Use cases

Fix vague goods descriptions before the customs filing

Prismlet reads each goods line against the EU standard that a description must be precise enough for customs to identify the goods, before the entry summary declaration is filed. Filers get the reason to send back to the shipper, and goods that are often dangerous in transport are flagged for your dangerous goods desk to check.

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Today

  • A stop-word list catches an exact match, such as "general cargo" or "accessories", and misses a workaround like "various household items" or "see invoice 22817".
  • A held line goes back to the shipper by hand, one message at a time, often to an origin agent writing in abbreviated or imperfect English.
  • A description that slips past the list can still fall short of the standard, and the filing goes in with it.
  • Goods that are often dangerous in transport, such as batteries packed inside a device, hide easily behind a term like "spare parts" or "garden equipment".

What changes

  • Every goods line is checked against the customs description standard, not only the ones that trip a listed term.
  • Each line that falls short gets a reason a filer can act on: too vague, resting on a listed term, not a description at all, or covering more than one kind of goods, with the change the shipper needs to make.
  • When the invoice line says more than the description, that goes to the filer as a place to find a better description before chasing the shipper.
  • A line that mentions goods that are often dangerous in transport is flagged for the dangerous goods desk to check, alongside the customs read. Nothing here clears a line for loading.
  • Each answer carries how sure it is, so a filer knows which lines to look at first.

Try it on this example

Example · House air waybill goods line, with the shipper invoice line

Goods description: GARDEN MACHINERY

Commercial invoice line

CORDLESS HEDGE TRIMMER 20V C/W 2 X LI-ION BATTERY PACK 2.0AH, MODEL HT-2040, 120 PCS, USD 38.50/PC
  1. How does the goods description measure against the ICS2 description standard?Rests on a listed term68%
  2. Could a customs officer tell from the description alone what physical goods are shipped?No78%
  3. What must the shipper add or change to make the goods description acceptable?Name the item type83%
  4. Does the goods description state the item type or its material?No89%
  5. Does the goods description cover more than one kind of goods?No66%
  6. How does the commercial invoice line compare with the goods description?Adds detail99%
  7. Do the description or invoice line mention goods that are often dangerous in transport?Yes96%
  8. Which dangerous goods hazard do the description and invoice line most suggest?Lithium batteries100%
  9. Is the goods description complete and readable enough to judge?Yes91%

These are real answers stored from one run on this example.

Test it on your own data

The quickest way to decide is a file run on your own records. A file run in the app answers up to 10,000 rows and gives you the file back with the answers added.

What to send
A CSV or TSV file with column names in the first row, or a JSON array of objects, one item per row. You pick the column for each thing the prism reads: Goods description; Commercial invoice line. A row's fields together take up to about 100,000 characters.
What comes back
The same rows with the prism's columns added: acceptability, acceptability_probability, identifies_goods, identifies_goods_probability, fix_needed, fix_needed_probability, states_type_or_material, states_type_or_material_probability, several_goods, several_goods_probability, invoice_line_fit, invoice_line_fit_probability, possible_dangerous_goods, possible_dangerous_goods_probability, likely_hazard, likely_hazard_probability, text_judgeable, text_judgeable_probability. Each answer says how sure it is, so the unsure rows are easy to find and give to a person.
Against your team's answers
Add columns with the answers your team gave, and the app reports how often Prismlet agreed, question by question and at each cutoff, split by a column such as language or site, with every miss listed. Your team's answers stay in your browser.

How it reaches your team

Works today

  • Call the API from your own system before each goods line is filed
  • Run a file of up to 10,000 goods lines in the app, one line per row, up to about 100,000 characters a row

Built with you

  • We work with you to send each goods line from your transport management system or EDI middleware as the filing is assembled
  • We work with you to put each held line, its reason and the invoice comparison into the filing worklist your team already works from
  • We work with you to route flagged lines to your dangerous goods desk with the likely hazard shown

The prism behind it

Catch vague goods descriptions before the ICS2 filing9 questions

Fields

  • Goods description
  • Commercial invoice line

Context

We file entry summary declarations (ENS) into the EU's Import Control System 2 (ICS2) for air and ocean shipments. Each goods line is checked here before it is filed. The description comes from the shipper or the origin agent, often in abbreviated or imperfect English. The commercial invoice line, when there is one, comes from the shipper's invoice and may be empty. The legal standard (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, Annex B, data element 18 05 000 000 Description of goods): "It is a plain language description that is precise enough for Customs services to be able to identify the goods. General terms (i.e. 'consolidated', 'general cargo', 'parts' or 'freight of all kinds') or not sufficiently precise description cannot be accepted. A non-exhaustive list of such general terms and descriptions is published by the Commission." The Commission's list of stop words for the goods description, in force from 3 August 2026. Singular and plural forms count alike. The list is not exhaustive. - Stop words and phrases: xxx, Aid products, As loaded, As received, As loaded / as received, Comercial, Consumption, Ensemble, Fake, GENCA, General items, Headwear, Item, Load and Count as per shipper, Loaded by shipper, Miscelaneous, Miscellaneous, Not available, N/A, Oddments, Promotional, Shipper Load and Count, Shippers Load Stow and Count, SLAC, SLSC, Unknown, Vegan, Accessories. - Examples of unacceptable descriptions: Adapter, Agricultural products, Aid consignment, Alcohol, All kind of Cargo, All kind of Goods, Animals, Apparel, Appliances, Arms, Articles, Artwork, As ordered, As per attached invoice, Attached manifest, Auto, Auto Parts, Automobiles, HAWB, Baggage, Bags, Battery, Bazaar goods, Biological Substances, Birthday gifts, Bits, Boards, Boxes, Cables, Cars, Case, Caps, Cartons, Charity, Chemicals, Chemicals flammable, Chemicals hazardous, Chemicals non-hazardous, Cleaning products, Clothes, Clothing, Collected items, Commodity, Company names, Component, Consol, CNSL, Consolidated cargo, Consolidated goods, Consolidated, Consolidation, Consumer, Courier, Courier bags, Courier goods, Courier material, Dangerous goods, Decorative crafts, Decorative items, Decorations, Didactic articles, Documents, Documentations, Docs, Dox, Drugs, Drums, e-Commerce, Electronic equipment, Electronic goods, Electronic items, Electronics, Equipment, Exhibition goods, Express, Firearm, Fish, Food, Foodstuff, Footwear, Freight All Kinds, Fresh Fruit, Fresh Herbs, Fresh Plants, Fresh Vegetable, From UPU Postal, Fruit, Fruit products, Fruit Pulp, Fuel, Garments, General cargo, General goods, General merchandise, Gift box, Gifts, Gizmos, Glass, Goods, Granulate, Handcraft, Handicraft, Handling codes, Hardware for gift, Herbs, Home goods, Household goods, Invoice, I.T. goods, Industrial products, Instruments, Iron, Steel, Iso Tanks, Jewellery, Jewelry, Jewels, Joint shipping, Label, Leather Articles, Line, Likewise, Liquids, Fluids, Live Animals, Live plants, Machine parts, Machinery, Machines, Mail, Materials, Meat, Medical equipment, Medicines, Merchandise, Merc., Metal, Miscellaneous products, Misc, Mixed, Model, None, Non-Woven, Odd parts, Oils, Ores, Others, Pads, Package numbers, Pallets, Parcel, Party accessories, Parts, Perishables, Personal address, Personal effects, Pharmaceutical, Pieces, pces, Pipes, Plants, Plastic Goods, Plates, Polyurethane, Powder, Pre-addressed parcel, Printed material, Private things, Produce, Products, Propellant, PVC items, Quilts, Raw material, Returned goods, Rods, Rubber Articles, Said to Contain, Sample, Samples for analysis, Sanitary goods, Scrap, See invoice, See attached invoice, Several, Several goods, Shoes, Snickers, Souvenirs, Spare, Spare parts, SPPT, Sporting Goods, Stuff, Substance, Tablet accessories, Tablets, Technology, Test, Textile goods, Textiles, Things, Tires, Tools, Toys, Tubing, Uniform, Vaccine, Various, Various goods, Various products, Vegetables, Vehicles, Waste, Weapons, Wearing apparel, White goods, Wires, Wooden articles. How we apply it. A good description names what the physical goods are: normally the item type plus its material, or plus its use where the item type alone is unclear. It answers "what is in the package", not how it was packed or loaded. Our code checks every line against the list word for word. A description that contains a listed word but still names the goods precisely, such as "brake pads for passenger cars" or "lithium-ion battery cells for mobile phones", is judged on whether it identifies the goods. Good: "printed cotton T-shirts"; "polypropylene injection moulding pellets"; "lithium-ion battery cells for mobile phones"; "stainless steel kitchen knives". Bad: "clothing"; "plastic goods"; "auto parts"; "see invoice 22817"; "3 pallets STC"; "gift for friend"; "general items". Dangerous goods. Some goods are often dangerous in transport and are sometimes described in ways that hide it: lithium batteries on their own or inside devices, perfume, cosmetics and aerosols, paint and solvents, fuel and oils, vehicle parts with airbags or fuel systems, camping gas, dry ice, strong magnets, fireworks and flares, pesticides, and chemicals called "samples". A trained dangerous goods specialist checks every flagged line. Nothing here clears a line as safe.

Questions

  1. How does the goods description measure against the ICS2 description standard? Choice

    Judge the description field alone against the standard and the term list in the context. The invoice line does not make a vague description acceptable; it is judged by its own question. Poor spelling, capitals and abbreviations are fine if the goods can be made out.

    • Acceptable Names the physical goods with enough detail for a customs officer to tell what they are, such as item type plus material or use.
    • Too vague Names a broad class of goods not on the list, such as "kitchenware" or "bathroom fittings", without the item type.
    • Rests on a listed term The goods are described mainly by a term on the list, alone or with a broad qualifier that still does not name the item, such as "auto parts" or "garden equipment".
    • Not a description Gives a reference, an order number, a packing or loading phrase, or "see attached" instead of any goods.

  2. Could a customs officer tell from the description alone what physical goods are shipped? Yes / No

    Read only the description field, not the invoice line. The officer must be able to name the item, not just its broad class. Yes: The description names the goods clearly enough to identify them. No: The description leaves the officer unable to say what the goods are.

  3. What must the shipper add or change to make the goods description acceptable? Choice

    Pick the one change that would most improve the description field. The answer chooses the message we send back to the shipper.

    • Nothing The description already names the goods clearly.
    • Name the item type Gives only a broad class or a listed term; the shipper must say what the items actually are.
    • List the different goods Puts several unlike goods under one word, such as "various items" or "household goods"; each kind must be named.
    • Describe the goods instead of a reference Points to an invoice, an order, an attachment or a packing phrase instead of describing any goods.
    • Add the goods type to the brand or model Gives a brand, product name or model number with no word saying what kind of goods it is.
    • Replace gift or sample wording with the item Uses "gift", "sample", "personal effects" or similar in place of saying what the item is.
    • Add the material or use Names an item type that is still unclear without its material or what it is for, such as "pellets" or "cells".

  4. Does the goods description state the item type or its material? Yes / No

    Read only the description field. "Cotton shirts", "steel bolts" and "ceramic mugs" state both. A listed term or a broad class such as "electronics" is not an item type. A class that covers many different items, such as "machinery", "garden machinery", "parts" or "household goods", is not an item type either. Yes: The description names a specific item type, a material, or both. No: It names neither.

  5. Does the goods description cover more than one kind of goods? Yes / No

    Read only the description field. Sizes, colours or models of the same item are one kind of goods. Yes: The description names or implies more than one kind of goods, such as "shoes and bags" or "various household items". No: The description covers one kind of goods.

  6. How does the commercial invoice line compare with the goods description? Choice

    Compare the invoice line with the description field. The answer tells the filer whether a better description can be taken from the shipper's own invoice before chasing the shipper.

    • No invoice line The invoice line is empty or holds only a number or a price.
    • Adds detail Describes the same goods more precisely than the description, for example naming the item type the description leaves out.
    • Adds nothing Is no more precise than the description, or repeats it.
    • Contradicts the description Describes goods of a different kind from the description, so the two cannot both be right.

  7. Do the description or invoice line mention goods that are often dangerous in transport? Yes / No

    Read both fields against the dangerous goods list in the context, including goods inside devices and names that hide the hazard, such as "spare packs" for batteries. A statement that the goods are non-hazardous does not change the answer. This only sends the line to a dangerous goods specialist; it never clears it. Yes: Either field mentions or strongly suggests goods on that list. No: Neither field mentions or suggests any of them.

  8. Which dangerous goods hazard do the description and invoice line most suggest? Choice

    Read both fields. Pick the hazard family the goods most suggest, so the dangerous goods specialist knows what to check first. This is a pointer for a person, not a classification.

    • None Nothing in either field suggests a dangerous goods hazard.
    • Lithium batteries Batteries on their own, battery packs, or cordless and rechargeable devices that contain them.
    • Flammable liquids Perfume, paint, solvents, fuel, oils, alcohol or adhesives.
    • Gases and aerosols Spray cans, gas cartridges, cylinders or camping gas.
    • Vehicle parts with a hazard Airbags, seat belt pretensioners, fuel systems or vehicle batteries.
    • Corrosives Acids, alkalis, strong cleaners or wet batteries.
    • Unspecified chemicals Chemicals, reagents or "samples" with no name.
    • Dry ice Dry ice or other cryogenic packing.
    • Magnetised material Strong magnets, or speakers and motors in bulk.
    • Explosives and pyrotechnics Fireworks, flares, ammunition or party poppers.
    • Toxic or infectious Pesticides, poisons or medical and biological specimens.

  9. Is the goods description complete and readable enough to judge? Yes / No

    Abbreviations, capitals, poor spelling or another language do not make a description unreadable if the goods can still be made out. A vague but readable description is judgeable. Yes: The description can be read and judged. No: It is garbled, cut off mid-word, empty or unreadable.

Lens columns

acceptability, acceptability_probability, identifies_goods, identifies_goods_probability, fix_needed, fix_needed_probability, states_type_or_material, states_type_or_material_probability, several_goods, several_goods_probability, invoice_line_fit, invoice_line_fit_probability, possible_dangerous_goods, possible_dangerous_goods_probability, likely_hazard, likely_hazard_probability, text_judgeable, text_judgeable_probability

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