A typical processed food shipment from India travels with a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin and certificate of analysis. Some markets and products also need a health or sanitary certificate.
Behind these sit the exporter's own registrations: an IEC, an FSSAI licence and, for most processed foods, APEDA registration. Your own customs and food authorities decide the final list, so confirm it with your broker before shipment.
Shipping documents
- Commercial invoice: seller, buyer, product description, HS code, quantity, price terms and value.
- Packing list: cartons, net and gross weights and batch numbers for each product.
- Bill of lading: issued by the shipping line or forwarder, and the title document under many payment terms.
- Shipping bill: the Indian export customs declaration, filed by the exporter's agent.
- Insurance certificate: if the seller arranges cover, for example under CIF terms.
Origin and quality documents
- Certificate of origin: a preferential certificate if a trade agreement applies and you want to claim reduced duty, or a non-preferential one if requested.
- Certificate of analysis: test results for the lot against your spec, ideally from an accredited lab.
- Health or sanitary certificate: required by some importing countries for certain foods. It is issued by the competent Indian authority for that product. Check whether your product and market need one.
- Fumigation certificate: if wooden pallets or the cargo were fumigated.
- Organic, halal or kosher certificates: if the product is sold with those claims.
Market specific requirements
Rules for border checks and certificates change. Confirm the current requirements for your product with your customs broker and national food authority.
- US: the factory needs FDA facility registration and each shipment needs prior notice. Canned and acidified foods may need further filings. See US FDA facility registration.
- EU and UK: labels must meet local rules, and some products from India face extra checks at the border at certain times.
- Gulf: labels, shelf life format and halal requirements are often checked closely.
Getting the pack right
Most delays come from small errors: a weight that differs between invoice and packing list, a missing batch number, or a product name that does not match the label. Ask for draft documents before shipment and check every line. Check that product names, weights and batch codes match across the invoice, packing list, certificates and carton labels. Check the consignee and notify party details with your broker, and agree how and when originals will be sent. The document pack your broker will ask for gives a general checklist.
How we help
We check the exporter's registrations before you order and review every draft document against the order, labels and lab results before the originals are released. Mistakes are fixed in India, not at your port. Start with a free sourcing review.