{"id":102219,"date":"2026-09-21T15:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T20:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/?p=102219"},"modified":"2026-10-22T14:19:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:19:06","slug":"eu-customs-deadline-product-identifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/en-ca\/blog\/eu-customs-deadline-product-identifiers\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU’s Next Customs Deadline: What Sellers Need to Know About Product Identifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You spent the summer getting your head around the EU’s new \u20ac3 customs duty<\/a>. Now two more changes land on November 1: a product identifier requirement and a new \u20ac2 handling fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting November 1, B2C shipments to the EU valued up to \u20ac150 must include two of three product identifiers for each item. A new \u20ac2 handling fee also applies to every B2C parcel, whatever its value. Miss one, and customs can hold, delay, or reject the shipment. Here’s what’s required, what the fee costs, why product catalogs are the most common point of failure, and how to get ahead of the EU customs product identifier (PID) requirements before they become mandatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the EU customs PID requirements mean for your shipments <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On July 1, the EU ended its de minimis threshold and introduced a flat \u20ac3 duty on low-value B2C shipments. That change was about money. This one is about data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From November 1, EU customs requires PIDs on every item in a business-to-consumer (B2C) shipment valued up to \u20ac150 headed into the EU. If a consumer is the end recipient, the products inside need to be individually identifiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parcels over \u20ac150 don\u2019t need PIDs. They aren\u2019t off the hook, though: the new handling fee applies at any value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three PIDs you’ll need<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Customs is asking for two of three separate pieces of product data, and each one does a different job:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M-PID (Merchant Product ID).<\/strong> Your own internal identifier, typically a SKU. You already have this for most of your catalog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NS-PID (Non-Standardized Manufacturer Product ID).<\/strong> The manufacturer’s own product identifier, model or part number when a standardized product ID is not available. If you don’t  have one on file, this is the identifier most sellers are missing, and it means a call to your supplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S-PID (Standardized Product ID).<\/strong> A globally recognized manufacturer product identifier such as: GTIN, EAN, UPC, or ISBN. This is required only where it exists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, these three numbers tell customs authorities exactly what’s moving through the border, down to the specific product, not just the product category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why PID requirements trip up most catalogs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most product catalogs weren’t built with this level of detail in mind, and that’s where the EU customs PID requirements get harder than they sound on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The identifiers have to live at the variant level. A t-shirt in three colors and four sizes is 12 distinct products to customs, and each one needs its own set of PIDs. A single identifier applied to the whole style, or a batch or lot code applied at the warehouse level, won’t clear. Customs is explicit on this point: batch-level and lot-level identifiers get rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For sellers with large or fast-moving catalogs, that’s a real audit, not a quick form fill. And the manufacturer piece, the NS-PID, often means reaching out to suppliers who haven’t been asked for this information before. That conversation takes longer than the rest of the setup combined, so it’s worth starting now rather than in late October. If you are the makerof the sold goods, your internal product identifier or model number would be provided in this required field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can test now, and you should<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to wait for November 1 to find out if your setup works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PIDs have been acceptable on a voluntary basis since July 1, with no penalty for shipping without them before the deadline. That means you can enter and test your product data today, catch gaps in your catalog, and fix them before there’s anything riding on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you ship into the EU regularly, this is the window to use. Export your product catalog, fill in the missing PID fields, and run a handful of real shipments through the process before the requirement is enforced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new \u20ac2 EU handling fee<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From November 1, the EU is expected to introduce a \u20ac2 handling fee on goods sold online to consumers and shipped into the EU. It covers the cost of customs processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which shipments are affected.<\/strong> Every B2C online sale shipped into the EU from outside it, regardless of value, including parcels over \u20ac150. B2B shipments aren\u2019t affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the charges are calculated.<\/strong> Both the \u20ac2 handling fee and the \u20ac3 duty are calculated per line of the customs declaration, not per parcel and not per unit. A line groups goods that share the same tariff classification (HS code), description, and, where declared, country of origin. Whether a line holds one unit or 10, the charge applies once. Every different product on the declaration is its own line and is charged separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accurate HS codes, product descriptions, and country of origin (manufacturer) on each item in your customs information help keep your costs predictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shipments valued up to \u20ac150: \u20ac3 duty plus \u20ac2 fee per declaration line<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n