Commercial invoice requirements for US customs (19 CFR 141.86)

Commercial invoice requirements for US customs under 19 CFR 141.86: the eleven required elements, English, currency, itemized charges, origin and assists.

US Customs and Border Protection requires a commercial invoice for every shipment of goods entered for consumption (19 CFR 141.83(c)), and 19 CFR 141.86 sets out what it must contain: eleven pieces of general information, in English, with a responsible person named, plus package-level detail. A factory in China will usually produce an invoice built for its own export declaration. It is your job, as importer of record, to make sure the version that reaches your broker meets the US rule before the goods ship.

This guide walks through each element, the general requirements in 141.86(b) to (j), the extra details some products need under 141.89, and the invoice mistakes that hold cargo at the port.

The eleven elements of 19 CFR 141.86(a)

The regulation opens: "Each invoice of imported merchandise, must set forth the following information". In order:

1. Port of entry. "The port of entry to which the merchandise is destined". Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York/Newark, Savannah, Chicago O'Hare. Your forwarder knows which one.
2. The sale. The time when, the place where, and the person by whom and the person to whom the goods are sold or agreed to be sold. In plain terms: seller's name and address, buyer's name and address, date and place of the sale. If the goods are not sold (samples, consigned stock), the place shipped from, the date, and the shipper and consignee.
3. Detailed description. The regulation asks for "the name by which each item is known, the grade or quality, and the marks, numbers, and symbols under which sold by the seller or manufacturer to the trade in the country of exportation, together with the marks and numbers of the packages". One line per SKU: what it is, what it is made of, model or part number, and the carton marks.
4. Quantities. In the weights and measures of China or of the United States. Pieces, sets, kilograms, meters; be consistent with the packing list.
5. Purchase price of each item, "in the currency of the purchase". Unit price and extended price per line.
6. Value when there is no sale. For goods not purchased (free samples, replacements, consignments) the value each item would fetch in the ordinary course of trade in China.
7. Kind of currency. The rule still says "whether gold, silver, or paper". Today this means: name the currency (USD, CNY) unambiguously.
8. All charges itemized by name and amount: "freight, insurance, commission, cases, containers, coverings, and cost of packing", and any other cost of getting the goods from alongside the carrier in China to alongside the carrier at the first US port. If packing, containers and inland freight to the port are included in the price, the rule lets you say so instead of itemizing them.
9. Rebates, drawbacks and bounties allowed on export, separately itemized. For most consumer goods there are none; say "none" rather than leaving it blank.
10. Country of origin. "The country of origin of the merchandise". China, stated as a country, per line if lines differ.
11. Assists. "All goods or services furnished for the production of the merchandise (e.g., assists such as dies, molds, tools, engineering work) not included in the invoice price." If you paid $3,000 for an injection mold in a separate transfer, that is an assist. It must appear here, and its value is apportioned into the customs value of the goods (19 CFR 152.102(a), 152.103).

The general requirements in 141.86(b) to (j)

• Sold in transit (c). If you resell the goods while they are on the water, both the original invoice and the resale invoice go with the entry.
• English (d). "The invoice and all attachments must be in the English language, or must have attached thereto an accurate English translation".
• Package contents (e). "Each invoice must state in adequate detail what merchandise is contained in each individual package." This is the legal basis for the packing list. A separate packing list that cross-references the invoice satisfies it.
• Weights and measures (f). If the invoice does not give the weight or measure needed to assess duty, you pay for CBP to weigh or measure the goods before release.
• Discounts (g). Every discount from list price that was or may be allowed must be shown.
• Numbering (h). When paper invoices are filed, multiple invoices and pages are numbered consecutively. Electronic invoice data transmitted with the entry is exempt.
• Attachments (i). Anything required may be on the invoice or on an attachment.
• Responsible individual (j). "Each invoice of imported merchandise must identify by name a responsible employee of the exporter, who has knowledge, or who can readily obtain knowledge, of the transaction." Ask the factory to print the sales manager's name, not just a chop.

Extra details for certain products (19 CFR 141.89)

Section 141.89 adds product-specific information for a long list of goods. Examples from the list: bags made of plastic sheeting must state the gauge of the sheeting; textile articles coated or laminated with plastics must say whether the coating is on one or both sides; bed linen must state whether it contains embroidery, lace, braid, edging or trimming; ball bearings need type and dimensions; chemicals need the CAS number. Read the section once against your product list. If your item is on it, put the extra data on the invoice or an attachment.

Incoterms, price and what gets valued

The Incoterm on the purchase order decides what the invoice price includes, and therefore what appears in element 8.

US customs value is normally transaction value: the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the United States, plus additions such as assists, packing costs and selling commissions (19 CFR 152.103). International freight and insurance are not part of the customs value, but under 141.86(a)(8) they must be itemized on the invoice when they are in the price so the broker can strip them out. An invoice that says only "CIF Los Angeles $12,400" with no breakdown gets the whole $12,400 valued.

Duties, MPF and HMF are then computed on that value. How the numbers roll up per unit is in Landed cost calculator for Amazon FBA sellers buying from China.

Common reasons an invoice gets bounced

• [ ] Description reads "gift items" or "plastic products" instead of "silicone spatula set, 3 pieces, model KS-31"
• [ ] No country of origin, or "Origin: Asia"
• [ ] Prices with no currency, or currency stated once in a footer for a mixed USD and CNY invoice
• [ ] Freight and insurance bundled into a single CIF unit price with no breakdown
• [ ] Quantities in cartons on the invoice and in pieces on the packing list
• [ ] Buyer shown as the freight forwarder, or as Amazon
• [ ] Invoice total does not match the amount you wired (a discount, deposit or mold charge left off)
• [ ] Mold or tooling paid separately and never disclosed
• [ ] No named employee of the exporter
• [ ] Chinese-only attachment (test report, spec sheet) with no translation
• [ ] Product lines that need 141.89 data (plastic bags, coated textiles, bedding) without it

Any one of these can trigger a CBP request for information, an examination, or a value or classification query after entry. The cost is time at the port and, for FBA, a missed inbound appointment.

How the invoice ties to the packing list, the ISF and the entry

Think of the three documents as one dataset viewed three ways.

• Packing list. Same line items and quantities as the invoice, with carton numbers, pieces per carton, net and gross weights and dimensions. CBP examines against it; Amazon receives against it.
• ISF 10+2 (ocean). The seller, buyer, manufacturer, ship-to party, country of origin and HTS number that go into the Importer Security Filing under 19 CFR 149.3 should be copied from the invoice, not retyped from memory. A mismatch between the ISF and the entry is a common cause of a CBP hold.
• Entry summary (CBP Form 7501). Each 7501 line carries an HTS number, a country of origin, a quantity and an entered value. The broker builds those lines from your invoice lines. 19 CFR 141.90 requires the HTS subheading and duty rate to be shown on the invoice or with the invoice data, and the importer must show how any deductions (nondutiable charges) or additions (assists) were computed. The documents package around the 7501 is described in Documents needed to import from China to the USA.

If you cannot get the HTS number right before the factory prints the invoice, at least get the description right; the number can be added by the broker, the description cannot be fixed at the port.

A layout that satisfies the rule

Give the factory a template with these blocks and ask them to use it for every shipment:

1. Header: "Commercial Invoice", invoice number, date, your PO number
2. Seller (name, address, contact), Buyer (your legal entity, EIN not required but harmless), Ship-to party ("in care of" Amazon FBA warehouse code if applicable), Notify party (your broker)
3. Terms: Incoterm and named place, currency, payment terms, US port of entry
4. Lines: SKU or model, full description, material, HTS subheading, country of origin, quantity and unit, unit price, total
5. Charges: packing, inland freight, ocean or air freight, insurance, other, each with an amount or "included"
6. Assists: molds, tooling, artwork furnished, with value and date paid, or "none"
7. Discounts and rebates: amount or "none"
8. Totals, carton count, gross and net weight, volume
9. Name and signature of the responsible employee of the exporter

What to keep on file

Keep the final commercial invoice, every draft you corrected, the pro forma, proof of payment (wire confirmations including mold payments), the packing list, the translation if any, and the broker's classified copy with HTS numbers, for 5 years from the date of entry (19 CFR 163.4). If CBP later asks how you arrived at the entered value, this file is the answer.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• 19 CFR 141.86, Contents of invoices and general requirements (eCFR)
• 19 CFR 141.83, 141.85, 141.89 and 141.90, Invoices (eCFR, Part 141 Subpart F)
• 19 CFR 152.102 and 152.103, Transaction value and assists (eCFR)
• 19 CFR 142.3, Entry documentation required (eCFR)
• 19 CFR 149.3, Importer Security Filing data elements (eCFR)
• CBP, Informed Compliance Publications (Customs Value, Reasonable Care, Marking)
• CBP, Entry Summary (CBP Form 7501)

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