Invoice is a document regulating the transfer of goods on the international market

Invoice is a document that contains a certain list of goods with their total cost and included mark-up. This form also contains information about the quantity and assortment of the product, its features and delivery conditions.

The essence of this concept

Invoice - a form that confirms the obligation of the buyer to the seller. When transferring this document, the first one has an obligation to pay for the goods with his presentation. Thus, this form is sent to the buyer by the seller when selling a particular product.

In general, the invoice is used at the level of international trade and is used in the process of transfer of goods or a group of certain goods to a foreign buyer.

It is allowed to design several formats of this document. The most frequently used is the invoice on the sender's letterhead. In the absence of such a form, this form can be printed on a regular sheet of paper.

An invoice can be drawn up in a language that will be understood by both parties to the transaction. Most often it's English.

Basic requisites

Invoice is a document similar to the invoice used on the territory of Russia. Its form is not unified by the domestic legislation, however, in compiling, some important requisites must be used, among which the necessary information concerning the transferred goods.

Therefore, the following must be indicated:

- date and place of the document;

- the sending country;

- full name and legal address of the organization that sends the goods in accordance with the constituent documents ;

- recipient country;

- full name and legal address of the receiving enterprise;

- requisites of the contract for the transfer of the goods.

Another mandatory requisite, which must contain an invoice, is a form that includes information about the main characteristic of the transferred goods: a complete list, assortment, total quantity and in the context of each type (m, piece or kg), accessories (if any), scope Application, total cost and unit price, storage and delivery conditions.

The amount of the goods to be paid for payment in this document must be indicated in the currency specified in the supply contract. When specifying the price in a contract in one monetary unit, while payment by a foreign buyer will be made in another, the invoice should indicate the exchange rate and the date on which the conversion will be performed.

However strange it may seem, an invoice should contain even such information as the characteristics of the goods being transferred (for example, shape, color or size).

Such commercial invoice is signed by both parties with the indication of the positions of persons having such a right to sign by the seller and the buyer

Additional Information

In this document, the conditions of transfer and transportation are not specified, since these operations are specified in the contract for the delivery of a particular product. Invoice - it's still a document, in which special attention is paid precisely to the characteristics of the goods being transferred by the seller to the buyer. Also, this form is sometimes supplemented with other points specifying them.

When delivering products on a prepayment, it is not necessary to make an invoice.

Proforma-invoice: in what cases is it issued

If the contract for the supply of goods indicates that the foreign buyer will transfer the advance, the seller will issue a pro forma invoice. This document contains the same information as in the commercial invoice. However, it is of the nature of preliminary data, which can be refined subsequently. So it happens actually. The invoice issued later must already contain accurate data on shipped goods, services rendered or works performed.