Glossary: Incoterms®

Incoterms® or International Commerce Terms are like a dictionary for global trade. Developed in 1936 by the International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms® are a set of rules that are universally recognised by all entities registered with the ICC. Incoterms® have proven beneficial to global trade by simplifying basic trade actions and clarifying the obligations and […]

Glossary: HTS – Harmonised Tariff Schedule

HTS or Harmonised Tariff Schedule is a 10-digit code used by the United States International Trade Commission to identify tariff and merchandise brackets for everything imported into the U.S.A. It’s not to be confused with the HS code, which is administered by the World Customs Organisation. Knowing how the HTS code works is crucial for […]

Glossary: HS – Harmonised System

An HS Code, short for Harmonised Commodity Description Coding System, is a universally-recognised indicator used by customs to identify and classify the goods being shipped. The HS Code is developed and maintained by the World Customs Organisation and consists of more than 5,000 commodity groups. Over 200 countries in the world consider them legal, so […]

Glossary: EORI Number

EORI stands for Economic Operators’ Registration and Identification number. If you plan to import from/export to anywhere in the European Union, you cannot do it without an EORI number. An EORI number is like a social security number for businesses that fall under customs legislation and has been designed to standardise customs processing across the […]

Glossary: CO – Certificate of Origin

Almost completely self-explanatory, a Certificate of Origin indicates the country of origin of the item/shipment being traded. It is a document that also contains information about the shipment and the destination country. Also called a Declaration of Origin or a CO, the certificate of origin is supposed to be provided along with the commercial invoice. […]

Glossary: AWB – Air Waybill

An Airway Bill or AWB is a binding document between a sender, a carrier, and the recipient. Since it’s only issued for air-shipped cargo, the carrier in this case is an airline. During a shipment, eight copies of the AWB are issued, out of which three originals are sent to the three parties, viz. sender, […]