If you are involved in filing Entry Summary Declarations (ENS) for goods entering the European Union, you may have noticed a tightening of the rules on how goods are described.
As part of the Import Control System 2 (ICS2), the EU applies a stricter validation mechanism known as stop words. They apply in all ICS2 countries and for all filing types, and singular and plural forms count the same.
The EU publishes the official list of stop words in its CIRCABC library, where you can download it:
The list is updated from time to time. The latest version came into force on 3 August 2026; the European Commission announces each update on its ICS2 page.
Goods description stop words
Don't use these words or phrases as a goods description:
- A: Accessories, Adapter, Agricultural products, Aid consignment, Aid products, Alcohol, All kind of Cargo, All kind of Goods, Animals, Apparel, Appliances, Arms, Articles, Artwork, As loaded, As loaded / as received, As ordered, As per attached invoice, As received, Attached manifest, Auto, Auto Parts, Automobiles
- B: Baggage, Bags, Battery, Bazaar goods, Biological Substances, Birthday gifts, Bits, Boards, Boxes
- C: Cables, Caps, Cars, Cartons, Case, Charity, Chemicals, Chemicals flammable, Chemicals hazardous, Chemicals non-hazardous, Cleaning products, Clothes, Clothing, CNSL, Collected items, Comercial (spelled this way in the list), Commodity, Company names, Component, Consol, Consolidated, Consolidated cargo, Consolidated goods, Consolidation, Consumer, Consumption, Courier, Courier bags, Courier goods, Courier material
- D: Dangerous goods, Decorations, Decorative crafts, Decorative items, Didactic articles, Docs, Documentations, Documents, Dox, Drugs, Drums
- E: e-Commerce, Electronic equipment, Electronic goods, Electronic items, Electronics, Ensemble, Equipment, Exhibition goods, Express
- F: Fake, Firearm, Fish, Fluids, Food, Foodstuff, Footwear, Freight All Kinds, Fresh Fruit, Fresh Herbs, Fresh Plants, Fresh Vegetable, From UPU Postal, Fruit, Fruit products, Fruit Pulp, Fuel
- G: Garments, GENCA, General cargo, General goods, General items, General merchandise, Gift box, Gifts, Gizmos, Glass, Goods, Granulate
- H: Handcraft, Handicraft, Handling codes, Hardware for gift, HAWB, Headwear, Herbs, Home goods, Household goods
- I: I.T. goods, Industrial products, Instruments, Invoice, Iron, Iso Tanks, Item
- J: Jewellery, Jewelry, Jewels, Joint shipping
- L: Label, Leather Articles, Likewise, Line, Liquids, Live Animals, Live plants, Load and Count as per shipper, Loaded by shipper
- M: Machine parts, Machinery, Machines, Mail, Materials, Meat, Medical equipment, Medicines, Merc., Merchandise, Metal, Misc, Miscelaneous (spelled this way in the list), Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous products, Mixed, Model
- N: N/A, None, Non-Woven, Not available
- O: Odd parts, Oddments, Oils, Ores, Others
- P: Package numbers, Pads, Pallets, Parcel, Parts, Party accessories, pces, Perishables, Personal address, Personal effects, Pharmaceutical, Pieces, Pipes, Plants, Plastic Goods, Plates, Polyurethane, Powder, Pre-addressed parcel, Printed material, Private things, Produce, Products, Promotional, Propellant, PVC items
- Q: Quilts
- R: Raw material, Returned goods, Rods, Rubber Articles
- S: Said to Contain, Sample, Samples for analysis, Sanitary goods, Scrap, See attached invoice, See invoice, Several, Several goods, Shipper Load and Count, Shippers Load Stow and Count, Shoes, SLAC, SLSC, Snickers, Souvenirs, Spare, Spare parts, SPPT, Sporting Goods, Steel, Stuff, Substance
- T: Tablet accessories, Tablets, Technology, Test, Textile goods, Textiles, Things, Tires, Tools, Toys, Tubing
- U: Uniform, Unknown
- V: Vaccine, Various, Various goods, Various products, Vegan, Vegetables, Vehicles
- W: Waste, Weapons, Wearing apparel, White goods, Wires, Wooden articles
- X: xxx
Words added since the first list
Most of the words above were in the first list, from spring 2025. These were added later:
| From | Words added |
|---|---|
| 1 August 2025 | xxx, Vegan |
| 2 February 2026 | Aid products, Comercial, Consumption, Ensemble, Fake, Headwear, Item, Miscelaneous, Miscellaneous, N/A, Oddments, Promotional |
| 4 May 2026 | As loaded, As received, As loaded / as received, Load and Count as per shipper, Loaded by shipper, Shipper Load and Count, Shippers Load Stow and Count, SLAC, SLSC |
| 3 August 2026 | GENCA, General items |
Name and address stop words
The list also covers the names and addresses of the parties (consignor, consignee and so on).
- Name: 00200, 2checkout, Mister, NA, N/A, Name, Not available, numbers (such as a telephone number), Please select, Private, Private individual, Sir, Sr, To order, Unknown, xxxx
- City: 00200, 2checkout, Mentioned in address segment, NA, N/A, Not available, Please select, Private, Unknown, xxxx
For tips on writing a description that passes, see What Counts as a Valid Goods Description in ICS2?
Questions
What are ICS2 stop words?
Words and phrases that the EU treats as too vague for an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS), such as "Goods", "Parts" or "Various". They apply in all ICS2 countries and for all filing types.
Do ICS2 stop words also apply to plurals?
Yes. The EU's list says singular and plural forms are used interchangeably, so "Part" and "Parts" are treated the same.
