Page 99 - International Marketing

NPP

BRILLIANT'S International Marketing Environment 101

commercial invoice. The exporter has to design his own form. Some
countries, however, prescribe their own form in such cases, the exporter
has necessarily to use the form prescribed by the importing country.
The description of the merchandize in the commercial invoice must
correspond exactly with the description in the letter of credit, unless it
specifically states otherwise. Marks, numbers on the commercial invoice,
insurance documents, bill of lading and packing lists must correspond
with the description in letter of credit.
Several copies of the invoice will be required, some for the use by
buyer, some for the information of various authorities in India. Some of the
invoices prescribed by the importing countries are (1) Combined certificate
of origin and value (2) Consular Invoice (3) Legalized Invoice and (4) Customs
Invoice. It varies from country to country.
While talking about invoice one should be clear about the performa
invoice. A performa invoice is simply a temporary commercial invoice which
is sent by the exporter to the importer. This covers contemplated shipment
which may or may not be made in future. This is required by importer for
two reasons (i) It helps the foreign buyer to obtain an import licence, if
required for a particular commodity, (ii) It helps in opening a letter of credit
in favour of the exporter. The exporter should cultivate the habit of sending
performa invoices to the foreign buyer even if the same is not demanded.
2. GR Form: This form has been prescribed by the RBI under FERA
to ensure that the foreign exchange receipts in respect of exports are
repatriated to India. This has to be prepared in duplicate. Both of the
copies have to be submitted to the customs authorities at the port of
shipment. Customs authorities will certify the value declared by the exporter
on both the copies of the GR form and will also record the assessed
values. They will return the original to be sent to the Reserve Bank of India
directly. They will return the duplicate copy which is submitted to the
negotiating bank along with other documents after shipment of goods.
The negotiating bank sends the duplicate copy to the RBI after the export
proceeds have been realized.
When the exporter wants to return the proceeds of his exports with
agents or branches abroad or to make other approved types of payments
abroad, he has to seek the permission of the RBI and has to submit GR-
3 form. This is prepared in triplicate. The original is submitted to the
customs authorities who send it to the RBI directly. The duplicate and
triplicate copies are to be dealt with in accordance with the procedure laid
down by the RBI.
After introduction of the system of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
for processing shipping bills at some customs offices, GR form is replaced