Most delays at customs are not an inspector being difficult — they are discrepancies in the paperwork that could have been spotted two weeks before the cargo arrived. We have put the list together in the order in which the documents actually appear in a deal.

1. The foreign trade contract

The core document of the deal. Customs checks the invoice against it and the bank checks the payments. The contract must define unambiguously:

• the subject of supply with a description of the goods, not just a trade name;
• the price and the currency, the payment procedure and deadlines;
• the Incoterms delivery terms with the named place;
• delivery deadlines and the acceptance procedure;
• the liability of the parties and the dispute resolution procedure.

The contract is registered before the payment to the supplier. Prepayment under an unregistered contract is the most common source of currency-control problems.

2. The invoice

The document the declared value is taken from. What it must contain: the details of the seller and the buyer, the number and the date, a reference to the contract, a description of the goods, the quantity, the unit price and the total, the currency, the delivery terms and the country of origin.

Typical mistakes that cost days of demurrage:

• the total does not add up to the line items;
• no delivery terms stated — customs cannot tell what is included in the price;
• a description along the lines of «goods» or «spare parts» with no specifics;
• the weight and the number of packages do not match the packing list and the transport document;
• a discount was granted but appears neither in the contract nor in the invoice.

3. The packing list

The breakdown of what is physically inside each package: package numbers, gross and net weight, dimensions, contents. During an inspection the officer checks the cargo against this document. If the packing list was drawn up as a formality, the inspection drags on.

4. Transport documents

Depending on the mode — a CMR, a rail waybill, a bill of lading or an air waybill. They provide the route, the carrier, the weight and the cost of carriage, and the latter feeds into the customs value.

5. The certificate of origin

Needed to apply tariff preferences. Without a properly issued certificate the preferential rate does not apply, even if the goods really were made in a country covered by an agreement. The form of the certificate depends on the country of dispatch — agree it with the supplier in advance, as reissuing it retroactively is difficult.

6. Permits

A certificate or declaration of conformity, a hygiene certificate, a veterinary or phytosanitary certificate — the set depends on the HS code. The key rule: start the paperwork while the cargo is still at the supplier. Testing samples takes time, and sometimes the samples have to be imported separately.

7. Payment documents and currency control

Bank documents on the payment, confirmation that the contract has been registered, and the documents closing the deal after delivery. Closing it late is a separate risk, unrelated to customs but landing on the same importer.

Why Incoterms changes the amount payable

The customs value is not the invoice total but the value of the goods at the border of Uzbekistan. On EXW terms, carriage, handling and insurance up to the border are added to the price of the goods. On DAP terms with a named place inside the country, part of the costs is deducted instead — but only where it is documented. A single letter in the delivery terms changes the calculation, which is why we always ask to see the contract before the shipment, not after.

A short checklist before dispatch

• the contract is signed and registered;
• the invoice and the packing list agree on quantity, weight and amounts;
• the HS code is assigned, the rates are known, the payments are calculated;
• the permits are issued or already being processed;
• the certificate of origin has been requested from the supplier in the right form;
• the route and the delivery terms are agreed with the carrier.

Send us the invoice and a description of the goods — we will send this same checklist back, filled in for your shipment, with the list of documents you specifically need to obtain.