The document provides information on export procedures and documents required for export from India. Several documents are needed depending on the type of goods being exported and destination country. Key documents include shipping bills, packing lists, invoices, certificates of origin, health certificates for food and pharmaceuticals. The document outlines the various types of shipping bills and other documents required for customs clearance for regular exports and postal parcel exports. It provides details on the documentation process and requirements.

1. 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.

2. • 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. (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 ORIGIN
The 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.

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10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.