subject: Shipping From Canada To The United States: What Paperwork Do I Need? [print this page] Any San Francisco courier company can tell you that you're always going to need more documentation to support any international deliveries than you do when you're just shipping domestically. Shipping internationally means dealing with many more laws and regulations. There are also more fees and taxes which need to be paid. The documentation is an important part of allowing the powers that be to make sure that all those laws are being followed, and that all of those applicable fees and taxes are being paid.
Whenever you're shipping something between countries, the first thing that you're going to need to include is the basic documentation which should go with any shipment. The two most basic documents are going to be the invoice and the BOL. There are many other documents which might be needed for certain types of shipments, but these two are always going to be required.
The reason these two documents are so important is because of how the customs and border agents at any country (including the border between the US and Canada) need to keep careful track of what is coming in and out of the country. They have to make sure that all of the trade agreements are being observed, and that nothing illegal is being moved across their borders.
The invoice and the bill of lading provide all of the information that these people need to verify what is coming into their country. The invoice will describe what the items are, and how much was paid for them. The BOL will show the agents at the border where the package is coming from and where it is going to, as well as when it was shipped and when it should be delivered. It will also contain the information for the courier company in case anything needs to be verified with them directly regarding the goods which are in transit.
There are certain cases where other documents will have to be added on to these, and this is normally when a situation arises when one of the previously mentioned trade agreements, like NAFTA, is found to apply to a shipment. Various types of export and import licenses can also be required when goods which are worth more than certain pre-determined dollar values are being shipped. Your courier company will be able to tell you if you need to get any extra paperwork in order to ship across any kind of border.
by: Adam Trammel
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