How to prepare export documents and commodity codes so parcels clear customs

Commodity code from memory — the parcel stalls

In wholesale fashion B2B, a shipment to a boutique outside the EU needs a commercial invoice with a commodity code, a goods description, a country of origin and a weight on every line. Inside the EU the same code is needed for Intrastat after the statistical thresholds are exceeded. Most brands copy the code from last year's invoice or search for it online; with blended fibres and a different person issuing the invoice, the same style often gets different codes.

• commodity code from last year's invoice or a web search
• blended fibres without a clear tariff line
• different codes for the same style on successive invoices

Invoice and Intrastat need a code per line

CN code — an eight-digit number from the EU list of goods. Customs uses it to identify what is in the parcel and to set the duty rate. Example: a women's woven cotton jacket has the code 6204 32 90 (chapter 62 = apparel that is not knitted or crocheted; 6204 = women's suits, jackets and trousers; 32 = cotton; the first six digits are the HS heading used worldwide, the last two are the EU CN subdivision).

Intrastat — statistics of trade between EU countries; after thresholds set each year by the country are exceeded, shipments inside the EU require a CN code.

Binding Tariff Information (BTI) — a customs decision that binds customs authorities across the EU for three years. The national customs authority issues it free of charge within 120 days.

The brand is responsible for the classification, including when a freight forwarder files the customs declaration.

• Fabric construction sets the tariff chapter: knitted or crocheted garments belong to chapter 61; garments that are not knitted or crocheted belong to 62. Chapter 62 covers mostly woven apparel.
• With blends, the predominant fibre by weight decides: 55% cotton with 45% polyester is a cotton article. Near a fifty-fifty split, a few percentage points decide the tariff chapter, so composition must be calculated, not estimated.
• The description "clothing" does not clear customs. The expected form is "women's woven cotton blouse, 100% cotton".

A wrong code means the parcel is held, duty and VAT are recalculated, and the agency charges for correcting the declaration. The bill goes to the brand or to the boutique, depending on the delivery terms.

A proposed code on the product, documents from the order

We solve inconsistent codes by calculating from data the product already carries: the category, the construction of the main fabric and the predominant fibre from the composition.

• we calculate a code per colourway — two colourways of one style are often made of different fabrics
• the direction (inside the EU / outside it) comes from the buyer's country
• the result stays "Proposed" until a manager confirms it; only a "Confirmed" code reaches the invoice

Go4 also prepares the invoice line description from the same data.

Steps

1. 1On the product, a category from the dictionary is assigned. Without a category the product stays a draft.
2. 2In the BOM, the main fabric is marked — it sets chapter 61 or 62, including when the lining is knitted.
3. 3On the variant, "Net weight" is entered; the weight goes into the invoice line description.
4. 4In Compliance, a colourway is selected. The "Customs CN8" card shows the code, the reasoning ("Reasoning") and the confidence; when data is missing, it names category, construction, composition or weight.
   • Accept the proposal → "Confirm & save" → status "Confirmed", with who confirmed it and when.
   • Do not accept → enter own code with a note on the colourway.
5. 5On the "Customs CN8" card, "Invoice description" is checked — that sentence goes onto the invoice.
6. 6When issuing the invoice from the order, lines with a confirmed code get a "CN" column.

Example: collection 0112_ARD, MERU jacket in two colours.

On your side

• For a reliable calculation, set the category, the main fabric in the BOM, the composition and the net weight on the variant.
• You (the manager) confirm the code before the invoice; Go4 calculates the code and prepares the line description.
• For styles repeated every season, applying for BTI is worth considering — that decision stays with the brand.

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