Import and Export Documentation(1)

Documentation is an area of great importance in international trade. It's a procedural matter that is required on every order and each individual document must be correctly completed.Successful international trade is only realized through complete professionalism in the use and execution of documentation without any mistake,Although no one may get praised just for having perfect documents, international traders can have serious problems because of imperfect documents.
Hundreds of documents are used in international trade nowadays, and a single order may have as many as 60-70 documents.Luckily, most transactions have far fewer than 60-70 documents, and many of those are never seen by the importer or the exporter.They are generally created and usded by service firms or governments.
The documents actually used in a transaction depend on the requirements imposed by both the importing and exporting countries.The characteristics of a transaction also determine the complexity of the documentation. A shipment of T-shirts from China to US by airfreight,open account,does not require much attention to documents.However, a shipment of automatic rifles form the US to Thailand by sea freight on a letter of creditm,may require so many documents that the traders may need to employ several specialists to deal with them.

Usually, documents should have the following characteristics:
*Accuracy The details in documents must be in strict conformity with those in the sales contract.No ambiguous words or expressions should be used.
*Completeness Every necessary detail should be included in each document.
*Conciseness No redundant words or expressions should be used, and no correction should be made on the document.
*Promptness Make sure the documents are ready when they are needed,so that unnecessary delay or confusing can be avoided.

Here, five kinds of commonly used international trade documents are discussed.They are categorized roughly according to the documents source.

1.Government Control Documents
2.Commercial Documents
3.Finace Documents
4.Transportation Documents
5.Insurance Documents