Shipment Consistency Checks

Single documents can each look correct and still contradict each other - an invoice that says 96 cartons while the packing list says 94, or a bill of lading declaring a different value than the invoice. Customs systems compare documents against each other, so CargoLint does too. This page explains what gets checked, how findings are graded, and what shipment statuses mean.

When checks run

Consistency checks run automatically once at least two documents in a shipment finish processing, and re-run whenever another document completes. You can also trigger an evaluation manually with Re-evaluate on the shipment page. Each evaluation produces a report; the shipment always shows the latest one.

The one-document-per-type model

A shipment evaluates one document of each type - one invoice, one packing list, one bill of lading, one certificate of origin. Uploading a second document of a type replaces the first for checks: the newest upload wins. Replaced documents stay attached to the shipment (and remain billed, since they were processed) but are excluded from checks and from the review queue. This keeps the checklist unambiguous - every finding compares exactly one document of each type.

Severities

• Critical (red) - a contradiction customs is likely to act on, such as a declared-value mismatch or an ineligible trade-preference claim. Resolve before filing.
• Warning (amber) - a discrepancy worth verifying, such as quantity drift between documents or an out-of-sequence date.
• Note (blue) - informational. Notes describe gaps in coverage (for example, a date check that couldn’t cover the full sequence) rather than failures.

Each finding shows the observed values per document, an explanation of why it matters, and links to the contributing documents. A blocking issue found on any single document (sanctions, CITES, regulated goods) blocks the whole shipment, regardless of which paper it sits on - resolve it on the document itself.

What gets checked

Parties and references

• Shipper, consignee, and other parties spelled identically across documents
• The invoice number referenced by other documents matches the invoice in the bundle

Quantities and line items

• Line items on the invoice match the packing list (by SKU or description), with quantities agreeing per line
• Header totals reconcile across documents and against line-item sums
• Package counts agree between the bill of lading and the packing list, and between the packing list header and its own lines

Values and currency

• The declared value on the bill of lading matches the invoice total, in the same currency
• Monetary fields share one currency unless an FX note explains a conversion

Dates

• Documents follow trade chronology: invoice, export, bill of lading, arrival
• Certificates of origin issued after shipment are surfaced as “issued retrospectively” - legal and common, just worth confirming

Origin, classification, and preferences

• Country of origin consistent across documents
• HS codes on the certificate of origin match the invoice
• Trade-preference claims are checked against the corridor - claiming an agreement the origin/destination pair isn’t part of is flagged critically

Logistics

• Container and seal numbers agree wherever they appear
• Shipping marks and numbers listed consistently
• Port of loading sits in the origin country and port of discharge in the destination country (mismatches can be legitimate transshipment, so they’re raised for confirmation)
• The Incoterm and the bill of lading’s freight terms point the same way

Dangerous goods

• If cargo is hazardous, the declaration appears on every transport document
• UN number, hazard class, and packing group agree everywhere they’re stated

Shipment statuses

• Consistent - the latest evaluation found no issues
• Needs review - warnings or notes to look at
• Critical issues - at least one critical finding
• Awaiting check - queued for evaluation (for example, a document is still processing)
• Needs documents - fewer than two documents, so cross-document checks can’t run yet
• Settled - finalized and locked by you; hidden from the other inbox tabs

Important: Consistency findings are advisory. They tell you where documents disagree so you can fix the paperwork before filing - they are not a customs ruling.

What’s next

• Working with Shipments - Create shipments, replace documents, settle and re-open
• Document Statuses - Statuses of the individual documents inside a shipment
• Tax Compliance Checks - The per-document tax checks that run alongside shipment checks