Five document errors that delay a shipment

Below are the situations that occur most often. All of them can be found at the preparation stage, if you know where to look.

1. The names do not match

The declaration says “household textile footwear”, the invoice says “slippers”, the marketplace card says “Slippers Cozy Home”. Formally these are three different products. A mismatch is the most frequent reason for a request for additional documents.

2. A wrong HS code (TN VED)

The code determines the duty rate and the list of permit documents. If the code in the conformity document does not agree with the code in the goods declaration, the controlling authority has grounds for a check. A detailed analysis is in the article on classification.

3. The document has expired or is suspended

4. Not all the regulations are covered

The product falls under two regulations, but the document is issued for only one. A classic example is electronics: TR CU 004/2011 on low-voltage equipment and TR CU 020/2011 on electromagnetic compatibility. The first was issued, the second was forgotten — the set is incomplete.

5. Labelling applied without a basis

The EAC mark on the packaging without a valid document is a violation in itself. The opposite situation is no better: the document exists, but there is no mark, although the regulation requires it. Both directions must be checked.

Checklist before shipment

• The product name is identical in all documents
• The HS code (TN VED) is consistent between the conformity document and the goods declaration
• The document is valid on the date of import, and the status is checked in the register
• All applicable technical regulations are covered
• The labelling matches the documents issued
• The test reports and the information about the contractor are saved

Checking the contractor before concluding the contract is helped by the analysis of the Rosaccreditation register, and understanding which document is needed at all — by the article on forms of conformity confirmation.

6. The test report does not relate to your batch

The document exists, the register shows it, the scheme is batch-based — but the batch in it is a different one. This happens when the supplier issued the document once and attaches it to all later shipments.

A batch document is tied to a specific volume: the quantity, the invoice number, the details of the delivery. The next batch of the same product is not covered by it, even if it is identical. This is checked in a minute — by comparing the batch data in the register card with your shipping documents.

A separate case is when the tests were done on a sample that does not reflect serial products: a different material, a different set of parts, a pre-series unit. Formally the test report exists, but in fact it describes a different product. How to select samples so that this does not happen — in a separate article.

7. The applicant is not the one who imports and sells

The document is issued to the supplier's company, but you import and sell. The document itself is valid, but the link between it and your delivery is not confirmed by anything.

• Check who is named as the applicant and the manufacturer
• If it is not you — get confirmation of the right to sell: a contract, a dealer agreement, a letter from the holder
• For a serial document, make sure that your product is included in the list of models and article numbers
• Remember: the right to sell and the right to use a trademark are different things, and both may be requested

This error almost never shows up at customs, but it regularly comes up during a marketplace check and when a buyer makes a claim.

8. The labelling and the documents have diverged

The inspector does not need a laboratory to find this error: it is enough to take the packaging and open the register. There are four kinds of mismatch.

The rule is simple: the text on the packaging and the text in the document must match word for word where it is about the name, the manufacturer and the characteristics. The marketing name can stand next to it, but not instead of it.

How to build a check so that errors do not repeat

All eight errors have one thing in common: they are found in a few minutes if you know where to look, and are never found if you check “by feeling”. What helps is not heroism but routine.

• One person responsible for documents — not “everyone a little”
• A register of goods: document number, validity, scheme, applicant, manufacturer, list of models
• A check in the state register at every new purchase, not only the first
• A reminder two months before expiry: re-issuing takes weeks
• Comparing the packaging layout with the document before printing the run of labels
• A requirement for the supplier to notify of a change of factory, composition and formula
• An archive of documents and correspondence: in case of a block or a check, the answer is needed on the same day

And the main point about terms: documents are prepared before the product is put into circulation, not after the first request. Almost every error listed is cheap at the preparation stage and expensive at the stage when the cargo stands in a warehouse or the card is blocked.