Lading, identification of the consignee being the only requirement.

Advantages

The non negotiable Sea Waybill is particularly useful in short sea routes where vessels can arrive before the documents.

Disadvantages

The Non Negotiable Sea Waybill, should only be used when the shipper has no desire to deny the consignee delivery of goods on their arrival at the destination port, pending payment of any due amount.

Delivery

The shipping company will make delivery of the goods to the named consignee, on their providing acceptable identification to the shipping company.

Non Disposal

The shipper may instruct the shipping company to divert delivery to an alternate consignee provided the vessel has not yet arrived at the destination port. The consignee can avoid this situation by insisting that the Sea Waybill contacts a Non Disposal clause thereby preventing the shipper from diverting delivery.

Air Waybill

Non Negotiability

The speed of air transport and lack of demand for 'negotiable' Air Waybills has meant that most Air waybills are classified as ' non negotiable', thereby denying the named consignee the opportunity to pass the air waybill to another party to claim the goods from the carrier on their arrival.

Delivery

Although a consignee will be named on the Air waybill the shipper reserves the right to change the delivery instructions whilst goods are in transit, and may instruct the carrier to make delivery to another party.

Non Disposal

A consignee can protect himself from the risk of goods being diverted for delivery to another party, by insisting that the Airway bill contains a 'non disposal' clause, which will prevent the shipper from taking such action.

Consolidation

Where cargo from several shippers destined for the same destination is loaded into a transport unit, a Freight Forwarder will enter into a contract of carriage with an airline to transport all the goods loaded in the transport unit. Shippers may attracted to this form of transportation by the lower transport cost

House Air Waybill

Where goods are shipped by a Freight Forwarder Consolidation, the airline will issue a Master Air waybill to the Freight Forwarder covering all the goods in the transport unit, the Freight Forwarder will then issue his own House Airway bill to each of the shippers covering the movement of their goods. Delivery is claimed by the consignee from the Freight Forwarder or his agent at the destination airport.

Air Transportation Regimes

There are 3 Regimes governing the movement of goods by air, and contained within the regimes are limitations as to the airlines liabilities and responsibilities during the air transport movement.