As the global epidemic continues to intensify and the speed of customs clearance generally decreases compared to the pre-epidemic period, it is even more important to provide the correct customs clearance documents.

The most important customs clearance documents for the Saudi market contain bills of lading (B/L), invoices and packing lists (CI&PL), certificates of origin (CO), certificates of invoice (CCPIT) and SABER certificates. In the following, we will analyse the key points of these documents one by one.  

Bill of Lading (B/L)

The bill of lading (B/L) is a document issued by the shipping company or booking agent after the vessel has sailed, and has the role of a receipt for goods and a document of title. After the shipping company and booking agent issue a full set of ocean bill of lading to the consignor (supplier), the consignor needs to mail the ocean bill of lading to the consignee in the importing country (importer). When the consignee presents the original ocean bill of lading to the shipping company port of destination agent, it can be handled in exchange for a bill of lading.

Simply put, the bill of lading is the proof of goods, must be sure to save, in case of loss. The replacement process is complicated, and will affect the customs clearance time, resulting in additional costs. The following picture is a note on the corresponding content of the bill of lading, to facilitate a better understanding of friends of importers.

The key points to note here are as follows.

1.Shipper and Consignee need to be consistent with other documents, to achieve documentary unity.

2.Gross Weight & Measurement should also be consistent with the packing list (PL). When confirming documents, many importers are easy to make such a mistake. The bill of lading is reserved for 2 decimal places, but in the packing list is reserved for 3 decimal places. Although from the value, the difference is not large, but in the customs clearance documents, it will cause inconsistencies between the value of the documents, resulting in additional trouble. Thus, the same content between the documents needs to keep the value of the item exactly the same.

3.Description of Packages & Goods, Container details: This information needs importer friends to specially indicate. You need to notify the supplier before the bill of lading confirmation. In general, this part only shows the English name of the goods, such as 3000CTNS OF EXTENSION SOCKETS.

4.At present, the common mode of payment in international trade is TT (Telegraphic Transfer). If the importer uses the L/C mode of payment, the special requirements of the documents should be written in the L/C on the documentary requirements clause, so that when the exporter submits the documents to the bank, the bank will review the documentary discrepancies according to the terms of the L/C.

5.The rest should pay special attention to the spelling of the English words and the correctness of the punctuation.

Invoices and Packing Lists (CI&PL)

Invoices and Packing Lists (CI&PL) are also very important documents in foreign trade clearance documents.

The main content of the invoice (CI) is the amount of the goods. As can be seen from the sample invoice above, the general invoice will show the consignee's payee, invoice number, order number, port of origin and port of destination, and likewise a description of the goods information, which needs to show the unit price, quantity and total amount of the goods.

In addition to the description of the amount in Arabic numerals, a textual description of this amount is also required and the exporter's seal is stamped at the end of the document. Take care that the company name on the seal is the same as the company name of the shipper (SHIPPER) and that the seal is signed by hand afterwards. The amount on the invoice should be accurately checked against the unit price and the total price. Many exporters have their own company invoice templates. When confirming the documents, the importer only needs to focus on confirming the unit price and total amount sections.

The main content of the packing list (PL) is the detailed information about the packaging of the goods. As in the sample picture above, in addition to the basic information about the consignor, consignee, order number, date and so on, the most important part is the detailed information about the packaging.

The packing list needs to show the type of goods. If there are four types of products ABCD, then the length, width, height and gross and net weight of each type of box need to be shown on the document. These data should be accurate and not filled in according to the estimated data, and consistent with the data on the bill of lading.

In general, the exporter will fill in the data according to the actual value of the goods rather than the estimated data after completing the inspection. Customs has clear provisions for weight that the error of more than 3% will have a penalty. Thus, importers friends in the confirmation of documents, need to pay special attention to the accuracy of these data. If you have the inspection report data provided by the exporter, you can pay attention to the accuracy of the value.

After confirming the documents, if you find that the information on the invoice and packing list is wrong, you should inform the exporter to change the information of the documents at the first time to ensure that the original documents sent finally are accurate.

Certificate of Origin (CO)

Certificate of Origin (CO) is a legally valid document issued by each country to prove the place of production or manufacture of goods in accordance with the relevant rules of origin. In simple terms, it is a "passport" for the entry of goods into international trade and proves the economic nationality of the goods.

The certificate of origin here refers to the "general certificate of origin", which is a document proving that the goods originated in China and enjoy normal tariff (most favoured nation) treatment in the importing country.

In the case of China, for example, the CO is applied for by the exporter at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and issued by this agency. The importer generally does not need to check the information, but only needs to ask the exporter to keep the information shown on the CO consistent with the bill of lading, invoice and packing list. 

It should be noted that there is a time limit for the CO. And the exporter should apply to the visa agency for the CO at least three days before the goods are declared and shipped, and should not delay the time.

CCPIT - Invoice Certificate

CCPIT refers to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, or CCPIT for short, which is a national foreign trade and investment promotion body. Its invoice certificate is to take the invoice to CCPIT in the form of a certificate and stamp it with the chamber of commerce. The specific thing is to issue a certificate of origin CO in the CCPIT, and then get the commercial invoices certified by the CCPIT to do the commercial certificate. You need to open an account for registering certificate of origin in the CCPIT. The invoice certification generally requires the original invoice, a copy, the latest business license, invoice guarantee, application form, etc.

You just need to provide the corresponding information for this document. Here is not to expand in detail.

SABER Certificate

SABER certification is a new policy for Saudi Arabia in 2020, replacing the previous SASO clearance certificate. All products exported to Saudi Arabia from 2020 onwards will need to have a SABER clearance certificate.

Firstly, the importer needs to register an account on the official SABER website and then provide the corresponding information.

SABER certification is divided into PC + SC certificates. Different certificates require different information.

PC certificate: application form, importer/exporter business licence, Saber account and password, product pictures.

SC certificate: packing list, invoice. 

This certificate requires mutual cooperation between importers and exporters. It belongs to a qualification certification from the importing country for the imported products.

The above 5 kinds of documents are necessary for importing goods into Saudi Arabia. Importers friends, through the above information, I believe that you have a good understanding of the initial confirmation of import documents. But also welcome you to communicate at any time.