Import document templates: the fields that must be right

Saudi customs does not prescribe an invoice design — it checks fields and consistency. Below are copy-ready field templates for the two documents suppliers most often get wrong: the commercial invoice and the packing list, plus what a SABER certificate request needs from your side. Send them to your supplier as-is; each field maps to something ZATCA or SFDA cross-checks at clearance.

Commercial invoice: the field template

• Seller: legal name, address, country — as on the certificate of origin
• Buyer/consignee: your exact CR name and address (mismatches with the declaration are the №1 query trigger)
• Invoice number & date; Incoterm with named place (e.g. FOB Ningbo)
• Per line: precise goods description (material, function, model — classifiable, never "spare parts"), HS code (6+ digits), quantity & unit, unit price, line total
• Currency; totals; freight and insurance shown separately when not included in prices (ZATCA values on CIF)
• Country of origin per line; signature and stamp

Packing list: the field template

• Reference to the invoice number
• Per carton/pallet: contents by item, quantity, net weight, gross weight, dimensions
• Totals: cartons, net/gross weight, volume (CBM) — matching the B/L figures
• Shipping marks as physically printed on cartons
• Container and seal numbers once assigned

The reconciliation rule: invoice quantities × units = packing list totals = what a red-lane inspection counts. Any gap between the three is a delay.

What a SABER certificate request needs from you

For each product going into a PCoC application: commercial name and model number exactly as on the goods and cartons, HS code, brand owner name (the certificate follows the brand — see our OEM guide), photos of the product and its label/rating plate, and test reports (IECEE for electrical). Requests fail on model mismatches more than anything else — the certificate must name what the inspector will physically see. Sanad Global prepares these files as part of certification support; the templates above cut a round of corrections from almost every first shipment.

Related guides

• Importing furniture to Saudi Arabia
• Importing cosmetics to Saudi Arabia
• Importing electronics to Saudi Arabia
• Importing auto parts to Saudi Arabia