What is a consular invoice?
Invoice for shipment of goods certified by the consulate of the country of destination of the goods. This invoice is used by the country's customs officials to verify the value, quantity and nature of imported goods in order to determine import duties. In addition, export prices can be checked against current market prices in the exporting country to ensure that no dumping has occurred.
Key takeaways
- A consular invoice is a document detailing the contents and details of the goods, consular certification by the country to which the goods are sent.
- Invoices are used by customs officials to confirm the items in the shipment, the quantity of the goods and the cost to determine import duties.
- Export prices are scrutinized relative to market prices in the country of origin to ensure that unfair trade practices known as "dumping" do not occur.
- Through dumping, exporters gain a competitive advantage over other suppliers by selling goods in foreign markets below domestic costs.
Format and contents of a consular invoice
A consular invoice may contain the following details –
- Names of the importer and exporter with their relevant details
- Ports of Origin and destination
- Description of the goods
- Additional charges (packing, insurance, etc.)
- Total value of the shipment
- Name of the certifier
- Identification marks and numbers
Special attention items
The consular invoice also includes a copy of the commercial invoice in the language of the country that provides full details of the goods being shipped. Generally, the purpose is to provide foreign customs authorities with a complete and detailed description of the goods in order to collect the correct import duties. In addition, the export price of the commodity can be assessed against the current market price in the exporting country in order to avoid the process of export dumping.
Dumping is the sale of a product in a foreign market below its cost in the domestic market in order to maintain an advantage over other suppliers of the product. It is considered an unfair trade practice and is regulated by various governments. 2 In the case of a consular invoice, the invoice can be used to calculate the difference between the price of the imported product and the product of the exporting country to prevent unfair trade practices of dumping.
