What sales documents used for Export?
The seller has to provide the details of the products and invoice to the buyer for the freight forwarder to do customs declaration. All information must clearly state in the sales documents including quotation, invoice, order confirmation, a purchase order from the buyer.
Quotation
A quotation is also often known as a quote. It is a document that a supplier submits to the customer that lists the proposed prices for the supplier’s goods or services.
- Shippers (Exporter) and Buyer (Importer) Details
- Description of the products (Specification, Item Codes, and description)
- Order Quantities, Pricing, and Currency
- Incoterms
- Type of Shipment
- Terms of Payment
- Estimated supply lead times
Order Confirmation
The seller will send an Order Confirmation to give the buyer to reconfirm all of the details of the order. It is sent to the buyer to confirmed the order when received the Purchase Order from the buyer. The exporter must ensure all information clearly stated correctly to avoid any disputes due to product quality, specification, pricing, and incoterms.
- Shipper’s Details (Exporter) & Buyer’s Details (Importer)
- Description of the products (Specification, Item Codes, and description)
- Order Quantities, Pricing, and Currency
- Incoterms
- Type of Shipment
- Terms of Payment
- Estimated supply lead times
Purchase Order
A purchase order (PO), is an official document issued by a buyer committing to pay the seller for the sale of specific products or services to be delivered in the future.
- Shipper’s Details (Exporter) and Buyer’s Details (Importer)
- Description of the products (Specification, Item Codes, and description)
- Order Quantities, Pricing, and Currency
- Incoterms
- Type of Shipment
- Terms of Payment
- Estimated supply lead times
- Chop and Signatures of the Seller & Buyer, including names, IC and dates
Proforma Invoice (or Sales Contract)
A Proforma invoice is a commercial invoice sent by a seller to a buyer as an international sale to the Customs authorities. The Proforma invoice is presented in the place of a commercial invoice when there is no sale between the sender and the importer when the commercial invoice is not yet available at the time of the international shipment. The sales contract is an agreement that delineates the rights and obligations of both the seller and buyer.
- Shipper’s Details (Exporter) and Buyer’s Details (Importer)
- Description of the products (Specification, Item Codes, and description)
- Order Quantities, Pricing, and Currency
- Incoterms
- Type of Shipment
- Terms of Payment
- Estimated supply lead times
- Chop and Signatures of the Seller & Buyer, including names, IC and dates