How to Read a Commercial Invoice and Packing List

• Seller and buyer details, matching your agreed contract exactly
• A clear product description, ideally matching the HS code classification you're expecting
• Quantity, unit price, and total value, in the agreed currency
• The agreed Incoterm and named port or place
• Invoice number and date, referenced consistently across all other shipping documents

• Number of packages, cartons, or bags, and how they're organized (e.g., on pallets)
• Net weight and gross weight, both per package and in total
• Dimensions, where relevant for freight or customs calculation
• Marks and numbers matching what's physically printed on the cargo, so customs and warehouse staff can match documents to the actual shipment

Numbers that don't match across documents — a total weight on the packing list that doesn't reconcile with the invoice, or a product description on the invoice that doesn't match what's declared on the bill of lading — are one of the most common triggers for a customs hold. Before a shipment leaves origin, it's worth asking your supplier to confirm that invoice, packing list, and bill of lading all describe the same shipment consistently, rather than assuming it's been checked.

Neither document is a quality certificate — they describe what's being shipped and its commercial value, not whether it meets your specification. If quality verification matters for your order, that's a separate document (a certificate of analysis or inspection report) worth requesting alongside these two, not instead of them.