Commercial Invoice vs Invoice (Sales, Tax or "Financial" Invoice)
An ordinary invoice bills your customer; a commercial invoice is the invoice customs uses to clear goods across a border. A tax (VAT) invoice is an invoice that carries the details your VAT law requires. The commercial invoice adds customs data a sales invoice leaves out (origin, tariff code, packing contents, all charges), and one document can do more than one job only if it carries every set of details.
Four names, three jobs
- Sales invoice: the bill for what you sold, used to get paid and to keep your accounts.
- "Financial invoice": informal usage for the same billing invoice. We found no official definition in the US customs rules, the EU VAT Directive or HMRC's VAT notices.
- Tax invoice / VAT invoice: a legal term. In the EU the details are listed in Article 226 of Directive 2006/112/EC; in the UK, HMRC lists them in VAT Notice 700/21 para 4.1.
- Commercial invoice: the customs document for a shipment of goods. For US imports, "A commercial invoice shall be presented for each shipment of merchandise at the time the entry summary is filed" (19 CFR 141.81).
A commercial invoice is a required document for the export and import clearance process. It is sometimes used for foreign exchange purposes. In the buyer's country, it is the document that is used by their customs officials to assess import duties and taxes.
Field by field: sales invoice vs commercial invoice vs VAT invoice
The customs column cites the US import rules (19 CFR); the VAT column cites the EU VAT Directive and, where marked, HMRC VAT Notice 700/21 para 4.1.
| Field | Typical sales invoice | Commercial invoice (US customs) | VAT invoice (EU / UK) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller and buyer names and addresses | Yes | Yes: the parties to the sale, or shipper and consignee if there was no sale (141.86(a)(2)); the foreign party responsible for invoicing (142.6(a)(5)) | Full name and address of supplier and customer (Art. 226(5)); UK: name, address and VAT number of the supplier, name and address of the customer |
| Invoice number and date | Yes | Date and place of sale (141.86(a)(2)); invoices numbered when several go in one entry, and pages when they run to more than two (141.86(h)) | Date of issue and "a sequential number, based on one or more series, which uniquely identifies the invoice" (Art. 226(1)-(2)) |
| Description of goods | Usually brief | Detailed: name, grade or quality, marks and numbers, package marks (141.86(a)(3)) | Quantity and nature of goods or extent and nature of services (Art. 226(6)); UK: "a description sufficient to identify the goods or services supplied" |
| Quantity | Yes | In the weights and measures of the shipping country or the US (141.86(a)(4)) | Yes (Art. 226(6)) |
| Price | Yes | Purchase price of each item, or a value when nothing was bought (141.86(a)(5)-(6)) | Unit price exclusive of VAT and the taxable amount per rate (Art. 226(8)) |
| Discounts | If any | Every discount "from list or other base price" (141.86(g)) | Discounts or rebates not included in the unit price (Art. 226(8)); UK: rate of any cash discount |
| Charges (freight, insurance, packing, commission) | If billed | All charges itemized by name and amount (141.86(a)(8)) | Not listed as a separate item in Art. 226 |
| Currency | Yes | Kind of currency (141.86(a)(7)) | Any currency, but the VAT amount in national currency (Art. 230); UK: total VAT "expressed in sterling" |
| Country of origin | No | Yes (141.86(a)(10)) | No |
| HS / tariff code | No | The 8-digit HTSUS subheading on the invoice or documents filed with the entry (142.6(a)(4)); added by the importer or broker (141.90(b)) | No |
| Packing contents | No | What each package contains (141.86(e)) | No |
| Port of entry, rebates, assists | No | Yes (141.86(a)(1), (9), (11)) | No |
| Named responsible person | No | A responsible employee of the exporter, by name (141.86(j)) | No |
| Language | Any | English or with an English translation (141.86(d)) | Not set by Art. 226 |
| VAT numbers | Only if registered | No | Supplier's VAT number (Art. 226(3)); customer's where the customer is liable or for an intra-EU supply of goods (Art. 226(4)) |
| VAT rate and amount | Only if registered | No | Rate applied and VAT amount payable (Art. 226(9)-(10)); exemption reference or "Reverse charge" where relevant (Art. 226(11), (11a)) |
| Date of supply / time of supply | Sometimes | No | Date of supply where it differs from the date of issue (Art. 226(7)); UK: "the time of the supply" |
| Signature | No | Not required by 141.86, per CBP ruling H328583 (see below) | "Member States shall not require invoices to be signed" (Art. 229) |
Sources, read 2026-09-25: 19 CFR 141.86, 142.6 and 141.90 (eCFR, up to date as of 2026-09-23); Directive 2006/112/EC (EUR-Lex consolidated text of 14.04.2025); HMRC VAT Notice 700/21 para 4.1. The "typical sales invoice" column describes common practice, not a legal list. Full US list: US commercial invoice requirements.
Can one document be both?
As the customs invoice
For US imports there is no special form: "The commercial invoice shall be prepared in the manner customary in the trade, contain the information required by §§ 141.86 through 141.89, and substantiate the statistical information required by § 141.61(e)" (19 CFR 141.83(c)(1)). So your normal invoice can be the commercial invoice if it carries that information, on the invoice or on an attachment (141.86(i)).
On signatures and computer-generated invoices, CBP's ruling H328583 (14 December 2023) said: "there is no requirement in this provision for a signature on the invoice. A signature is only required for a pro forma invoice." A ruling applies to the transaction it describes (19 CFR 177.9(b)(1)), so read it as CBP's stated view (ruling text).
As the VAT invoice
A commercial invoice is a VAT invoice only if it carries the particulars: in the EU, Art. 226 begins "only the following details are required for VAT purposes on invoices issued pursuant to Articles 220 and 221", and in the UK HMRC says "You must show the following details on any VAT invoices you issue". A pro forma is not one: HMRC says pro-forma invoices "cannot be used as evidence to reclaim input tax, even if they show all the details required for a VAT invoice" and should be "clearly marked 'this is not a VAT invoice'" (VAT Notice 700 para 17.3).
On timing, HMRC says you should "normally issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of the tax point arising" (VAT Notice 700 para 16.2.3).
Which one you need
| Situation | What to issue |
|---|---|
| Domestic sale of goods or services | A sales invoice; a VAT invoice if you are VAT-registered and your VAT law requires one. No customs invoice. |
| Export of goods to a customer abroad | A commercial invoice for customs, plus whatever invoice your own VAT rules require (in the EU, an exempt supply carries the exemption reference, Art. 226(11)). One document can carry both sets of details. |
| Services billed to a client abroad | A sales or VAT invoice. Services do not clear customs, so there is no commercial invoice (19 CFR 141.81 concerns "each shipment of merchandise"). |
| Product samples, gifts or returns with no sale | An invoice for customs that states a value; see no-commercial-value invoices. |
| Quote before the sale | A pro forma invoice or quotation; see proforma vs commercial invoice and proforma invoice vs invoice. |
Make either one
- Free invoice generator: an ordinary sales invoice.
- Commercial invoice generator: adds country of origin and HS code on each line, number of packages, gross weight (kg), Incoterms, Reason for Export and a freight amount. It has no VAT-number fields.
- VAT invoice generator: supplier and customer tax numbers, an optional supply date (tax point), taxable and non-taxable lines and an optional reverse-charge note. It has no origin or HS code columns.
No single one of our generators prints both the customs columns and the VAT-number fields, so if one document must do both jobs, check it against both lists above before you use it.
The generators are free and unmetered for normal use; an anti-abuse cap of 20 PDFs per device per day (200 per IP) applies, well above ordinary use, and blank template file downloads are not metered. A one-line "Created free with myinvoicetemplate.com" credit is switched on by default and one free checkbox in the settings turns it off. Your draft is stored in your own browser on this device, so download and keep the PDF you need.
Commercial invoice vs invoice: FAQ
What is the difference between a commercial invoice and a financial invoice?
"Financial invoice" is not a term defined in the US customs rules, the EU VAT Directive or HMRC's VAT notices we checked; read it as informal usage for the ordinary invoice that bills the customer. A commercial invoice is the invoice customs uses for goods crossing a border: the International Trade Administration says that in the buyer's country "it is the document that is used by their customs officials to assess import duties and taxes." It adds customs data an ordinary invoice leaves out, such as country of origin, tariff codes, packing contents and all charges.
Is a commercial invoice a tax invoice?
Not automatically. A tax (VAT) invoice is defined by the details it must carry: in the EU, Article 226 of Directive 2006/112/EC lists them (date, sequential number, VAT numbers, VAT rate and amount, and more), and in the UK HMRC lists them in VAT Notice 700/21 para 4.1. A commercial invoice works as a VAT invoice only if it carries those details as well.
What is a commercial tax invoice?
It is not a term defined in the US customs rules, the EU VAT Directive or the HMRC VAT notices we checked. If you need one document to work as both the customs invoice and the tax invoice, it has to carry both sets of details: the customs list (for US imports, 19 CFR 141.86) and the VAT particulars (EU Art. 226 or UK Notice 700/21 para 4.1).
Can I use my normal invoice as a commercial invoice?
For US imports, yes if it has the content: 19 CFR 141.83(c)(1) says the commercial invoice "shall be prepared in the manner customary in the trade, contain the information required by §§ 141.86 through 141.89". A typical sales invoice lacks several of those items (origin, package contents, all charges, a named responsible employee), so add them or attach a sheet (141.86(i)).
Do I need both a commercial invoice and a tax invoice for an export?
You need the customs data and, where your VAT rules require it, the tax data, but not necessarily two documents. Customs in the destination needs the commercial invoice content; your own VAT rules decide whether you must issue a VAT invoice for the export and what it shows (in the EU, an exempt supply carries a reference to the exemption under Art. 226(11)). One invoice that carries both sets of details can serve both purposes.
Is a commercial invoice needed for services?
The US customs rules are about goods: 19 CFR 141.81 requires a commercial invoice "for each shipment of merchandise". Services billed abroad do not clear customs, so they are billed with an ordinary or VAT invoice.
Not legal, tax or customs advice. The rules are quoted as published on the dates shown. VAT and customs rules differ by country; confirm what applies to your transaction with your tax adviser or customs broker.