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DOC 04 · THE PRICE SOURCE
Every price field starts here
The commercial invoice is the document the declaration's value fields are copied from, and the document a buyer's bank reads before it releases payment. It has to satisfy both audiences with the same numbers.
Three audiences, one document
Customs reads it for value and classification. The bank reads it for the payment obligation. The destination authority reads it for duty. Any inconsistency between those readings stops one of the three.
The template trap
Reusing last shipment's invoice as a template is normal and fine — until the amount in words is left behind. Figures that say 5,800 and words that say forty-two thousand cannot both be true.
SPECIMEN
Invoice format (12 fields)
This layout follows the format used in South China trade: buyer and document number at the top, the line item table in the middle, total and remarks at the foot.
Commercial invoice
SPECIMEN · INVOICE
COMMERCIAL INVOICE | |||
| 3Sold to MessrsDUTCH TRADING B.V. Keizersgracht 100, 1015 CX Amsterdam, Netherlands | 1Invoice no.SG-20261102-01 | ||
| 2Date2026-11-02 | |||
| 4Terms of tradeFOB SHENZHEN | CurrencyUSD | ||
| 5Marks & numbers | 6Description of goods | 7Quantity | 8Unit price 9Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/M | E-book screen protector 7 inch, 3-layer PET with silicone adhesion layer | 580 PCS | 10.00 5,800.00 |
| 10TOTAL | USD 5,800.00 | ||
| 11Shipping marksDUTCH TRADING B.V. / ROTTERDAM / C/NO. 1-20 / G.W. 300 KGS | 12RemarksContract SC20261102; country of origin China; C/O pending | ||
Values that must reconcile: 580 x 10.00 = 5,800.00 on the line, on the total, on the contract and on the declaration. If any one of the four differs, the set is not consistent.
FIELD NOTES
How to fill Your own serial number, unique per shipment. It becomes the reference that ties the packing list, the declaration and the payment together. Example SG-20261102-01 Cross-check Carried onto the packing list as Invoice No. and onto the declaration as an attached document. Watch out Reusing a number from an earlier shipment makes two entries look like one, and reconciliation in a refund review stalls. How to fill The date the invoice is issued. Not the contract date, not the sailing date. Example 2026-11-02 Cross-check On or after the contract date, on or before the declaration date. Watch out An invoice dated after the export date is back-dated paperwork and is queried during the refund review. How to fill The buyer's full legal name and address, in English, exactly as it appears on the contract. Example DUTCH TRADING B.V., Rotterdam, Netherlands Cross-check Identical to the contract buyer and to the overseas consignee on the declaration. Watch out A group name here and a subsidiary name on the contract is the most common four-way mismatch in a document set. How to fill The Incoterm and named place, written in full: FOB Shenzhen, CIF Rotterdam, EXW Dongguan. Example FOB Shenzhen Cross-check Equals the terms of trade on the contract and on the declaration. Watch out Writing FOB without the named port leaves the point of delivery undefined, and the freight fields on the declaration cannot be derived. How to fill The shipping marks on the cartons, or N/M where there are none. Copy them from the packing list rather than retyping. Example N/M Cross-check Matches the packing list marks and the marks block on the declaration. Watch out Marks invented at invoicing time do not appear on the cargo, and the inspection team cannot match cartons to the entry. How to fill The trade description: what the product is, its key specification, and enough detail to resolve to one HS code. Not a marketing line. Example E-book screen protector, 7 inch, 3-layer PET with silicone adhesion layer Cross-check Matches the declaration goods name, the packing list description and the declaration elements. Watch out A brand name alone, or a model number alone, cannot be classified. Add the product noun and what it is made of. How to fill The quantity sold, with its unit. Where the customs legal unit differs, state the unit sold and let the declaration carry the converted legal quantity. Example 580 PCS Cross-check Matches the packing list quantity and converts cleanly to the declaration quantity. Watch out Mixing units across line items — some in sets, some in pieces — makes the total meaningless and the declaration unverifiable. How to fill Price per unit in the invoice currency, to two decimals or the currency's convention. Example USD 10.00 Cross-check Unit price on the declaration, field 37. Watch out A unit price that does not multiply to the line amount is the first thing a review checks. How to fill Line amount: quantity times unit price. Every line, every time. Example USD 5,800.00 Cross-check Declaration total price per item, field 38. Watch out Rounding each line and summing the rounded values produces a total that differs from quantity times price across the invoice. How to fill The sum of all line amounts, in figures and — on a traditional format — in words. Example USD 5,800.00 (SAY US DOLLARS FIVE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED ONLY) Cross-check Declaration total, contract value, and the amount the buyer actually pays. Watch out Template wording left over from another shipment is a running problem: the words must match the figures, or the invoice is not evidence of anything. How to fill The carton marks as printed: consignee code, port of discharge, package sequence, gross weight. This is the block an inspector photographs. Example DUTCH TRADING B.V. / ROTTERDAM / C/NO. 1-20 / G.W. 300 KGS Cross-check Identical to the marks on the packing list and on the cartons themselves. Watch out Marks on paper that nobody painted on the boxes is a mismatch found at inspection, not at filing. How to fill Anything the buyer or the broker needs: contract number, origin certificate status, country of origin, payment reference. Example Contract SC20261102; country of origin: China; C/O pending Cross-check Contract number must match the declaration field 17. Watch out An origin statement on the invoice that contradicts the declaration's country of origin is a direct conflict between two documents.
All twelve fields
Header and partiesFields 1 to 4
2
Date
3
Sold toRequired
4
Terms of tradeRequired
Goods and valueFields 5 to 10
5
Marks and numbers
6
Description of goodsRequired
7
QuantityRequired
8
Unit priceRequired
9
Amount
10
TotalRequired
Marks and remarksFields 11 to 12
11
Shipping marks block
12
Remarks
SOURCES
Where the invoice data comes from
| Invoice field | Source | If it does not reconcile |
|---|---|---|
| Sold to | Contract buyer block, purchase order | Four-way mismatch across contract, invoice, packing list and declaration |
| Terms of trade | Contract delivery term | Freight and insurance fields on the declaration cannot be derived |
| Description | Product datasheet, declaration elements | Description does not resolve to the HS code, entry returned |
| Quantity and unit | Packing list, production record | Quantity cannot be converted to the legal unit |
| Unit price and amount | Purchase order, price list, agreed discount | Value declared below the actual transaction, refund review query |
| Total | Sum of lines; converted to words | Words and figures disagree, document has no evidentiary value |
| Marks | Carton marks, packing list | Inspection cannot match cartons to the entry |
| Remarks (contract no.) | Signed contract | Declaration field 17 cannot be tied to the invoice |
QUESTIONS
Four questions on invoicing
Does the invoice have to be in English?
For an export filing in China, the invoice is normally in English, and a Chinese version is not required. What customs needs is a description that resolves to the declared code and values that reconcile to the declaration.
Where the buyer's bank or the destination customs authority requires another language, an additional copy in that language is fine. Keep the figures identical across versions.
Proforma or commercial — which one goes with the declaration?
The commercial invoice. A proforma is a quotation; it carries no obligation to pay and cannot support a declaration or a tax refund.
The proforma is still useful — it is what the buyer approves and what the deposit is calculated against — but the document attached to the entry is the final commercial invoice for the shipped quantity.
The invoice total and the contract value differ. Is that a problem?
Only if the difference is unexplained. Partial shipments, quantity tolerance under the contract, and agreed discounts all produce a legitimate gap.
Write the reason on the invoice, in the remarks block, and make sure the declaration reports the invoiced value rather than the contract value. An unexplained gap looks like under-invoicing.
Can one invoice cover several containers?
Yes, provided the invoice describes the whole shipment and the packing list breaks the packages down by container. The declaration, however, is filed per transport document.
Where the containers sail on different vessels, they need separate bills of lading and separate entries. Split the invoice at the same line, or the quantities will not reconcile anywhere.
Need the export paperwork handled for you?
Goodhope Freight files export declarations at Shekou, Yantian, Chiwan, Mawan and Dachan Bay every working day. Send us the invoice, packing list and product details — we check them against customs requirements before filing, so a rejected entry does not cost you a sailing.
Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited — NVOCC GD20230925153335
Room 1209, Modern Building, Baoan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000, China