A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

C

Capital Goods
Industrial products or other goods that are used in the creation of additional wealth, such as machine tools. Capital goods are sometimes called intermediate goods or producer goods, because they are used to produce other goods.

Cargo Sharing
The reservation and division of maritime traffic between designated trading partners who agree that vessels owned or controlled by either will carry a specified percentage of the cargo moving between them.

Cartel
An alliance or arrangement among industrial, commercial, or state-controlled enterprises producing the same commodity, aimed at regulating the purchase, production, or marketing of the commodity.

CWO (Cash With Order)
A payment in advance.  Cash With Order usually used for small orders with new buyers and may even be asked for before production begins. 

COD (Cash On Delivery)
Where small value goods are sent by Post Office Parcel or a courier and are released only after payment of the invoice plus COD charges.

Certificate Of Health
Certificates of Health, or health Inspection may be required by an overseas buyer or by the authorities in the buyer’s country.

Certificate Of Insurance
A document prepared by the exporter or the freight forwarder to provide evidence that insurance against loss or damage has been obtained for the goods to be exported.
A Certificate of Insurance has no legal standing, banks will usually insist on seeing the insurance policy, which is a legal document, rather than a certificate.

Certificate Of Origin
A standard document that certifies the country where the product was made.
A Certificate of Origin is sometimes required by the importing country’s authorities to prove that the goods originate from a particular country. This may be necessary to enable an importer to claim preferential import duty.

Certificate Of Shipment
Used when trans-shipment takes place, although a Bill of Lading has been issued for the first part of the journey, a separate certificate of shipment is issued for the next part of the journey in a separate vessel.

Certificate Invoice
It is an invoice provided by an authorized Chamber of Commerce, some nations will require commercial invoices to be legalized by the buying nation’s consulate before the goods can enter the country.

CET or CXT (Common External Tariff)
A tariff rate uniformly applied by a common market or customs union, such as the European Community, to imports from countries outside the union.

CFR or C&F (Cost and Freight)
An international commercial term used in international sales contracts to signify that the seller must pay the cost and freight necessary to bring goods to a port of destination, but that the risk of loss or damage passes from the seller to the buyer when the goods pass the ship's rail in the port of shipment.

CFS (Container Freight Station)
Where numerous of shipments are gathered prior to shipment.

Ch Fwd (Changes Forward)

Ch Pd (Charges Paid)

CIF (Costs, Insurance and Freight)
An international commercial term used in international sales contracts, meaning that the selling price includes all cost insurance and freight for any goods sold. The seller arranges and pays for all relevant expenses involved in shipping goods from their point of exportation to a given point of importation.

CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid)
An international commercial term that is used in international sales contracts to impose the same obligations on the seller as "carriage paid to" (CPT), with the exception that the seller is also responsible for contracting and paying for cargo insurance. Hence, in addition to this obligation, the seller will clear for export and pay the freight and all costs incurred for the carriage of goods to a destination named by the buyer. The risk of loss or damage passes to the buyer when the goods are delivered to the carrier.

Clean Bill Of Lading
A Clean Bill of Lading is one, which has no superimposed clause or statement declaring a defect in the condition of the exported goods or the packaging, or some other aspect of the consignment.

Commercial Invoice
A document prepared by the exporter or freight forwarder, and required by the importer to prove ownership and arrange for payment to the exporter. It should include basic information about the transaction such as a description of the goods, address of the shipper and seller as well as delivery and payment terms. In some cases, the commercial invoice is used to assess Customs duties.

Commercial Paper
Short-term financial instruments that can be bought and sold, particularly promissory notes that call for the payment of specified amounts of money at a given time.

CMR Note
A consignment note for movements by road transport.

CMR (Convention Merchandises Routiers)
Individually numbered Contract of Affreightment for international road shipments.

Consul Invoice
An invoice which is approved and certified by the Consulate of the Country of destination, in their office in the Country of Origin.

Cover Note
A document, usually issued by an insurance broker to the exporter, showing details of the insurance effected.

CPA (Insurance Claims Payable Abroad)

CIM
Individually numbered Contract of Affreightment for international dispatched by rail.

CPC (Customs Procedure Cods)
Identifies the procedure by which the Customs will process the goods.

C/nee (Consignee)
To whom the goods are addressed

CRN (Customs Registered Number)
A unique which identifies an Exporter or Importer to Customs.

CT for EU (Community Transit)
Goods moving within the EU Community.

CTC (Community Tariff Code)
The unique commodity code number allocated to a specific product. If no CTC exists for your goods, then one can apply to Customs for a ruling, thereby creating a new code number.

Container
A special constructed metal box for shipment of goods by sea, usually either 20 or 40 foot long.

Currency Fluctuations
Changes in the value of one currency relative to another.
An exporter can protect against loss caused by fluctuating currencies during the sales contract period by taking out a forward exchange contract with a bank.

The exporter, invoicing a buyer in a foreign currency for payment at an agreed future date, sells those expected receipts to a bank in advance (ie forward) of the due date of payment.  The bank agrees to buy at a pre-determined forward rate of exchange which varies according to the time of future delivery, for example, one, three or six months, or longer. No money is exchanged at the time the forward contract is made, but under its terms the exporter is guaranteed a certain rate of exchange.

Customs Bond
A bond that, in certain circumstances, importers must post to effect the entry of imported goods. A customs bond usually must be guaranteed by an approved surety. The bond acts as a security in order to ensure the collection of duties and taxes owed on imports and to facilitate compliance with other importation requirements.

Customs Invoice
A document evidencing the value of the goods, which is then used to clear them through Customs in the country of import. In some cases, the commercial invoice may be used for this purpose.