Documents Used in Foreign Trade

Documents used in foreign trade are extremely important for countries engaged in buying and selling. Because countries are usually located at overseas distances in foreign trade transactions, it may be difficult for the goods to arrive on time. This may lead to a delay in payments. In other words, the seller does not want to deliver the goods without receiving the payment, while the buyer does not want to pay without receiving the goods.

The relevant documents are of immense importance for the establishment of foreign trade on a safe footing and for transactions to be carried out without interruption. Import and export become much easier if the rules set out in the documents used in foreign trade are followed. The share of banks and dispatch documents in resolving disputes and conflicts arising in foreign trade transactions is extremely large;

The buyer will use the documents indicating that the goods were delivered to him when paying the seller.
The seller carries out the manufacture of the goods in accordance with the concluded contract and again delivers the goods to the shipping company as specified in the contract. After that, dispatch documents are issued, the type and number of which are determined according to the agreement.

The issued documents are delivered to the relevant banks considering the type of payment. The bank, on the other hand, performs the payment process in exchange for the documents appropriate for the seller.

When making payment transactions, it is extremely important that the prepared documents are in harmony, do not contradict each other. You can get consultancy services by contacting our company on what documents used in foreign trade are and how to prepare them. Foreign trade consultancy is extremely necessary, as it directly affects the country communication and agreements. Therefore, it has increased its activities today. You can contact our expert team for detailed information.

What are the Commercial Documents Used in Foreign Trade?

Among the commercial documents used in foreign trade, the invoices are of the greatest importance. Invoices have an especially prominent place in foreign trade as documents showing the characteristics, quantity, unit price of the goods sold. The seller arranges the invoices and delivers them to the buyer. Let us examine the proforma invoice, which is one of the types of commercial invoices. A proforma invoice is an invoice prepared by the seller that contains information about issues such as the unit price of the product, the nature of the product, the terms of sale, and the validity period of the offer.

Another type of invoice is a commercial invoice that is issued after the purchase and sale process is completed. The original invoice documents the sales contract and stands out with the feature of proving the existence of the contract. To avoid any problems when conducting customs clearance in foreign trade and to calculate taxes, the original invoice is needed. The original invoice is delivered to the buyer via the bank. Although commercial invoices are often issued in English, there are also some countries that object to this situation and insist on using their native language in commercial invoices.

The commercial invoices are issued in two different forms in our country, mostly in English and Turkish. Number of commercial invoices varies depending on the contracts concluded between the parties. It is mandatory to have either a stamp of the finance ministry or a notarization on commercial invoices. Let us examine the essential aspects of commercial invoices;

The word invoices
The place where the invoice is issued, its number and validity period
Full names of the seller and the buyer and their place of residence
Type and quantity of goods
The price of the good per piece
In what form the goods will be delivered to the buyer
Terms of payment
Sale value
Traces of packaging
Where the goods will be delivered and payment transactions will be made

Other commercial documents used in foreign trade can be listed as freight invoice, certified invoice or consular invoice, check list, specification document, parcel packing list, inspection document, manufacturer's analysis document and survey report.

Characteristics of Chattel Papers Used in Foreign Trade

Let us examine the features of chattel papers used in foreign trade. In foreign trade, goods are bought from one country and delivered to another country. It is extremely important that the carrier and the shipper act according to the established responsibilities when delivering the goods. These responsibilities are determined by the chattel paper.

With chattel papers, it becomes clear whether the goods have been delivered by the carrier, and it becomes clear that the goods will be shipped from one country to another country. Although all chattel papers are receipts, some of them may not show any important documents or contract features. There are some important distinctive features of chattel papers;

Chattel papers are issued by the carrier company or its representative.
It is necessary to clarify the date on which the goods will be shipped from one country to another. According to this date, it becomes clear whether the buyer or seller is responsible for any damage caused to the goods. At the same time, the start of the insurance period is also related to the ship date.
One of the notable features is that the chattel papers are deficit. In deficit chattel papers, there are no statements that the packaging of the goods is defective or that any leakage is visible.
The chattel papers must arrive at the recipient on the specified date.
The chattel papers must have a notification record.
Some of the chattel papers may come across in more than one original set. In this case, numbers indicating which copy should be placed on each original document.
The chattel papers must contain information about whether the freight has been paid or not.

What is a Marine Bill of Lading Which Is One of the Chattel Papers?

The marine bill of lading is issued by the ship society or its deputy. If the ship does not have a deputy at the port of loading, the task of issuing a marine bill of lading belongs to the ship's captain. A marine bill of lading is known as a document indicating that the goods have been delivered by the carrier and will be transported in accordance with the conditions and delivered to the buyer.

A marine bill of lading is a document that makes a significant contribution to the change of hands of the goods by turnover, as it takes the goods from the owner and delivers them to someone else. One of the distinctive features of a marine bill of lading is that it is a valuable document. Marine bills of lading often do not come across as the only document. This document is arranged in such a way that there are three copies and three originals. It is of immense importance that the original copies of the marine bills of lading are received in full.

The information contained in the marine bills of lading can be sorted as follows;

Signature of the carrier or its agent
Full name and title of the person carrying it in the commercial sector
Such qualities of the transported product as its type, brand
Date of arrangement and designated place
How many copies of the bill of lading are there
The name of the person who conducts it – the surname and the title that he has
Name and title of the recipient
Which is the loading port
The name of the ship
Which is the unloading port and whether the freight is paid

What is the Importance of the Customs Declaration Used in Export?

A customs declaration is a document issued directly by the owners or their agents and submitted to the customs authority. No deletion operations can be performed on these declarations. After the customs declaration is submitted to the administration, no correction can be made regarding the qualifications and price of the goods. In case of cancellation of the declaration, this situation is notified to the tax office and the Turkish Statistical Institute.

All documents used in foreign trade are of immense importance. At this point, foreign trade consultancy, which is increasing its popularity today and is extremely necessary, comes to the fore. You can learn more about how imports and exports are made, what documents are used by using our foreign trade consultancy service.

As a company that has made its name in foreign trade consulting, we offer an extremely effective and reliable service for our customers. You can get more detailed information about our consulting services by contacting our expert team via our website. We are looking forward to all of you to our company where we provide quality and cost-effective consultancy services.