In the field of international trade and transportation, there are documents known as shipping documents. These documents contain specifications of shipments and goods. Shipping documents are the most important documents during the foreign exchange process of commodities, and they are considered to be the identification of the goods.
The importance of shipping documents in international transportation
Shipping documents contain specialized transportation terms and cargo information, and for this reason, their existence is necessary for international transportation. In fact, the buyer of a shipment can clear his goods from customs only through these documents after fulfilling financial obligations and settling the account with the bank or seller. Bill of lading, Waybill, Invoice and Certificate of origin are commercial documents in international transportation.
Classification of shipping documents
In general, shipping documents are divided into two groups: First one is called conventional or common documents and second group is called special documents. The list of documents of each group is as below:
Conventional shipping documents
• Bill of Lading-B/L
• Preform invoice
• Commercial Invoice
• Certificate of Origin
• Packing list
• Test report or inspection certificate
• Insurance Policy
• Export certificate
Special shipping documents
• Certified Invoice
• Legalized
• Weight Certificate
• Consular Invoice
• Manufacturer Analysis Certificate
• Health Veterinary
• Fumigation Certificate
• Certificate of goods inspection at the origin