Packing list meaning: contents, how to fill it in

SATURDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2026

The package list explained for importers: what it must contain, how it differs from the commercial invoice and the Italian DDT, the weights to check for the VGM, the ISPM 15 mark on pallets and a full example with 200 cartons.

Packing list meaning, in short: it is the itemised list of the packages in a shipment, stating carton by carton or pallet by pallet what each one contains, how many pieces, and with which weights and dimensions. It carries no prices, which is why it travels with the commercial invoice rather than replacing it.

In Italy it is also called distinta colli or distinta di imballaggio, but in trade with China and Asia the English term is used almost everywhere. This guide explains what it must contain, how it differs from the commercial invoice and from the Italian DDT, which figures to check before loading, how it is filled in step by step and which mistakes cost time at customs or in the warehouse.

Packing list meaning and purpose

It is usually prepared by the supplier at the time of packing and handed over with the other shipping documents. Many parties along the chain rely on it: the forwarder to book space and work out costs, the carrier to load, the customs broker to prepare the declaration, the destination warehouse to receive and check the goods, and the importer to confirm that everything has arrived.

Formally, the Union Customs Code does not list it among the mandatory documents. In practice, however, most customs authorities ask for it as a document accompanying the declaration, because it lets officers identify and check the goods without opening every package. Without a clear packing list, a physical inspection can turn into a full unloading of the container, with delay and demurrage costs borne by the importer.

What a packing list must contain

There is no single template imposed by law: each supplier uses its own, often in Excel. The items that cannot be missing are always the same, though, and it pays to request them in writing in the purchase order:

• References: number and date of the packing list, plus the number of the commercial invoice and of the purchase order it refers to.
• Parties: shipper and consignee with full addresses, plus a notify party if the shipment goes by sea.
• Goods per package: description, item code, number of pieces in each carton or pallet and sequential numbering of the packages.
• Weights and dimensions: net weight and gross weight of each package, outer dimensions in centimetres and volume in cubic metres.
• Totals and marks: total number of packages, overall net and gross weight, overall volume and the marks printed on the cartons.

Many importers also add the customs commodity code, the country of origin, and the container and seal numbers. They are not essential in every case, but they keep the packing list consistent with the customs declaration and the bill of lading, and reduce the forwarder's questions.

Packing list and commercial invoice: what changes

The commercial invoice is the value document: it states how much the goods cost, in which currency, under which Incoterm and on which payment terms. Customs calculates import duties and VAT on that value. The packing list is the physical document: it states how the goods are split into packages, how much they weigh and how much space they take, and as a rule it shows no prices.

The two documents must describe the same shipment. The quantity of each item, the number of packages and the references must match: if the invoice says 1,200 pieces and the packing list adds up to 1,180, the customs broker has to clear up the difference before lodging the declaration, and an inspection may find goods that do not match the paperwork. When payment is made by letter of credit and the credit calls for a packing list, the bank examines it together with the other documents, and an inconsistency between the two can become a discrepancy.

Packing list and Italian DDT: the difference

The question comes up often because the two documents look alike: both travel with the goods and describe their quantity. Their origin and purpose are different, though. The DDT, documento di trasporto, is an Italian tax rule: it was introduced by Presidential Decree 472 of 1996 to replace the old accompanying delivery note and serves mainly for deferred invoicing. It must show a sequential number, the date of delivery or dispatch, the details of seller, buyer and any carrier, and a description of the nature, quality and quantity of the goods. When it is used for deferred invoicing, the invoice must be issued by the 15th day of the month following delivery.

The packing list has no tax basis: it is a commercial and logistics document, born for international transport, describing the packing package by package. So one does not replace the other. The Chinese supplier issues the packing list; the DDT comes into play after customs clearance, when the goods move within Italy from the port or warehouse to the end customer, and it is issued by whoever sells or transfers them on national territory.

Weights, volumes and VGM: the figures to check

The weights and volumes on a packing list are not a detail. The volume in cubic metres determines what you pay for a groupage or air shipment, and whether the goods fit a 20-foot or a 40-foot container. The gross weight must be consistent with the figure declared to the carrier.

Since 1 July 2016 the international SOLAS convention has required every packed container to have a verified gross mass, the VGM, before it is loaded on the ship. The responsibility lies with the shipper, who obtains it in one of two ways: by weighing the packed container with calibrated and certified equipment, or by weighing all packages and all packing, dunnage and securing materials and adding them to the container's tare, using a method approved by the authority of the country where the container was packed. An estimate is not enough: without a VGM the container must not be loaded. The packing list is not the VGM declaration, but if its gross weights are wrong the second method starts from wrong figures, and the gap with the weighing shows up at the port.

Wooden packaging and package marks

If the goods travel on pallets or in solid wood crates, the packing list should say so, because wooden packaging follows the international phytosanitary standard ISPM 15. With heat treatment, code HT, the wood must reach at least 56 degrees for at least 30 continuous minutes throughout its whole profile, including the core. The mark stamped on the packaging shows the IPPC symbol, the country code, the code of the producer or treatment provider and the treatment code. A pallet without the mark can be rejected or sent for treatment at the importer's expense.

The marks on the cartons, also called shipping marks, are the other bridge between document and goods: the consignee's name or initials, the order number, the package number out of the total (for example 15/200), weights and handling instructions. They must be identical to those written on the packing list, otherwise nobody in the warehouse can match the package to the line on the document.

Practical packing list example

An example with hypothetical figures, to show how the totals are built. A company imports 1,200 table lamps from China, packed 6 per carton: that makes 200 cartons. Each carton measures 50 x 40 x 35 centimetres, or 0.07 cubic metres; the volume of the cartons alone is 200 x 0.07 = 14 cubic metres. Each lamp weighs 1.8 kilos, so the net weight per carton is 10.8 kilos; with inner packing and the carton, the gross weight per package rises to 12.3 kilos.

The packing list totals become: 200 packages, 2,160 kilos net, 2,460 kilos gross, 14 cubic metres. If the cartons travel on 10 pallets of 20 cartons each, with 20-kilo wooden pallets, the gross weight rises to 2,660 kilos and the volume has to be recalculated on the pallet footprint: at 120 x 80 x 190 centimetres that is 1.82 cubic metres per pallet, over 18 cubic metres in total. That is the difference between a groupage quote based on cartons and one based on pallets, and it is worth knowing before asking for freight prices.

How to fill it in: the steps to follow

Whoever receives the packing list from the supplier does not have to fill it in, but needs to know how it should be done in order to check it. The useful sequence is this:

• Start from the order and the invoice: same references, same item codes, same quantities.
• Number the packages sequentially and state for each one its contents, pieces, net weight, gross weight and dimensions.
• Work out the totals and check that the sum of pieces per package equals the invoice quantity.
• Record the carton marks, the type of packing and, where wood is used, the reference to ISPM 15 treatment.
• Compare the draft with the bill of lading or air waybill and have it corrected before loading, not after.

The right moment to ask for the draft is before the goods leave the factory: after loading, every correction needs new documents and often new messages to carrier and forwarder.

Common packing list mistakes

The recurring mistakes are few and predictable. Quantities that do not match the invoice, often because the supplier shipped a partial balance without updating the documents. Weights copied from the product sheet instead of being weighed, so the gross weight ignores packing and pallets. Volumes calculated on cartons when the goods travel palletised. Generic descriptions such as accessories or parts, which force customs to ask for clarification. Marks that differ from those printed on the cartons.

Each of these mistakes can be spotted at a desk by comparing draft, invoice and order, and it costs little to fix before departure. The same mistake discovered at the port costs days of container demurrage and, in the worst cases, a full physical inspection.

The packing list when importing from China

With La Merce the packing list is checked at the factory, before the container is closed: pieces per carton, gross weights weighed rather than estimated, identical marks on packages and document, ISPM 15 stamp on the pallets, so that invoice, packing list and bill of lading tell the same shipment when they reach customs.

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