Reference · 19 CFR 141.83 to 141.90
Commercial invoice
US Customs requires a commercial invoice for each shipment entering the United States, prepared in the manner customary in the trade and carrying the information set out in 19 CFR 141.86 to 141.89.
- Required for
- Each shipmentWith the exemptions in 141.83(d)
- Language
- EnglishOr with an accurate English translation
- Copies
- AcceptedA non-photographic copy needs a true-copy declaration
What the invoice must show
Paragraph (a) of 19 CFR 141.86 lists the general information. Goods shipped without a sale show a value for each item in place of the purchase price (141.86(a)(6)).
- Port of entry the goods are destined for
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(1)
- Seller and buyer, with the time and place of sale
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(2)
- A detailed description: name, grade or quality, marks and numbers, and the marks and numbers of the packages
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(3)
- Quantities, in the weights and measures of the country of shipment or of the US
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(4)
- Purchase price of each item, in the currency of the purchase
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(5)
- Kind of currency
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(7)
- All charges itemized by name and amount: freight, insurance, commission, packing and the rest
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(8)
- Rebates, drawbacks and bounties allowed on export
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(9)
- Country of origin
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(10)
- Assists: goods or services supplied for production and left out of the price
- 19 CFR 141.86(a)(11)
- What is in each package
- 19 CFR 141.86(e)
- Each discount from list or base price
- 19 CFR 141.86(g)
- A named employee of the exporter who knows the transaction
- 19 CFR 141.86(j)
Language, pages and copies
The invoice and its attachments must be in English, or carry an accurate English translation (19 CFR 141.86(d)).
Information the rules ask for can go on the invoice or on an attachment (19 CFR 141.86(i)). With more than one invoice in an entry, and outside electronic invoice data, each invoice and page is numbered in one series (19 CFR 141.86(h)).
CBP may accept a copy in place of the original. A copy other than a photostatic or photographic one carries a declaration by the seller, shipper or importer that it is a true copy (19 CFR 141.83(c)(2)).
Classification and value on the invoice
The importer or customs broker adds the HTSUS subheading and the rate of duty for each article, on the invoice or with the invoice data (19 CFR 141.90(b)).
The importer also shows how the entered value was reached from the invoice total: each deduction, such as non-dutiable charges, and each addition (19 CFR 141.90(c)).
Shipments exempt from the invoice rule
19 CFR 141.83(d) lists goods that enter without one, among them goods not intended for sale or any commercial use, goods returned after repair or alteration abroad under HTSUS 9802.00.40 and 9802.00.60, goods shipped abroad and returned undelivered, and goods consigned to a US Government agency (19 CFR 141.83(d)).
In those cases the importer still presents any invoice or bill on hand, or a pro forma invoice with enough detail to examine the goods and assess duty (19 CFR 141.83(d)).
On the export side
US exports are reported through Electronic Export Information filed in the Automated Export System (15 CFR 30.2(a)). The invoice the buyer needs follows the rules of the destination country. Our export documentation and AES filing pages cover that side.