Garment export documents from India

Start with the Incoterm

Before documents, agree the Incoterm (Incoterms® 2020) — it defines where the seller's responsibility ends and yours begins, and who pays freight, insurance and import clearance. The ones you'll see most for apparel:

Term	Seller delivers & pays to	Buyer handles
EXW (Ex Works)	Goods at the factory	Everything from the factory onward
FOB (Free On Board)	Goods loaded on the vessel at origin port	Sea freight, insurance, import clearance
CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight)	Freight + insurance to destination port	Import clearance, duties, delivery inland
DAP / DDP	Delivery at destination (DDP incl. import duties)	Little to nothing (DDP)

FOB is the most common basis for apparel from India. The Incoterm drives which documents and costs sit with each side.

The core document set

• Commercial invoice — the legal bill of sale: goods, quantities, values, Incoterm, currency and parties. The basis for customs valuation.
• Packing list — carton-by-carton contents, quantities, net/gross weights and dimensions.
• Bill of lading (B/L) for sea, or air waybill (AWB) for air — the carrier's contract and (for the B/L) a document of title used to release the goods.
• Certificate of origin — declares where the goods were made; may be a general or a preferential certificate depending on any trade arrangement.
• Inspection certificate — the final QA report, where a buyer ties shipment or payment to a passed inspection.
• Insurance certificate — under CIF/CIP the seller arranges cargo insurance and provides proof.

Your bank may require a specific set if you pay by letter of credit (L/C); align the document list with your L/C terms up front.

Duties and preferential origin

Whether your import attracts reduced duty depends on the trade arrangement between India and your country, and these change over time. We don't quote duty rates — confirm the current tariff, any preferential scheme and the exact certificate of origin required with your customs broker or freight forwarder in the destination country. The right origin document has to be arranged at export, so tell us early if you need one.

Who prepares what

In a typical FOB shipment the exporter (via KnitScout and the factory) prepares the invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and inspection report, and the nominated forwarder issues the bill of lading. You (or your broker) handle import clearance and duties at destination. We coordinate the export-side documents and work to your forwarder so the paperwork matches the goods and your payment terms.