Exporting Your Goods

Shipping and Collection Documents

You may wish to let a freight forwarder manage the paperwork requirement for you. The following seven questions and answers can help clarify the issues that need to be addressed:

What do shipping documents include?
What is a commercial invoice used for?
What information is typically on a commercial invoice?
What certificates of inspection may be needed?
What is a bill of lading?
What is unique about an ocean bill of lading?
What do collection documents include?

What do shipping documents include?

The following paperwork is needed to get your product out of Canada, transported to its destination, through the foreign Customs office, loaded onto a local carrier, and transported to its final destination:

  • Commercial invoice
  • Special packing or marking list
  • Certificate of origin
  • Certificate of insurance
  • Bill of lading

What is a commercial invoice used for?

It is used for customs records as well as to complete the sales transaction.

What information is typically on a commercial invoice?
  • Full legal name, address, and country of the seller
  • The date on which the goods began their continuous journey
  • The purchaser’s order number, or the vendor’s commercial invoice number
  • Full name and address of the consignee
  • Whether or not the good is being sold to a party that is different from the consignee
  • Whether or not the goods have been transhipped
  • If applicable, the country(s) through which the goods were shipped in transit to the final destination
  • The complete shipment routing details
  • The terms of sale
  • The currency of settlement
  • The type of packaging and number of packages
  • A detailed description of each item
  • The quantity of each item
  • The unit price of each item
  • The total price of each item
  • The total net and gross weight of the goods
  • The total invoice price
  • The name, address, and phone number of the person/company completing the invoice
  • The number and date of any Customs and Revenue Agency ruling relating to the shipment

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What certificates of inspection may be needed?

You will need certificates of inspection if you want to export any of the following: dairy products, eggs, processed eggs, feeds, fertilizers, fresh fruits and vegetables, honey, livestock and poultry carcass grading, maple products, meat products, health of animals, plant protection, processed products, seeds, seed potato, fish.

What is a bill of lading?

It is a contract of carriage whereby the carrier identifies terms, conditions and responsibilities to deliver the goods to the consignee without implications for ownership of the shipment. There are different types of Bill of Ladings such as “Straight2 Bill of Lading”, an “Ocean Bill of Lading” and a “Shipping Manifest.” Business-in-a-Box provides a sample.

What is unique about an ocean bill of lading?

It is a negotiable instrument and as such can actually be bought and sold among parties. Whoever possesses the ocean bill of lading owns the goods.

What do collection documents include?

Collection documents include all the paperwork you need in order to collect payment.