A Certificate of Inspection (CoI) is a document verifying that goods have been examined and found to be in accordance with the terms of the sales contract or the specific regulations of the importing country. In the world of heavy machinery, where a single unit can cost upwards of $500,000, “trust but verify” is the operating principle. This certificate is the physical proof of that verification.
Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI)
The most common form of CoI is generated from a Pre-Shipment Inspection. Many developing nations (such as those in West Africa or parts of Asia) require a PSI to prevent capital flight and dumping. They want to ensure that the excavator declared as New is actually new, and not a repainted piece of junk, and that the price declared matches the market value.
Governments contract international agencies like SGS, Bureau Veritas, or Intertek to perform these checks.
- Process: You must arrange for the inspector to visit the yard where the machinery is stored before it is crated or loaded.
- Check: They check the VIN, the engine serial number, the hour meter reading, and the general condition.
- Clean report of findings: If everything matches the invoice, they issue the certificate. Without this, the buyer cannot clear customs or transfer the hard currency to pay you.
Commercial Inspections vs. Regulatory Inspections
Not all inspections are government-mandated. In the used equipment market, buyers often hire independent surveyors to protect themselves.
- Commercial CoI: A buyer in Australia buying a dozer from Texas might hire a local mechanic or surveyor to issue a certificate stating the undercarriage has 80% life left. This is a private contract document, not a customs document.
- Regulatory CoI: This is mandatory. For example, exporting used machinery to Australia or New Zealand requires an incredibly strict Biosecurity Inspection. The certificate must state the machine is free of soil, seeds, and animal material. If you arrive without this specific cleanliness certificate, the machine will be ordered into quarantine for expensive cleaning.
Letter of Credit Requirement
If you are getting paid via a Letter of Credit (LC), a Certificate of Inspection is almost always one of the required documents to trigger payment. The bank is not a mechanic; they rely on the piece of paper.
If the LC says “Certificate of Inspection issued by SGS,” and you provide one issued by “John’s Inspection Service,” the bank will refuse to pay. The certificate must match the LC terms exactly.