From invoice to a declaration you can file
Customs Declare keeps one consignment together as a shipment and processes each invoice as a document. Here is what you do in each place, what every document needs, and what always stays in your hands.
Two places, two jobs
The shipment: one consignment
Everything for one consignment lives together, so documents can be compared and costs and progress sit in one place.
- Create it with a reference, transport mode and route, or let an uploaded invoice start it.
- Add the packing list, bill of lading or air waybill and certificate of origin: free, up to 10.
- Record freight and insurance so the customs value, duty and VAT are worked out on the full value.
- Check the Ready to file panel, then download the declaration.
- After filing, record customs queries, assessed duty and payments, milestones and the booking.
The document: one invoice
The commercial invoice is read, classified, priced and approved. It is the only billed document and the only one that gets a declaration.
- Upload it as PDF, JPG or PNG, up to 50 MB.
- Check what was read and the proposed HS codes, and fix anything shown in red.
- Confirm any finding that no box can fix by writing what you checked.
- Approve it. A person always does: nothing is filed automatically.
- Need a change later? Modify reopens it and you approve again.
Watch it in about a minute
Step 1 of 8 · On the shipment
Create the shipment
One shipment per consignment: a reference, the transport mode and the route. Everything for it is kept together.
Shipment: one consignment, with all its documents and costsDocument: one invoice, read and approved by a person
Step by step
- 1
Create the shipment
ShipmentA reference, the transport mode and, ideally, the origin and destination. Or start from an invoice and the shipment is created for you.
- 2
Upload the commercial invoice
DocumentThe only billed document. Your free first document, prepaid balance or plan allowance applies.
- 3
It is read and the HS code proposed
DocumentParties, Incoterm, goods, quantities and values are pulled out, and each line gets an HS code with a confidence score.
- 4
Review and correct
DocumentFix what is shown in red, set the HS code (always editable in review) and confirm findings that need a person.
- 5
Add supporting documents
ShipmentPacking list, transport document, certificate of origin. They are compared with the invoice, and a misread detail can be corrected with a recorded reason.
- 6
Record freight and insurance
ShipmentWhen the Incoterm leaves them out they are added to the goods value to give the customs value. Duty and VAT are estimated on it.
- 7
A person approves
DocumentAn admin or approver decides, every time. The declaration PDF stays marked draft until then.
- 8
Check Ready to file
ShipmentOne panel lists what blocks filing, what you must confirm and what is in order.
- 9
Download, file and track
ShipmentDownload the Import and Export PDFs and file them yourself or through your broker. Then record customs queries, assessments and payments.
What each document needs
Documents are read by software, so clear scans give better results. Missing details are flagged for you, never guessed.
Commercial invoice
Required. Invoice number and date, shipper and consignee with countries, every line with description, quantity, unit and value, the total, the currency and the Incoterm. Freight and insurance if itemised, and the importer's tax number if printed.
Packing list
Expected. Quantities, gross and net weight, packages, container and seal numbers. You can also generate one from the invoice.
Bill of lading, air waybill or road note
Expected. The document number, vessel or flight, ports, containers, seals and weights that appear on the declaration.
Certificate of origin
Only when needed: to claim a trade-agreement preference, or if the destination asks for it.
Destination extras
Some destinations list their own documents, such as an import declaration form, an insurance certificate or a permit. Where we hold that list it appears in Ready to file; where we do not, it says so.
What is checked before you file
None of this replaces your own judgement or the destination's own rules. These are the checks Customs Declare can make from the data it holds.
- The invoice is approved and states a currency and an Incoterm.
- Every line has an HS code. Codes longer than 6 digits are read at their 6-digit base and flagged in red, because a national tariff line can carry a different rate.
- The customs value is complete: freight and insurance are included, and duty and VAT are calculated on that value.
- The importer is known and their tax or registration number is on file.
- The transport document and packing list are attached, plus any documents the destination lists.
- Weights, packages, containers, quantities and parties agree across documents.
- A certificate of origin exists when a trade-agreement preference applies.
- Permits, licences, inspections and restrictions that may apply to the route and goods are listed for you to confirm.
Duty and VAT: estimate first, assessment after
The declaration shows our estimate, worked out from published rates on the customs value and labelled as an estimate. Customs assesses the real amount after you file; enter that assessment and what you paid in the duty tracker to keep the record in one place. Duty rates are held at 6 digits: when you enter a longer national code, the duty lookup shows the figures for its 6-digit base with a red notice naming that base, so you can check the national line's rate before relying on it.
Duty shown for the 6-digit base 090111, not 0901110035
Duty rates are held at 6 digits. The figures below are for 090111, the 6-digit base of 0901110035. A national tariff line can carry a different rate, so check it before relying on these figures.
Everything around the declaration
Packing list generator
Build a packing list from the invoice plus the weights and packages you type.
Shipping instruction and origin drafts
Download a shipping instruction and a watermarked certificate-of-origin application draft.
Cross-checks
Weights, packages, containers, quantities and parties compared across every document.
Charges and statement
Freight, handling, storage, insurance and disbursements recorded per shipment, with a printable statement.
Customs queries and holds
Record each query, hold or inspection with its reply date and see what is overdue.
Duty payment tracker
What customs assessed, what was paid and who advanced it, per currency.
Milestones and email updates
Record milestones and let your own team opt in to email updates.
Importer registry
Keep your importers once; invoices are matched to them automatically.
Declarations in two languages
An Import PDF in the destination's language and an Export PDF in your own.
Price check
A warning when an invoice line is priced far below the world FOB benchmark for that product.
What stays in your hands
- A person approves every declaration. No confidence level skips it.
- You file it. Customs Declare prepares the declaration; it does not send anything to a customs authority.
- Every correction to a stated figure is recorded with the old value and your reason.
- Figures that passed every check stay locked; figures marked red can be corrected.
- Estimates are labelled as estimates, and anything missing is shown as missing, never guessed.
What Customs Declare does not do
- It does not file with customs or see your customs system.
- It is not legal or customs-broker advice: check the destination's own rules.
- Duty and VAT are estimates from published rates. National tariff lines can differ from the 6-digit base.
- It cannot confirm that you hold a permit or licence; it lists the ones that may apply.
Try it on your own documents
Create a free workspace and process your first document.