subject: What Is A Bol For? [print this page] Shipping always requires careful documentation. Without it, things would get lost, mistakes would get made, billing would be problematic, and most importantly in many cases, international shipping would be impossible. Border agents and customs brokers have to very carefully account for everything that goes in or out of a foreign country and this is why any time you're shipping to any other country, your Chicago courier service is going to make sure that you have a completely filled out BOL going with your shipment.
A BOL is a bill of lading. There are a number of documents which are absolutely unequivocally required for all international shipments, and a BOL is one of those. The bill of lading includes most of the important information that was agreed upon between you and the courier company. This lets other countries know exactly what is being moved into their countries, and on what terms.
First of all, they need to know what is coming in. This is going to be clearly labeled on the BOL. That is so they know if it is covered by any laws such as trade agreements, or even permitted to be shipped into that country. Next, it will include information on the value of the package, which is important in case there are any taxes which have to be paid.
There is also going to be information on the BOL which carefully states where the package is going to and where it is coming from. This is very important in case they determine there to be anything suspicious about the package. They want a clear paper trail that tracks the packages existence, and the lack of such a trail is in itself immediately suspicious.
The BOL will also include other pertinent information such as how much was paid for the shipping, how long the shipping was initially quoted to take, and anything else which specifically describes the shape the order should take. All of this information provides everyone with access to the document essentially every piece of important information about the shipment in one easy to access place. Couriers, clients of couriers, shipping agents, and of course people that work at international borders can all use a BOL to make sure that everything is in order with any given package that is being shipped, making this document a critical form which should be included with every single delivery, no matter where it is being shipped to.
