Consular transactions and consular invoice

Consular transactions

“Consular transactions” means the procedure of obtaining from a consul of the importing country in the territory of the exporting country, or in the territory of a third party, a consular invoice or a consular visa for a commercial invoice, certificate of origin, manifest, shipper’s export declaration or any other customs documentation in connection with the importation of the good.

Consular invoice

"Consular invoice" is a document, often in triplicate, submitted to the consul or embassy of a country to which goods are to be exported before the goods are sent abroad. The completed documents then travel with the goods and enable the customs officials in the destination country to verify the quantity, value and nature of the goods on arrival. A fee may be charged by the consulate for the checking and approval of the documents.

Countries requiring a consular invoice include Latin American countries, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, New Zealand, Myanmar, Iraq, Australia, Fiji, Cyprus, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, and Zanzibar.

Example

Paraguay requests a compulsory endorsement of all import related documentation (commercial invoice, certificate of origin, price list, shipping documents, etc.) has to be stamped by the Paraguayan consulate in the country of origin or, where there is no such consulate, in the consulate of the nearest country to the exporter. Some Paraguayan consulates take too much time to stamp the documents which can result in increased importation costs. When the documents have not been stamped by the appropriate consulate, the importer is subjected to a fine of up to 200% of the normal fee for stamping of the documents.

Sources

EU - UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Investopedia
Access2Markets database