In many countries, export shipments valued below a minimum requirement may not require a formal customs declaration. The purposes of customs export declaration are to verify and regulate outgoing cargo (including re-export goods) and to collect the statistical data (of the product, quantity, value, and destination) for export references.
The format of customs export declaration forms varies from country to country. The form typically contains the information found in the commercial invoice and the bill of lading or waybill. In addition, the form may include:
the business license number and/or tax account number and/or export permit (license) number of the exporter
the business license number of the manufacturer from whom the export-trader buys the export goods
the commodity code or category of goods
the country of destination and its country code (a numeric country code may be assigned to each importing country by the customs of exporting country for compiling statistics)
the name, address and code (or license) number of the customs broker or forwarder
the customs charges
The exporter normally must sign an authorization paper (the power of attorney) allowing the customs broker or the forwarder to handle the customs declaration.
In certain countries, exporters may prepare the customs declaration forms by themselves and let the customs broker handle the rest of the customs formalities.