Configuring Product Codes

The service uses the value that you specify in the product_cn_code field to generate the reduced tax rates. If you do not specify a value here, the standard tax rate is applied.

The codes are based on HS and CN codes. If you do not know these codes, you can use the Product Classification tool to do so. HS and CN codes are standard codes that are used to identify item classifications in the EU.

Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) codes are an international standard used by over 200 countries. HS codes use 6 digits to represent goods.

Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes are used by the European Union. CN codes use 8 digits. The first 6 are the same as the HS code and the final 2 are unique to the CN code.

You add these codes to your requests. Where the tax rate is reduced, for example for maps, the system uses this code to identify this and apply the correct reduced rate.

The product code can be up to 16 characters long. It must start and end with a digit. You can include spaces and periods between these digits. If the code specified does not match this format, it will be rejected.

If the product code is not supported, the default, standard tax rate is applied.

Here is an example of how to use the product_cn_code field in a request:

{
"transaction": {
    "currency_code": "EUR",
    "buyer_name": "Eric Papin",
    "ship_to_address": {
      "address_detail": "Chateuax 12",
      "building_number": "55",
      "street_name": "Rue du Saint-Germain",
      "city": "Paris",
      "postal_code": "75008 ",
      "country_code": "FR"
    },
    "transaction_lines": [
      {
        "product_class": "P",
        "quantity": 1,
        "description": "Smoked herrings",
        "amount": "49.95",
        "custom_id": "51315A00-DC44-408E-A575-8CE42A32AE1B",
        "import_address":{
            "country_code": "FR"
        },
        "ship_from_address": {
            "building_number": "12",
            "street_name": "Wessex End Street",
            "city": "London",
          "postal_code": "SW1A 2AA",
          "country_code": "GB"
        },
        "product_cn_code": "0305420000"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Generating Product Codes

If you do not know the product codes for your good, you can use an online tool or database to look one up.

The codes required for reduced rates are listed in the first table below.

If you are shipping to Germany, you may want to add the extra digit that is used by German customs authorities for data processing. These codes are listed in the second table.

For example, you can use the tool at the following link to generate codes for the UK: https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/find_commodity

Codes for UK

The following table lists the product codes that you can use to generate a reduced rate for goods sent from the UK:

Codes for Germany

German authorities require an extra digit that is used for data classification. As a result, if you want to sell goods to customers in Germany, you need to add an extra digit. The following table lists the codes for Germany.

You can search for these codes here. This page is in German but you can translate using your web browser's translation service if available.