Product Descriptions on Commercial Invoice for Easy Customs Clearance

Product Descriptions on the commercial invoice reduces the risk of your shipments being held at customs and saves you from paying more duties and taxes than you should.

Here are some of the ways you can display accurate customs product descriptions in Commercial Invoices within your eCommerce store.

On this page

1. Product Descriptions for Easy to Understand Product Names
2. Product Descriptions for the Same Category of Products
3. Declare the Product Descriptions for Each Product
4. Products Description for Large Sets of Products

1. Product Descriptions for Easy to Understand Product Names

If your product names are easily understandable for Customs, for example, Blue Leather Watch, THFlex Blue Plaid Suit, Green tea moisturizer, and likewise, you are good to go printing your Commercial Invoices. By default, the PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label app displays the exact Product Names on the Commercial Invoice.

2. Product Descriptions for the Same Category of Products

If you are selling the same category of products, like Electronic Gadgets, using the app you can add customs descriptions for instance “electronic goods” for all your products.

To add Customs Descriptions for all the products head to:

Settings > General Settings > Shipping > Customs Description to be displayed in the Commercial Invoice 

3. Declare the Product Descriptions for Each Product

Your catchy product titles like Marvel Coffee Mug or Gold Candle Stand can create misunderstandings during customs clearance. However, proper customs descriptions like Marvel Printed Coffee Mug- Merchandise or Candle Stand- Color Gold can save from misleads & confusion. 

To declare the customs descriptions for each product:

• Head over to your Products and then select a product for adding the custom description as shown below:

• Scroll down to Customs > Edit Customs > Add Customs Descriptions

• By default in the PH MultiCarrier Shipping Label app, the Customs Description will be the Product Name. To change it to Product Description head over to:
  
  Settings > General Settings > Shipping > Customs Description to be displayed in the Commercial Invoice > Product Description

• Here have a look at the sample shipping label with the Product Description:

• Commercial Invoice with accurate Customs Product Description and Product Name

4. Products Description for Large Sets of Products

If you want to add Customs Descriptions for multiple products you can export all your products, add descriptions & import them using the app:

• Products > Export CSV

• Add customs description in the sheet > Save > Import CSV

Tips to Handle Customs Description for Products in Bulk

Handling large sets of products can be time-consuming. Here are some easy tips that will eliminate the manual filling up of Customs Descriptions in the CSV files:

• Concatenate: Using Concatenate you can easily fill up your Customs Description in your Excel sheet or Google Sheets.
  
  For example, in the below image, we have combined the Product Title & Country of Manufacture for the Customs Description

• Vlookup: Vlookup enables you to create lookup tables in Excel that can map one value to another instead of doing it manually.
  
  For example, we have mapped the Customs Description associated with the products. Likewise, you can map product prices & variations, and other details.

If you have any queries on the Customs Amount or have a complex shipping requirement, feel free to contact our team of experts.