Documents
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| CMR | The consignment note evidencing the contract of international carriage of goods by road, based on the 1956 CMR Convention. More |
|---|
| e-CMR | The electronic CMR, based on the 2008 Additional Protocol. More |
|---|
| Commercial invoice | Shows the sale, the value of the goods and the request for payment; the core document of the customs declaration. |
|---|
| Proforma invoice | Preliminary invoice sent before the sale, used for quotations, prepayment and letters of credit. More |
|---|
| Packing list | Lists the contents, weights and dimensions of each package. More |
|---|
| Bill of lading (B/L) | The transport document for sea carriage; unlike the CMR it is a document of title representing the goods. |
|---|
| Certificate of origin | States the country where the goods were produced; usually certified by a chamber of commerce. |
|---|
| A.TR | Movement certificate showing that industrial goods are in free circulation within the Turkey–EU customs union. |
|---|
| EUR.1 | Movement certificate proving preferential origin under free-trade agreements, giving reduced duty. |
|---|
| TIR Carnet | Under the 1975 TIR Convention, allows sealed vehicles to transit several countries without paying customs guarantees at each border. |
|---|
| Transit declaration (T1/NCTS) | Allows goods to cross a country under customs supervision; lodged electronically in the common transit system (NCTS). |
|---|
Parties
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| Sender (consignor) | Concludes the contract of carriage and hands the goods to the carrier; box 1 of the CMR. |
|---|
| Consignee | Receives the goods at destination; boxes 2 and 24 of the CMR. |
|---|
| Carrier | Undertakes the carriage and is liable under CMR for loss, damage and delay. |
|---|
| Successive carrier | Performs part of the same carriage in turn and becomes a party by accepting the goods and the note. |
|---|
| Freight forwarder | Organises carriage on the sender’s behalf: choosing carriers, handling documents and customs. |
|---|
| Customs broker | Authorised representative who prepares and lodges customs declarations for the declarant. |
|---|
Transport and trade terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| Freight | The carriage charge; box 17 of the CMR states who pays it. |
|---|
| FTL / LTL | Full truckload from one shipper / less than truckload, sharing the vehicle with other shippers’ goods. |
|---|
| Tractor, trailer, semi-trailer | Tractor: the powered unit; semi-trailer: the cargo unit coupled to it. |
|---|
| Cabotage | Carriage by a foreign-registered vehicle between two points inside another country; restricted in most countries. |
|---|
| Ro-ro | The loaded vehicle is driven onto a ship; the CMR Convention generally still applies to such carriage. |
|---|
| Incoterms | ICC rules defining place of delivery, transfer of risk and cost allocation (EXW, FCA, DAP…). More |
|---|
| Reservation | A note on the consignment note of shortages or damage seen at taking over or delivery; boxes 8 and 24 of the CMR. |
|---|
| Cash on delivery (COD) | An amount the carrier must collect from the consignee before handing over the goods; box 19 of the CMR. |
|---|
| SDR (Special Drawing Right) | The IMF unit of account; under CMR the carrier’s liability is limited to 8.33 SDR per kg gross. |
|---|
| Gross / net weight | Gross: including packaging; net: the goods only. |
|---|
| ADR | The European Agreement on the international carriage of dangerous goods by road, covering packaging, labelling, vehicles and drivers. |
|---|
Customs terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|
| HS code | The 6-digit international tariff classification code, extended by national tariffs. More |
|---|
| Customs declaration | The official declaration placing goods under a customs procedure (export, import, transit). |
|---|
| Customs value | The value on which duties are calculated; usually based on the transaction value on the invoice. |
|---|
| Binding Tariff Information (BTI) | An official customs decision on the classification of a product, binding for a set period. |
|---|
| Letter of credit (L/C) | The buyer’s bank’s undertaking to pay the seller against presentation of stipulated documents. |
|---|
| Documentary collection | Documents are released to the buyer through banks against payment or acceptance. |
|---|
You can prepare the CMR, invoice and packing list from the same data in CMRyaz. For a box-by-box walkthrough see how to fill in a CMR.
