What Bahamas Customs Needs on Your Invoice

The invoice is the one document Bahamas Customs needs from you for every package you order online. It tells Customs what you bought and what you paid, and duty is worked out from it. Get it right, upload it early, and your package clears without waiting. This guide covers what a good invoice looks like and what to do in the awkward cases.

For how the charges themselves work, see our Bahamas customs guide.

What counts as an invoice

Customs accepts the seller's own record of the sale. Any of these will do:

• the order confirmation email from the store,
• the invoice or receipt you can download from your account on the store's website,
• a printed receipt if you or someone else bought it in a shop, or
• the packing slip, if it shows the prices.

A bank or card statement is not enough on its own, because it doesn't say what was bought.

What it must show

A good invoice shows:

1. the store or seller's name,
2. each item with a description that says what it is ("men's running shoes", not just a product code),
3. the price of each item, and
4. the order total, including any tax or shipping the store charged.

If several items are on one order, one invoice covers them all. If your order arrives in several boxes, the same invoice goes with each one.

When to upload it

Upload the invoice in your account as soon as you place the order, or as soon as the package shows up at our Miami Lakes warehouse. We declare your package to Customs when it lands in Nassau, and a package without an invoice waits until we have one. Uploading early is the simplest way to avoid delays.

Amazon, Shein, Temu and marketplaces

• Amazon: go to Your Orders, choose the order, then View invoice. If an order is split into several shipments, the same invoice covers each one; each package has its own Amazon tracking number starting with TBA.
• Shein and Temu: download the order details from the order page in the app or on the website. Make sure the item prices are visible, not just the total.
• eBay and marketplace sellers: the order details page shows the item, price and seller. If you paid with PayPal, the PayPal receipt usually shows the item too.

Gifts and items someone else bought

A gift is still imported goods, and Customs still needs its value. Ask the person who bought it for the order confirmation or receipt and upload it the same way. Never ask a seller to mark a purchase as a "gift" or write a lower price on the invoice: under-declaring is a customs offence, and goods can be seized and penalties charged.

If you've lost the invoice

Most stores let you download a copy from the "Your orders" or "Order history" page of your account, and the order confirmation email usually has everything Customs needs. If you genuinely can't get one, call us on 603-5555 before the package lands and we'll tell you what Customs will accept. Without an invoice, Customs can value the goods itself, which is slower and rarely cheaper.

Quick checklist

• The seller's name is on it.
• Every item has a clear description and price.
• The total matches what you paid.
• It's uploaded in your account before the package lands.

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