Invoice

Summary of Invoice

A statement of charges, usually on a preprinted form, given by a seller to a buyer covering a specific transaction. Invoices commonly contain the following data: name and address of purchaser; description of merchandise, including prices; place at which goods were delivered or point to which they were shipped; date of the transaction; and terms of sale. Some invoices, particularly those arising from international transactions, may be highly detailed, including specifics of the currency used for billing, shipping arrangements, special markings on the goods or packaging, as well as statements of correctness, purity, or other stipulations required by governmental and/or customs authorities.

Several types of invoices are common in international trade.

1. Commercial invoice is issued by the seller, on his standard invoice form, to the buyer. Depending upon the importing country and the type of transaction involved, this invoice may not be acceptable to the authorities of the importing country.

2. Preliminary (or provisional) invoice is issued when final details of the transaction are not known at the time of shipment, or when the goods are subject to rejection by the purchaser.

3. Final invoice is issued to finalize a transaction in cases where preliminary invoices were previously issued.

4. Memorandum invoice is a brief statement of charges, perhaps in letter form, not intended by the seller as a formal billing, but used as such by the purchaser.

5. Customs invoice is a special invoice, in addition to a commercial invoice, required by the customs authorities of the importing nation. This invoice is prepared on a prescribed form, which may be obtained from commercial stationers. The purpose of this type of invoice is to obtain data in addition to that normally contained in commercial invoices.

6. Consular invoice is a special type of customs invoice. In addition to the invoice required by the importing country, the consular form requires special validation, or legalization by the importer's counsel. The purposes of the consular invoice are to ensure compliance with import licensing, to ensure an orderly system of import declaration for the ease

of customs, and to generate fees to maintain local consulates. The failure to supply a legalized consular invoice to importers in countries requiring it may prevent clearance of the goods by customs or may result in heavy fines for the importer. The use of consular invoicing is largely restricted to Latin America.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)