Cross-border e-invoicing (CBeI) is a structured digital process through which invoices for international trade are created, validated, secured, validated and approved, and transmitted to authorized stakeholders.
Cross-border trade relies on commercial invoices, yet paper, email and PDF-based invoice processes remain vulnerable to manipulation, duplication and fictitious suppliers. This creates exposure to customs revenue leakage, value-added tax (VAT) fraud, inaccurate declared values and limited visibility over international transactions.
Our CBeI solution creates a trusted digital layer, authenticating foreign exporters and securing invoice data before it enters customs, tax and banking systems. The cleared invoice becomes the authoritative record shared with authorized stakeholders. CBeI is the starting point for digitalizing cross-border trade documentation more broadly, extending the same authenticated foundation to other trade documents – including certificates, declarations and transport records – over time.
Protect revenue and improve trade transparency with SGS
- Access trusted invoice data earlier
Receive authenticated invoice data before cargo arrival and before customs declarations are finalized, supporting risk assessment and valuation review.
- Improve fraud prevention and detection
Combine authenticated invoice data with configurable, AI-assisted checks to flag suspicious invoices before they reach customs and payment systems.
- Enhance customs revenue collection
Use earlier, authenticated invoice data with preliminary value risk assessment (SGS valuation services) to support accurate valuation, duty and tax assessment, helping boost revenue collection.
- Create one version of the truth
Share a single cleared, structured invoice record with customs, tax authorities and other authorized agencies, eliminating discrepancies across systems.
- Simplify compliance for legitimate trade
Give exporters and importers a clear digital process with assisted data entry and controlled disclosure of commercial data.
Discover our cross-border e-invoicing solution
- Trusted exporter authentication
We verify overseas exporters before they can issue electronic invoices, applying documentary review, remote checks or on-site verification when required.
- Invoice validation and clearance
We validate each e-invoice against defined format and content requirements, then digitally protect it and assign a unique reference upon clearance.
- AI-powered data quality and fraud controls
Configurable, AI-assisted checks trained on verified data support fraud prevention, data quality and classification, while decisions remain rules-based and authorized.
- Secure data transmission and interoperability
Cleared invoice data can be transmitted securely to customs, tax authorities and other authorized stakeholders, complementing existing national systems.
- Data governance and controlled disclosure
Access to invoice data can be configured by stakeholder role and legal mandate, limiting exposure of commercially sensitive information.
- Flexible implementation models
The solution can be configured to national priorities, including transaction scope, validation rules, stakeholder access and hosting preferences.
Why SGS?
As the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, we bring the independence and global presence needed to authenticate exporters wherever they operate, including remote or on-site verification where additional assurance is required.
We apply controlled disclosure throughout, ensuring each authorized stakeholder accesses only the information strictly necessary for its legally mandated role. Combined with our customs, valuation and anti-fraud expertise, this provides a trusted, scalable foundation for cross-border trade digitalization.
FAQs
Domestic e-invoicing mainly captures transactions between taxpayers registered within the same jurisdiction. CBeI focuses on foreign exporters and international transactions, where the importing country may otherwise be unable to authenticate the supplier or confirm that the invoice is original and unaltered.
The commercial invoice is a central document in international trade, supporting customs valuation, import-duty and tax assessment, and foreign exchange controls. Securing it first establishes an authoritative record that can later be linked to other cross-border documents, including certificates, declarations and transport records.
CBeI is designed as an enhancement layer that can complement customs, single window, tax, banking and trade-management systems through structured data exchange. The solution can be configured to each country's legal framework, institutional governance, transaction scope and stakeholder access rights, and implementation can begin with a diagnostic, proof-of-value exercise or pilot before broader rollout.
AI-assisted capabilities trained on trusted and verified datasets support data-quality checks, fraud prevention and detection, and classification support, with outputs reviewed within the rules and governance set by the implementing authority. Where required by the implementation model, blockchain-based integrity mechanisms can further strengthen traceability and protect against unauthorized alteration of cleared invoice records.