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Customs codes (HS codes) for your online shop

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If you sell goods to, or buy goods from, outside the EU, every single product needs a customs code. The code determines how much customs duty has to be paid, and it has to be included in the customs declaration and on the customs documents every time the parcel crosses the border.

This page explains what a customs code is, what’s new in 2026, and how to find and maintain the codes with tariffs.help (opens in a new tab) – both for individual products and for your whole catalogue.

You can import your products directly from your Golden Planet online shop, and you can pass the approved codes on to Shipmondo, for example, so they are used for shipping and customs clearance.

What is a customs code?

A customs code tells the customs authorities what your product is.

The code is also called a commodity code, an HS code or a tariff code. It’s the same number – the difference lies in how many digits are included:

  • The first 6 digits are the HS code. It is international and used in more than 200 countries.
  • Digits 7–8 come from the EU’s Combined Nomenclature (CN). 8 digits is what you use when you export out of the EU.
  • Digits 9–10 come from TARIC. 10 digits is what you use when you import into the EU.

Example:

The code 5704 90 00 covers floor coverings of felt, not tufted. The first six digits (5704 90) are the same all over the world. The last digits are the EU’s more precise breakdown.

Note: The code is determined by what the product is made of, how it is made and what it is used for. Not by what the product is called in your online shop. Two blouses that look the same in the shop can have different codes if one is 100% wool and the other is a linen blend.

You can read the Danish Customs Agency’s (Toldstyrelsen’s) overview here: About commodity codes (toldst.dk) (opens in a new tab) (in Danish). The reference work itself is the Danish customs tariff (Toldtariffen) (opens in a new tab).

Before you start

Before you can find the right code, you need to know your product. The Danish Customs Agency recommends asking yourself these four questions:

  1. What kind of product is it?
  2. What is the product made of?
  3. What form is the product in? For example, is it assembled, unassembled or packed together with other products?
  4. What is the product used for, and how does it work?

The answers are usually already in your online shop: in the product description, the material details and the barcode. The better your product texts, the easier the rest of the work.

Note: The products that lack material details and a description are also the ones that cause work later. This is usually where you need to ask your supplier.

What’s new in 2026

Two things have happened that you need to be aware of:

1 January 2026: new commodity codes

The EU updates the commodity nomenclature every 1 January. Codes are dropped, split up or given new numbers. If your system uses a code that no longer exists, the declaration is rejected and the goods can be held at customs.

Read more from BDO about the new commodity codes from 1 January 2026 (opens in a new tab) (in Danish).

1 July 2026: the €150 de minimis threshold is gone

Previously, shipments to the EU under €150 were exempt from customs duty. That exemption no longer exists. Instead, as a rule, €3 is paid per item, and an item is defined by its commodity code.

Example:

A parcel with a blouse and a pair of trousers contains two items, because they each have their own commodity code. That makes €6 in customs duty. If the customer buys three identical blouses, it is still only one item, and so €3.

On top of that comes a handling fee on goods imported into the EU. It takes effect by 1 November 2026 at the latest.

Read more from the Danish Customs Agency (opens in a new tab) (in Danish) and the European Commission (opens in a new tab).

Note: The number of different commodity codes in an order now affects the price directly. So it’s no longer enough for the codes to exist – they also have to be correct and up to date.

What happens if the code is wrong?

A wrong code is rarely discovered straight away. It turns up later:

  • You can be charged the customs duty that should have been paid, retrospectively.
  • Repeated errors lead to stricter checks on your declarations.
  • Parcels are delayed or held at customs.
  • You may end up paying duty you didn’t need to pay. The EU’s trade agreements give lower duty on many goods, but only if the code and origin are in order.

If you’re unsure about an important or complicated product, you can apply for Binding Tariff Information (BTI) from the Danish Customs Agency. A BTI is an official decision on the product’s code, and it is binding for three years.

See Apply for Binding Tariff Information (toldst.dk) (opens in a new tab) (in Danish).

Note: A BTI is good for the few difficult products. For the rest of your range it’s too heavy a process – there you need a tool that can handle many products at a time.

How to find the code with tariffs.help

tariffs.help (opens in a new tab) is a customs classification service. It is developed and run by Golden Planet ApS – that is, us. The service also exists in Danish as toldkoder.dk (opens in a new tab).

You get a suggested customs code with a justification, instead of having to read through the customs tariff yourself. The system suggests, and you decide.

There are two free tools, and you don’t need to create an account to use them:

  1. Customs code checker (opens in a new tab) – from product to code.

    Paste a product link or describe the product. You get a suggested code and a short explanation in plain English. Use it when you don’t know which code fits.

  2. Customs code lookup (opens in a new tab) – from code to explanation.

Search for a full or partial code, and see the full description and the codes below it. Use it when you have a code you want to check.

You’ll find both tools under Free tools at tariffs.help/tools (opens in a new tab).

How to classify your whole catalogue

If you create an account, you can take your whole range in one go instead of one product at a time. The workflow is the same all the way through: import, classify, ask, approve and export.

  1. Get your products in

    The products are fetched from your online shop, ERP system or a spreadsheet. The codes you already have are validated first, so you don’t do the same work twice.

  2. The system classifies

    Title, description, material, construction and specifications are read together. If the text isn’t enough, documentation is fetched via the barcode, images and product pages. The justification is saved with the code.

  3. The variants follow

    When you approve one product, the code is applied to the identical sizes and colours. If there is a real difference in material, e.g. a linen blend in one variant, it is held back for review instead of inheriting the code.

  4. Ask the supplier

    The last doubt becomes one specific question that your team or your supplier can answer. The supplier answers via a link and doesn’t need to create an account. The answer lands directly on the product.

  5. Approve

    You see the code, the confidence and the justification together, and approve. Everything can be corrected or undone.

  6. Pass the codes on

The approved codes can be sent back to your online shop or ERP system, fetched via the API or exported as CSV.

After that, monitoring keeps an eye on changes to the codes you use and flags the products affected. That is exactly what the annual update on 1 January requires.

Note: The codes are suggestions, not the final answer. You approve each code and are yourself responsible for what you declare.

Import your products from your Golden Planet online shop

tariffs.help supports importing product data from the Golden Planet e-commerce platform. So you don’t have to build and maintain an export file yourself to get started.

The data from your shop – titles, descriptions, model/product numbers, barcodes, variants and images – is exactly the material a classification starts with.

The advantages of using your shop’s own data:

  • You only maintain your products in one place: your online shop.
  • Colours and sizes are classified together instead of one by one.
  • New products can go through the same workflow as the rest when your range grows.
  • The approved codes can be put back on the products, so they are ready for the systems that send the parcels on their way.

Note: The classification is only as good as your product data. If you have products without material details, those are the ones that end up as questions for you or your supplier.

Pass the codes on to Shipmondo

A customs code is only useful once it is in the right place in the shipment. That’s why there is an integration with Shipmondo, so the approved codes end up in the platform where you book your shipping.

In Shipmondo, the customs code is used on the item lines when you create a shipment that is subject to customs. Together with the product description in English, the country of origin and the value, the customs documents are filled in automatically: commercial invoice, pro forma invoice and CN22 or CN23, depending on what the carrier requires.

The chain looks like this:

  • Your Golden Planet online shop – product data and variants
  • tariffs.help – classification, documentation and your approval
  • Shipmondo – shipping, customs documents and dispatch

You no longer have to type in the same details again for each shipment, the codes are consistent across orders, and fewer parcels are held at customs because of missing information.

Shipmondo’s own guides (in Danish): Automatic completion of customs documents (opens in a new tab) and A good product description for customs (opens in a new tab).

Get started

Start with one product, and do the rest afterwards:

  1. Try the customs code checker (opens in a new tab) with a product link from your own shop. No account needed.
  2. Look up a code in the code lookup (opens in a new tab) if you’re unsure about a code you already use.
  3. Create a free account. You get 100 classifications as a one-off allowance and 14 days with the full product. No payment card needed.
  4. After the 14 days, the account automatically continues on the free plan. No money is taken, and the classifications you haven’t used wait for later.
  5. Choose a plan once you know what you need. The paid plans classify using barcodes, images and web research, and they give you synchronisation with your shop or ERP system, API access and full monitoring of customs changes. See the current prices (opens in a new tab).

If you have questions about how your Golden Planet online shop works with tariffs.help and Shipmondo, get in touch with us.

Read more

Official sources and guides: