Words such as ‘parts’, ‘samples’ or ‘accessories’ may be too vague for EU pre-arrival customs data.
“Parts” is not a useful description if customs needs to understand what is inside the shipment.
The same applies to broad terms such as “samples”, “accessories” or “goods”.
On 3 August 2026, the European Union updated the list of vague words flagged within ICS2, its pre-arrival safety and security system.
For businesses moving parcels and e-commerce goods into or through the EU, this is a useful reminder: customs data quality starts long before the carrier sends a declaration.
What is ICS2?
ICS2 is the EU system used to collect safety and security information about goods before they arrive.
Carriers and other operators submit an Entry Summary Declaration using information supplied through the shipping chain.
If the product description is too broad, customs may not have enough information to assess the goods properly.
That can lead to requests for more information or delays while the data is corrected.
The problem often starts in the product file
A seller may create a product title for a website, not for customs.
A marketplace may shorten it.
A fulfilment centre may export that same wording into a shipping file.
The carrier may then use the supplied description in the customs data.
The weak description has now moved through several systems before anyone asks whether it actually identifies the goods.
At parcel scale, fixing each shipment manually is not a workable answer.
Run a 20-SKU check
Before Q4, take the 20 products you expect to ship most often into the EU.
For each one, ask:
- Does the description tell someone what the item actually is?
- Is it more specific than a broad category?
- Is the same description used by the seller, warehouse and carrier?
- Are important product details lost when information moves between systems?
- Can the same data be used consistently when volume increases?
If the answer is no, correct the product data at source.
Why this matters at peak
Peak does not just increase parcel numbers. It multiplies data mistakes.
One vague description may be manageable. The same description repeated across thousands of parcels becomes an operational problem.
Clear product data also supports other customs tasks, including tariff classification, landed-cost checks and exception handling.
NG Terminal supports businesses moving goods across UK, EU and China routes from our Heathrow operation.
Our advice for August is simple: do not wait for a customs query to tell you the product description is weak.
Check your highest-volume EU SKUs now and fix the wording before peak.
