Same product, different code
Your finance person is reviewing import entries and notices that one of your main products was declared under one commodity code in March and a different one in June. Different brokers handled the two shipments. Each worked from the description on the commercial invoice, which the supplier had also changed slightly. Nobody on your side noticed at the time.
When you ask which code is right, the answer is buried in old emails, and the person who discussed it with the broker two years ago has left.
Why codes drift between shipments
Commodity codes are chosen when an entry is prepared, often by whoever is preparing it, based on the description in front of them. If your business does not keep its own record of the code agreed for each product, each shipment is a fresh decision. Supplier descriptions change, brokers change, and the reasoning behind earlier decisions is lost.
- No field for the confirmed code on the product record.
- Supplier invoice descriptions vary between shipments.
- More than one broker used over time.
- Reasoning behind a code lives in an email thread.
- Nobody compares declared codes with the agreed one.
Choosing the correct code is a matter for your broker or customs adviser, not for us and not for software. What we help with is keeping their decisions recorded and used consistently.
What inconsistency costs
Inconsistent declarations can lead to questions from the authorities, corrections, and time spent reconstructing why a code was used. Landed costs vary between shipments for no commercial reason, which confuses pricing. And every new broker or new staff member has to start again.
It also makes it harder to plan. If you are pricing a new product or comparing two factories, you need a reliable idea of the duty that will apply, and that depends on the code your adviser has confirmed. When codes wander from shipment to shipment, the numbers you plan with are not the numbers you end up paying.
The product classification record we build
- Each product gets a classification record: the commodity code confirmed by your broker or adviser, the date, who confirmed it, and the description and notes they relied on.
- Supporting material, such as specifications, photos and the confirming email, is attached to the record.
- When a new product is set up, it is flagged as needing a confirmed code before its first shipment, with a request that can be sent to your broker with the product details.
- The product description you send to suppliers for their commercial invoices is held on the record, so documents describe the product the same way each time.
- Import entries received from your broker are read and compared with the record. Any line declared under a different code is flagged for your team to raise with the broker.
- Changes to a confirmed code are logged with the reason and who approved them.
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the code lives | Old entries and emails | Product record |
| Reasoning | Lost when people leave | Attached to the record |
| New products | Coded at first shipment | Confirmed before shipping |
| Differences | Found by chance | Flagged on each entry |
What your imports team has afterwards
Each product has one agreed code, with the reasoning attached. Brokers receive consistent descriptions and the code you have on record. Differences are spotted when entries come back, not months later. And when you change broker or someone new joins, the knowledge is in the system rather than in someone's head.
Is this a gap for you?
- You have found the same product declared under different codes.
- You do not hold a confirmed code on each product record.
- Supplier invoice descriptions vary from shipment to shipment.
- The reasoning behind past codes is hard to find.
- Nobody checks declared codes against an agreed list.