Customs classifies goods to work out duty and check for restrictions — a vague description forces a manual review instead of an automatic pass.
For shipments to or from non-EU countries, Cargosender's Terms and Conditions require a commercial invoice in English with a clear description of the goods, their value and currency, plus a commodity code for each item — that specific requirement is Cargosender's own policy (§4.3 of the published terms). What it's for is a general customs practice, not something specific to Cargosender: customs authorities use the description and code to work out what duty applies and whether the item is restricted at all, and a description that doesn't let them do that gets the parcel pulled for manual review instead of cleared automatically.
That 'be specific, not generic' guidance is consistent across the industry — major carriers' own commercial invoice guidance (UPS and FedEx both publish theirs) and customs-clearance guides give the same core advice: avoid generic category words like 'parts,' 'samples' or 'electronics' in favour of a plain-language description of what the item actually is and what it's made of. 'Gift', 'samples' and 'personal effects' are the descriptions that come up again and again on held parcels, precisely because none of them says what's actually inside.
The specific alternatives below are illustrative examples of the level of detail customs guidance asks for — not fixed wording you must copy exactly.
| Vague description | Why it gets flagged | Specific alternative (illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| Gift | Says nothing about contents, value or category — customs can't classify or duty-assess it. | "Cotton T-shirt, men's, 2 units" |
| Parts | Could be anything from a phone screen to a car component, each with a different HS code and duty rate. | "Replacement smartphone screen assembly, 1 unit" |
| Personal effects | A catch-all with no material, function or value information behind it. | "Used leather jacket, personal item, no commercial value" |
| Samples | Doesn't state what's being sampled or its material — and "no value" samples still need a declared value for customs. | "Fabric swatches, polyester blend, for product development" |
A vague or inaccurate description is treated as misrepresentation under Cargosender's terms, and misrepresentation can carry civil or criminal penalties, including forfeiture and sale of the shipment — not just a corrected form.
Under-declaring the value to reduce duty is the same problem in a different shape: it isn't a discount, it's a false declaration.
The client is responsible for the accuracy of everything on the invoice — Cargosender does not verify or advise on it before the shipment moves.
Not the category it belongs to — the actual thing. "Men's cotton T-shirt", not "clothing".
Especially for textiles, electronics and anything where duty rates differ by material.
One line per distinct item with its own count, not a bundled total.
Match each item to a commodity code — the HS code guides group common categories to make this faster.
The commercial invoice and the customs description need to agree with each other and with what's actually inside.
No — even for genuine gifts, customs needs to know what the item actually is, its material, its value and its HS code. "Gift" describes the occasion, not the contents, and it's one of the most commonly held descriptions.
Cargosender's terms require a commercial invoice with a commodity code specifically for shipments to or from non-EU countries. Intra-EU shipments don't go through the same customs declaration process.
The commercial invoice for non-EU shipments is required to be in English, so the description should be too.
An accurate description reduces the chance of a hold but doesn't eliminate manual checks entirely — customs can still select a parcel for inspection for other reasons. See the guide on tracking statuses for what a customs hold status means and what to do about it.
Look up the right commodity code before you fill in the customs description.
Browse HS Codes →