Customs Declarations and Commercial Invoices

Your customs declaration is the legal statement of what's in the box, what it's worth, and why it's crossing a border. Customs authorities make their decisions from it, and carriers won't move an international shipment without one. Getting it right the first time is what keeps a parcel moving instead of sitting in an inspection queue.

You'll see the customs panel appear on the ship screen as soon as the destination is outside the US.

Where the Declaration Comes From

You have three ways to fill it in, chosen at the top of the panel:

Use from saved package

The declaration comes from the customs items stored on the saved package you picked. This is the one to aim for -- if you ship the same product internationally more than once, enter its customs data on the saved package once and you'll never type it again.

You'll only see this option when the saved package you selected actually has customs items on it.

Temporary

Items you enter for this shipment only, with nothing stored afterwards. That's the right choice for one-off contents. If the saved package does happen to carry customs items, the panel offers to copy them in as a starting point, so you can edit rather than retype.

None

No declaration at all. This is only valid for the destinations that genuinely don't require one. If you pick it for a destination that does need a declaration, rating will fail and tell you so -- nothing slips through unnoticed.

Item Fields

Here's what each declared item needs:

• Description -- what the item actually is. It's the most important field on the form, and the one worth spending an extra few seconds on.
• Quantity -- how many of this item are in the package.
• Unit price -- what one of them is worth, not the line total.
• Net weight and its unit -- the weight of the goods themselves, without the packaging.
• HS code -- the Harmonized System tariff classification. More on these just below.
• Country of origin -- where the item was made, which often isn't where you're shipping it from.

Writing a Good Description

A customs officer who can't tell what an item is has to hold the package until someone explains it, so vague wording is the usual reason for a hold. The ones to avoid: "gift", "sample", "merchandise", "parts", "accessories", "goods".

Specific descriptions sail through: "cotton t-shirt, adult size M", "stainless steel water bottle, 500ml", "printed paperback book", "silicone phone case for mobile phone".

The pattern is material, then item, then specifics. A few extra words here can save days at the border.

HS Codes

The Harmonized System is the international standard for classifying traded goods. The first six digits mean the same thing everywhere, and individual countries add further digits for their own tariff schedules. The code is what sets the duty rate.

If you leave the HS code off, the destination country classifies the item for you -- which takes longer and tends to land on the more expensive category. Supplying your own code is faster and usually cheaper.

You can look codes up in the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Our advice: find the code once per product, then store it on the item or the saved package so you're not hunting for it every shipment. On OMS, item customs records keep it against the SKU for good.

Country of Origin

This is where the goods were made, not where the parcel is leaving from. A product manufactured in Vietnam and shipped out of a US warehouse has a country of origin of Vietnam. Trade agreements set duty rates by origin, so customs needs this one to be accurate -- it's a compliance field, not a detail.

Advanced Customs Options

Open the Advanced customs section and you'll find the fields most shipments don't need, and that a few shipments really do.

Reason for Export

Why the goods are crossing the border. You can choose Sold, Gift, Sample, Repair, Personal Effects, or Returned.

This one isn't cosmetic. Plenty of destination countries treat shipments differently depending on the reason, and gifts in particular often have a value threshold below which no duty is charged. Those thresholds are written for genuine gifts, so the reason you pick has to be the true one -- a sale declared as a gift is a false declaration, and customs treats it as one.

Incoterms

Incoterms set who carries the cost and the risk at each point in the journey. The full list is there if you need it -- EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU, DDP, FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF -- but ecommerce shipping comes down to two in practice: DAP, where the recipient pays duties on arrival, and DDP, where you cover them up front. See Shipping Internationally for help choosing between them.

Declared Value

The total declared value of the shipment, for the times you need to state it separately from the sum of the item values. Duty is assessed against this figure, and it's also the ceiling on any insurance claim -- so declaring what the goods are genuinely worth keeps the paperwork right and protects you if something goes missing.

Seller Tax ID

A tax identifier for you as the shipper, along with its type and issuing country. You can supply:

• IOSS -- your Import One Stop Shop VAT number, for consumer sales into the EU below the low-value threshold. Leave it off and your EU customers get asked for VAT on delivery.
• EORI -- Economic Operators Registration and Identification, which the EU and UK require on commercial shipments.
• VAT and GST numbers for the jurisdictions that use them.
• CPF / CNPJ for Brazil, RFC and CURP for Mexico.

These are the fields most often missing when a shipment gets stuck somewhere. If you ship regularly into a jurisdiction that requires one, it's well worth registering -- a one-time job that saves a lot of held parcels later.

AES / EEI Filing

Electronic Export Information, filed through the Automated Export System. US law requires it for shipments above a value threshold or containing controlled goods. You have three options here:

• None -- no filing required, which covers most low-value ecommerce parcels.
• ITN (filed) -- you've already filed through AES and have an Internal Transaction Number to enter.
• Exemption -- an exemption applies, and you enter the exemption code.

If you're not sure which applies to a particular shipment, a customs broker is the right person to ask. Controlled exports carry real legal obligations, so a quick call to someone who does this for a living beats guessing.

Commercial Invoices

The commercial invoice is the customs-facing document we generate from your declaration -- the itemized statement of contents, values, parties, and terms that travels with the shipment and that customs officers actually read.

It's built entirely from what you enter, which is the practical reason those declaration fields matter: they aren't just filed away, they become the document. ShipGenius keeps a commercial invoice record against every shipment, so you can pull it up later for a claim, an audit, or a customer question.

Some carriers accept the invoice electronically, and some want printed copies travelling with the package. Your carrier's international shipping documentation will tell you which, and it can differ by destination, so it's worth checking for the lanes you ship most.

Not Retyping This Every Time

The customs panel is usually the slowest part of an international shipment, and the good news is that almost all of that time is avoidable.

• Saved packages can carry customs items. Set one up per product, switch the panel to "use from saved package", and you're done.
• On OMS, item customs records keep the HS code, country of origin, and description against the SKU for good, so any order containing that item declares itself.
• Customs blueprints on OMS handle the declaration for you as part of the blueprint process -- see The Blueprint System.

If you ship internationally more than occasionally and you're still typing declarations by hand, this is probably the most worthwhile setup work you can do. If you'd like a hand getting it configured, just get in touch and we'll walk you through it.

FAQs

What happens if I declare a lower value to reduce duty?

Customs assesses duty against the value you declare, so it needs to reflect what the goods are actually worth. Declaring less than that is a false declaration, and it's the thing customs authorities are best at spotting. It also works against you: any insurance claim is capped at the value you declared, so a low figure means a low payout if the parcel is lost or damaged. Declaring accurately keeps the shipment moving and keeps you on the right side of the rules.

Do I need an HS code for every item?

Not strictly, but you'll want one. Shipments without a code clear more slowly and get classified by the destination country on your behalf, usually in the more expensive direction. Look the code up once per product and store it.

What's the difference between country of origin and ship-from country?

Country of origin is where the goods were manufactured. Ship-from is where the parcel departs. They're often different, and since trade agreements set duty rates by origin, that's the one customs uses to work out what's owed -- so both need to be accurate.

Can I mark a commercial shipment as a gift?

Only if it genuinely is one. Gift thresholds are real and useful, but they're written for actual gifts, so putting a sale down as a gift is a false declaration. Pick the reason for export that's true and you're covered.

Do I need to file AES for every international shipment?

No -- most low-value ecommerce parcels need no filing at all. It's required above a value threshold or for controlled goods, and if you're not certain whether yours count as controlled, a customs broker can tell you quickly.

Where do I find my commercial invoice after shipping?

On the shipment record. We keep the commercial invoice there so you can pull it up whenever you need it.

Why is my international shipment not rating?

Usually it's an incomplete or missing customs declaration. Check the summary line on the customs panel, and make sure every declared item has a description, quantity, and value. If it still won't rate after that, get in touch and we'll take a look.