Commercial invoice mistakes
The errors customs actually queries, what each one costs you, and how to correct one once it's filed.
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Most held shipments come down to an invoice that doesn't say what the goods are, or a price that doesn't look like the sale. Each error below costs one of three things: a delay while customs asks, a wrong duty bill, or a compliance record you'd rather not have.
The mistakes, and what they lead to
| Vague description: "parts", "gifts", "samples" | Rejected as a term, query or physical exam | Say what, what of, and what for |
|---|---|---|
| Value written down to reduce duty | Undervaluation. Duty, interest and penalty, and a flag on the importer | Use the price actually paid |
| "No commercial value" on a sample | Customs values it anyway, and the entry is wrong | State a market value |
| Discount that isn't shown | Declared price doesn't match the payment | Show list price, discount and net |
| Freight and insurance rolled into one price | You pay duty on freight in FOB markets, or understate it in CIF ones | Itemise them |
| One origin for a mixed shipment | Wrong additional duties or marking | Show origin per line |
| Missing or wrong Incoterms | Customs can't tell what the price includes | Rule, place and year |
| Currency isn't stated | Conversion at the wrong amount | Name the ISO code on every total |
| Invoice and waybill disagree on weight or count | A hold while it's reconciled | Fill all documents from one record |
| Assists left out | Undervaluation, often found years later | Add them to the value |
| Buyer's address used as importer when it isn't | Wrong party billed, or a refused delivery | Name the importer and agree it first |
A missing charge, worked through
This is our own illustration. An importer in the UK buys 1,000 phone cases at GBP 3.00 each, and gives the factory the mould for free. The mould cost GBP 2,000 and it's used only for this run. Assume a 4% duty, with GBP 600 of freight in the value.
| Line | As filed | Corrected |
|---|---|---|
| Goods | 3,000.00 | 3,000.00 |
| Mould (assist) | 0.00 | 2,000.00 |
| Freight to the UK | 600.00 | 600.00 |
| Customs value | 3,600.00 | 5,600.00 |
| Duty at 4% | 144.00 | 224.00 |
| VAT at 20% on value plus duty | 748.80 | 1,164.80 |
The duty underpaid is GBP 80, and the VAT is GBP 416 out as well. HMRC's guidance is clear that tools and moulds are additions to the price. The US invoice rule asks for assists by name, including dies, moulds, tools and engineering work. If the mould is used across several runs, you'd apportion its cost rather than load it on one. Now multiply by a few years of shipments, which is the way an audit will do it.
Under-declaring for a customer is the expensive favour
A buyer may ask you to write a lower value to cut their duty. Don't. On a commercial sale, value starts from the price actually paid or payable, and an auditor can set your invoice against the buyer's payment. You'd have issued a false document, and the favour leaves both of you exposed.
Fixing a mistake after filing
The route depends on where you are:
- UK. HMRC's process has you claim back overpayments, and report underpayments and pay the difference.
- US. Corrections generally run through a post-summary correction before liquidation, or a protest afterwards, and a prior disclosure is the route for past errors. Have your broker advise, since the timing decides which of these you can use.
- Canada. CBSA can hold release until it has accurate documents, and its import guide has a section on changes after accounting.
As practical advice, tell customs before they find it. A disclosed error generally goes better than a discovered one, and the US has a formal prior disclosure route. Then fix the source: if a template or a product field caused it, that same mistake is on every other shipment.
Check these before you send
- Unit price x quantity equals line total, and lines add up to the total.
- Currency is on the totals.
- Every line has a real description, a code and an origin.
- Freight, insurance and discount are separate lines.
- The Incoterms rule and place are present.
- Weights and carton counts match the waybill or bill of lading.
The proforma invoice generator lays these fields out, so you can check before anything ships.
Sources
- eCFR: 19 CFR 141.86, contents of invoices, checked 5 November 2026
- eCFR: 19 CFR 152.103, transaction value, checked 5 November 2026
- European Commission: Guidance on acceptable and unacceptable terms for the description of goods, checked 5 November 2026
- HMRC: Valuing imported goods using method 1, checked 5 November 2026
- HMRC: Valuing imported goods that are free of charge, used, rented or leased, checked 5 November 2026
- HMRC: Import goods into the UK, step by step, checked 5 November 2026
- CBSA: Memorandum D1-4-1, invoice requirements, checked 5 November 2026
- CBSA: Step-by-step guide to importing, make changes after accounting, checked 5 November 2026