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Product identifiers (PID) for EU import

The EU has introduced a requirement to provide product identifiers for goods imported into the EU.

Product identifiers are declared per good, as dynamic attributes in an attributes array on the relevant object in customs.goods. Three identifiers are supported:

  • m_pid (Merchant Product ID) — the identifier assigned by the online seller, marketplace or platform. Always required by the EU.
  • ns_pid (Non-Standard Manufacturer Product ID) — a non-standardised identifier assigned by the manufacturer. Always required by the EU.
  • s_pid (Standard Manufacturer Product ID) — a standardised identifier assigned by the manufacturer, such as an EAN or ISBN. Only required where one exists for the good.
{
  ...
  "customs": {
    "currency_code": "DKK",
    "goods": [
      {
        "quantity": 2,
        "country_code": "GB",
        "content": "T-shirt",
        "commodity_code": "61091000",
        "unit_value": 30.10,
        "unit_weight": 1000,
        "attributes": [
          { "name": "m_pid", "value": "5901234567890" },
          { "name": "ns_pid", "value": "ALC-LYON-452" },
          { "name": "s_pid", "value": "5901234567890" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Carrier support​

Product identifiers are currently accepted for:

DHL Express: m_pid, ns_pid, s_pid
UPS: m_pid, ns_pid, s_pid
FedEx: m_pid, m_pid_type, ns_pid, s_pid
Unspecified carrier (unspecified): m_pid, ns_pid, s_pid

For DHL Express, UPS and FedEx the identifiers are passed on to the carrier. For the unspecified carrier they are printed on the customs invoice Shipmondo generates instead.

FedEx​

m_pid_type describes which kind of identifier m_pid is, and must be one of SKU, GTIN, UPC, EAN, MPN, REGISTERED_NUMBER, OTHER. m_pid and m_pid_type are codependent — if one is given, the other is required.

Providing product identifiers to FedEx for EU import also requires a receiver email.

UPS​

Product identifiers on UPS require the shipment to use the B2C service, and are mutually exclusive with return shipments.

info

Product identifiers apply to shipments sent from outside the EU into the EU. The fields are optional in the API.