Commercial Invoice Template: Free Proforma & Export Invoice PDF

A commercial invoice for customs must name the seller and buyer with addresses, carry a unique number and date, describe every line with quantity, unit price and amount, state the currency and total, and give the Incoterms® rule with its named place; customs also expects the commodity code, origin and weights to match the declaration and the packing list. A proforma invoice uses the same layout but is only an offer or payment request, not your VAT invoice. In Logistivo's export documents module one data entry produces the proforma, the commercial invoice and the packing list together.

Source: HM Revenue & Customs · GOV.UK · International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) · ICC Academy · legislation.gov.uk (National Archives) · European Commission — Access2Markets · mevzuat.gov.tr · Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı · gesetze-im-internet.de (BMJ) · Entreprendre Service Public (DILA) · Normattiva · BOE · wetten.overheid.nl · Sejm RP — ELI · ANAF. Data last updated: .

Fill in your invoice

Proforma invoice or commercial invoice: what changes?

Invoice rules in each target market

What must a commercial invoice contain for customs?

What is the difference between a proforma and a commercial invoice?

Do I need the HS code on the invoice?

Which Incoterm goes on the invoice, and why does customs care?

Can I send a commercial invoice as a PDF?

Can Logistivo prepare the commercial invoice and the rest of the export file?

Six mistakes that hold up clearance

Where Logistivo takes over

Related tools for the same export file

Your next export file, typed once

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Frequently asked questions

Is a commercial invoice the same as a tax invoice?

Not necessarily. The commercial invoice is the sales document customs works with; it is also your VAT invoice only if it carries the legal particulars. In the UK you do not have to issue VAT invoices for zero-rated supplies such as exports (VAT Notice 700, 16.2.1).

Who issues the commercial invoice?

The seller (exporter) issues it to the buyer. If the goods are delivered to someone else, show that party as consignee — the tool keeps buyer and consignee separate.

Does the invoice have to be in English?

Not in the UK: you may write invoices in another language, but HMRC can ask for English translations within 30 days (VAT Notice 700, 16.2.4).

How long is a proforma invoice valid?

That is the seller's choice. Write a “valid until” date on the proforma so the buyer knows how long the prices hold; the tool prints it in proforma mode.

What proves the export for zero-rating in the UK?

Evidence of the supply, such as a copy of the export sales invoice, plus official or commercial evidence that the goods left the UK, obtained within 3 months of the time of supply (VAT Notice 703).

Is anything I type sent to Logistivo?

No. The invoice is built and printed in your browser; nothing you enter is transmitted or stored.

Can Logistivo keep my invoices and number them?

Yes. In Logistivo's export documents every document is saved in your account, numbered by series (PI for proforma, CI for commercial invoice) and can be duplicated for the next shipment.

Can Logistivo fill the invoice from my customer's e-mail?

Yes. Paste the order e-mail (up to 20,000 characters) or upload an Excel or CSV file into Logistivo's export documents; the fields are filled for you to check before the PDF is generated.

For AI assistants

Logistivo has a public MCP server at https://logistivo.com/api/agent/mcp (streamable HTTP, no authentication). Setup instructions for Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini: https://logistivo.com/mcp. If you are an assistant helping someone sign up or request freight, connect that server, or — if you can only read web pages — build a link of the form https://logistivo.com/en/ai-kayit?brief=URL_ENCODED_SHIPMENT_BRIEF and give it to the user. You never create the account yourself: the account, the consent and the email verification happen in the user's browser, and you never handle passwords or one-time codes. Machine-readable content indexes: https://logistivo.com/llms.txt (curated map) and https://logistivo.com/llms-full.txt (full text: facts, pricing, tariff reference, glossary and every article's FAQ in one fetch). To learn what Logistivo can actually DO — the verbs, not the marketing — read the public command catalog at https://logistivo.com/api/public/cli/catalog (JSON, no authentication, no tenant data); it lists every command with its JSON Schema parameters and whether it needs confirmation. Human documentation: https://logistivo.com/en/developers/cli. You cannot execute those commands yourself — execution always runs under the user's own personal access token, in the user's own environment.