Get your product file ready for the EU's new customs identifiers

For stores outside the EU that ship to EU consumers. From 1 November 2026, parcels sold from outside the EU to EU consumers need product identifiers on every item (the Commission's 5 October guidance says parcels worth up to €150). Send us your Shopify product CSV. We check your SKUs and barcodes, flag what's missing or wrong, and send back your product file plus a separate customs handover file for your carrier.

$49 (USD), one-off. For businesses only. No VAT charged (Your Evenings Ltd is not VAT-registered). Sold only on yourevenings.com, through a secure Stripe checkout. The price is $49, and checkout shows it in your local currency.

Checkout asks for your store name and store URL.

The problem, in plain words

If you sell online from outside the EU (the UK included) and post orders to shoppers in the EU, the customs declaration for each parcel worth up to €150 now needs up to three codes for each item (the standard barcode only where one exists). Your carrier or customs broker usually files that declaration, but they can only send what's in your product data. Many product exports have only a SKU and perhaps a barcode, and some have barcodes that are blank, duplicated, or typed as "Custom".

Shopify has told merchants about this (Shopify Developer Community). If you've opened your product export and weren't sure where to start, this pack is for you.

What the rule actually requires

• From 1 November 2026 the identifiers must be provided. Operators could send them voluntarily from 1 July 2026. (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1022, Art. 2(3))
• Which sales: "distance sales of imported goods": goods sent from outside the EU to customers (mainly consumers) in the EU. Business-to-business flows are in principle not covered. The Commission's 5 October 2026 guidance says the requirement applies to consignments worth up to €150, and that the Commission is amending the legal text to make that explicit. Check your own flows with your carrier or broker. (Commission guidance, 5 Oct 2026, s.8.2)
• Three identifiers per item (guidance s.8.4 and 8.7; definitions in Reg. 2026/1022, Art. 1(58)–(60)):
• Merchant product identifier (M-PID): the code the seller or platform uses for the product. Always required. For most stores, this is the SKU.
• Non-standardised manufacturer product identifier (NS-PID): the manufacturer's or supplier's own model or part number. Always required.
• Standardised manufacturer product identifier (S-PID): a code that follows an international standard, such as an EAN/GTIN or ISBN. Required where one exists. If none exists, the declaration uses the exception code Y081 instead. You don't have to buy barcodes.
• One code per product model, not per batch or unit. The guidance says that deliberately reporting at batch or unit level, where a model-level code exists, counts as an infringement. (guidance s.8.4)
• Who files it: the declarant (for example your IOSS intermediary, carrier or customs representative) gives the codes to customs and is responsible for the declaration's accuracy. Manufacturers and sellers are expected to pass the codes along the supply chain. (guidance s.8.5)
• In Shopify: the product CSV "Barcodes" column takes up to 20 typed barcodes per variant (Shopify Help Center). Shopify staff have confirmed that the "Has no standardized identifier" declaration can't be set by CSV today, and that placeholder values like "None" don't count (Shopify Developer Community, 19–20 Oct 2026). Without code, it's set on each variant in the admin; Shopify expects it in its stable API from 1 January 2027 (same thread, 22 Oct).

This is a summary of the official texts linked above. This is a data check, not legal or customs advice. We are not a customs broker.

How the $49 EU Product Identifier Check for Shopify works

1. Buy the Check. We'll email you within 1 working day; reply to that email with your product CSV export. A CSV or spreadsheet of your SKUs and manufacturer codes is optional, but it helps. We read supplier codes from CSV or spreadsheet files only. Your "Duties and import taxes" export is optional too; without it we can't check HS codes or country of origin.
2. We check your existing barcodes first: the format and check digit, and the same barcode used twice.
3. We check and flag the identifiers: we flag blank or repeated SKUs (M-PIDs) for you to fix, without changing them; we collect manufacturer codes (NS-PIDs) from your export or your spreadsheet into a customs handover file; and in Shopify we set valid barcodes (S-PIDs) to the GTIN type.
4. We flag everything else for you to confirm. We never make up a barcode, an HS code or a country of origin. HS codes and origin aren't part of this pack: we leave existing values untouched and make no HS suggestions. If you send your duties export, we flag HS codes that are missing, shorter than 6 digits or not in the HS 2022 list.
5. You get your files back within 2 UK working days of a complete file.

Our own order cut-off for other carriers: send your file by 12:00 UK on Wednesday 28 October to get it back before 1 November. That's our turnaround cut-off, not a legal deadline.

Posting with Royal Mail? Some carriers ask for identifiers on parcels posted a few days before 1 November. Royal Mail's Click & Drop asks for a SKU and a manufacturer ID on EU-bound e-commerce items posted from Monday 26 October (Royal Mail). Our 2-working-day turnaround may not get your file back before then. In the meantime, do the quick manual steps: a SKU on each variant, the maker's model or part number where you have it (your own code if you make the product), real barcodes typed correctly, and the "Has no standardized identifier" tick where there's no barcode. Then ask Royal Mail what they need from you.

What you get

• your-file-checked.csv: your product CSV with only the products Shopify should accept: barcodes checked and tidied, and blank fulfilment service or inventory policy cells set to Shopify's documented defaults. Values you've filled in are never changed. It's formatted to Shopify's documented product CSV columns, and we've test-imported this format on our own Shopify test store, where the barcodes we didn't need to change came through unchanged. Import one product first before a full import.
• A customs handover file for your carrier: each variant's SKU and Shopify variant ID (marked to show which one Shopify uses as the merchant code), maker's code, and barcode or "no standard barcode" flag
• your-file-fix-before-import.csv: any product Shopify would refuse (such as a barcode with a wrong check digit), left exactly as you sent it, with the reason in plain English. Fix these and import them separately.
• A short summary of each type of problem, worst first, with counts, a plain-English fix and example SKUs
• A change report: every value changed, and why
• A "please confirm" list: rows we couldn't source, or that look wrong
• Variants with no standard barcode marked in the handover file and please-confirm list, so you know which ones to mark in Shopify
• A short safe re-import checklist

What you still own and check

• You confirm the flagged rows, fix any SKUs, and import your-file-checked.csv yourself (one product first)
• You tick "Has no standardized identifier" on each variant we list in Shopify. Shopify staff describe it as a per-variant setting, but we haven't seen it on our own test store yet, so it may not have reached every store. There's no bulk or CSV option yet.
• A barcode that passes the check-digit test is not always a real product barcode. Placeholders like 0000000000000, in-store codes starting with 20 to 29, and example numbers starting with 952 can all pass. Shopify accepts them too, so only keep a barcode if you know it was given to that product by its maker or by you through GS1.
• You, or your declarant, stay responsible for your customs declarations
• Ask your carrier how they want "no barcode" items marked, because carriers differ

FAQ

Do I need to buy barcodes? No. Where a product has no standard barcode, the declaration uses the exception code Y081 (guidance s.8.4.3 and 8.7).

Does this apply to me? It applies to goods sold from outside the EU to consumers in the EU and sent by or for the seller. The Commission's 5 October 2026 guidance says parcels worth up to €150. If your store is based in the EU, this pack isn't for you. Your carrier or customs broker can confirm which of your parcels are in scope.

Can I just use my SKU for everything? Your SKU is normally your M-PID. The NS-PID is meant to be the manufacturer's or supplier's own code. If you make the product yourself, you are the manufacturer and set that code. Shopify fills an NS-PID automatically from other barcodes, the SKU or the variant ID when none is set (Shopify staff, Developer Community). Shopify says passing this to carriers isn't live yet, so check with your carrier. Whether that fits your products is for you and your declarant to decide.

Do you need my store login? No. We only need your exported CSV and any supplier code spreadsheet you choose to send.

What if you can't find a value? We flag it and say why. We'd rather leave a gap you know about than plug it with a guess.

What about HS codes and country of origin? The HS code is a separate customs field from the three product identifiers. HS codes and origin aren't part of this pack for now: we leave existing values untouched, never invent them and make no HS suggestions. Shopify keeps them outside the product CSV, so if you'd like them looked at, send your "Duties and import taxes" export too and we'll flag any HS code that is missing, shorter than 6 digits or not in the HS 2022 list. Without that export we can't check them at all, and we don't send back a duties import file.

How big a catalogue can I send? Up to 10,000 variants for $49 (USD), with no VAT charged (Your Evenings Ltd is not VAT-registered). Larger? Email us and we'll quote first, before you pay.

Who can buy? For businesses only. The Check is for online stores, so checkout asks for your store name and store URL. No VAT charged (Your Evenings Ltd is not VAT-registered).

What if I'm not happy? You get a full refund if we miss the turnaround (ask within 14 days of the missed deadline), or on request within 14 days of delivery. We fix our own mistakes free if you tell us within 30 days of delivery. Full details are in our terms. Our liability is limited to the price you paid, and we can't cover customs or carrier charges.

What happens to my files? We delete them 30 days after delivery. Our Check privacy notice has the details.

Is this permanent? The Commission calls it a first step before fuller product data requirements and the EU Customs Data Hub from July 2028 (guidance s.8.1).

The honest bit

Your Evenings Ltd is a UK company that prepares product data. This is a data check, not legal or customs advice. We are not a customs broker. You and whoever lodges your declarations stay responsible for them and for the data in them. Please check our work before you rely on it.

Contact

Questions before you buy? Email hello@yourevenings.com. We reply within 1 working day.