EU Customs
Guidelines on acceptable and unacceptable terms for the description of goods for exit and entry summary declarations.
- 1. INTRODUCTION
- Annex 30A, as included in the implementing provisions of the Customs code by Regulation
1875/061 provides that goods description for summary declarations is "a plain language
description that is precise enough for Customs services to be able to identify the goods.
General terms (i.e. “consolidated”, “general cargo” or “parts”) cannot be accepted. A list of
such general terms will be published by the Commission. It is not necessary to provide this
information where the Commodity code is provided." The object of these guidelines is to
meet the legal requirement to publish such a list.
This legal requirement stems from the need for customs administrations to be able to base their risk-analysis on adequate descriptions of goods where a commodity code is not provided by the person that lodges the summary declaration. In those cases, too vague a description would not provide Customs administrations with the means to identify consignments which might represent risks for the Community and its citizens; this might lead to unnecessary and costly hiccups in the supply chain; such as physical examinations of the goods concerned, in order to ascertain their real nature.
The list of generic, unacceptable terms and the suggested alternatives that would be acceptable by customs, hereafter referred to as "the list", is contained in the Annex to these guidelines.
- 2. PRINCIPLES
- The list is not of an exhaustive nature, and aims at providing examples of
unacceptable and acceptable wordings that are meant as a guidance.
The list is by nature dynamic; Everyday practice will show that new unacceptable terms will be identified and will need therefore to be added to the list as time goes by. This dynamic aspect of the list will require a certain level of maintenance by the Commission in coordination with Member States.
Initially, it is suggested to have a standing point in each SAD committee meeting to discuss this matter. Experience will show whether those discussions can be more interspersed in the future. In early days, quicker updates might be considered on an exceptional basis and agreed upon by way of a committee written procedure.
By virtue of the multilingual nature of the EU, the list covers all official Community languages and is therefore translated in all those languages.
- 3. PUBLICATION
Given its dynamic nature, and the importance to provide quick updates, the list needs to be published on the internet, in any respect on TAXUD website, for the benefit of all potential interested parties.
List of examples of acceptable and unacceptable descriptions of goods
| Unacceptable | Acceptable |
| Agricultural products | Oranges, Fish, Rice, Bread |
| Aid consignments | Blankets, Medications |
| Animals | Horse, Poultry, Bovine |
| Appare | Men’s Shirts, Lingerie, Girls’ Vests, Boys’, Jackets |
| Appliances | Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave Oven, Coffee Machines |
| Auto Parts | Automobile Brakes, Windshield Glass for Automobiles |
| Caps | Plastic Caps |
| Chemicals, hazardous | Actual Chemical Name (not brand name) |
| Chemicals, non-hazardous | Actual Chemical Name (not brand name) |
| Cleaning products | Alcohol, Detergents |
| Consolidated | (See other specific examples in the table) |
| Didactic articles | Pencils, Smart boards, Books |
| Electronics | Computers, televisions, CD Players, Walkmans, Tape Recorders, Mobile phones, Monitors, Printers |
| Equipment | Oil Well Equipment, Poultry Equipment |
| FAK Freight All Kinds | (See other specific examples in the table) |
| Foodstuffs | Beverages, (See other examples for "Agricultural products") |
| General Cargo | (See other specific examples in the table) |
| Gifts | Dolls, Remote Control Cars |
| Household good | Plates, Dishes, Tableware (See also examples for "appliances") |
| Industrial products | (See examples for "Electronics") |
| Iron and Steel | Iron Pipes, Steel Pipes, Iron Building Material, Steel Building Material |
| I.T. good | (See examples for "Electronics") |
| Leather Articles | Saddles, Leather Handbags, Leather Jackets |
| Machine parts | Pumps, Seals, Engines |
| Machinery | Metal Working Machinery, Cigarette Making Machinery, Sewing Machines, Printing Machines |
| Machines | (See examples for "Machinery") |
| Oil | Mineral oil, Plant oil |
| Ore | Iron ore, Copper ore |
| Parts | (See examples for "Machine parts") |
| Personal effect | (See other specific examples in the table) |
| Pipes | Plastic Pipes, Steel Pipes, Copper Pipes |
| Plants | Tulip |
| Plastic Goods | Plastic Kitchenware, Plastic House ware |
| Polyurethan | Polyurethane Threads, Polyurethane Medical Gloves |
| Propellant | (See examples for "chemicals") |
| Rubber Articles | Rubber Hoses, Rubber Conveyor Belts |
| Rod | Welding Rod, Fuel rod, Copper rod |
| Said to Contai | (See other specific examples in the table) |
| Sanitary good | Towels, Buckets, Detergents, Tooth brushes |
| Scrap | Plastic Scrap, Foam Scrap, Iron Scrap |
| Spare part | (See examples for "Machine parts") |
| Textiles | Linen fabric, T-shirts, (See also examples for "Apparel") |
| Tools | Hand tools, Electric tools |
| Toys | (See examples for "gifts") |
| Various products | (See other specific examples in the table) |
| Vehicles | Boats, Cars, Bicycles |
| Weapons | Daggers, Machine guns |
| Wires | Iron and Steel Wire, Copper Wires |
| Wooden article | Wooden furniture, Wooden kitchen utensils |