Though most courier services on Easyship require a commercial invoice to be attached, some don't. There are many reasons why commercial invoices aren't in your shipping documents. This article will go over the three most common scenarios.
We'll Cover:
Hybrid Courier
If you are using a hybrid or multi-leg shipping service, a commercial invoice won't be included in the shipping documents as the selected courier will attach it when they receive and process the shipment.
A few examples of these services are:
- DHL eCommerce
- SF Express U.S.
- Aramex US
- Asendia
- Flat Export
- APC
Typically the first leg of the shipment will be conducted by a local shipping solution, E.G., USPS. So if you see a domestic address on your international shipment, don't panic; it's normal.
Paperless Invoice
Suppose the shipment is an 'Express' service (e.g., DHL Express, UPS, or FedEx). Couriers have different names for these services, which are marked on the label. In that case, we likely have a paperless trade agreement whereby the courier digitally transfers the commercial invoice to customs.
|
Courier |
Acronym on Label |
| DHL |
PLT-C (Paperless Trade) |
| FedEx |
ETD (Electronic Trade Document) |
| UPS |
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) |
* Please note that courier drivers may reject parcels without a commercial invoice. So make sure you let them know this is a paperless invoice shipment.
Domestic Shipment
Domestic shipments do not require commercial invoices as they are strictly import/export documents for international customs purposes.