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Taxation and Customs Union

Action 6 - European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances

A guide to the classification of chemicals in the Combined Nomenclature

ECICS the European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances, is an information tool managed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) and which allows users to:

  • identify chemicals;
  • classify chemicals in the Combined Nomenclature (CN);
  • name chemicals in all EU languages for regulatory purposes.

First published in 1974, it became ‘CLEN Action 6’ in 2009. ECICS is publicly available on DG TAXUD’s Data Dissemination System and currently contains close to 70 000 records.

Any goods imported or exported in or out of the European Union must be classified for customs purposes, according to the Combined Nomenclature (eight-digit CN codes). This tariff classification determines the rate of customs duties, if any, as well as any non-tariff measures that may apply to the imported products. ECICS is therefore becoming a cornerstone for customs authorities, Customs Laboratories and economic operators trading all kind of chemicals. As the CN codes are based on the "Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System" emanating from the World Customs Organization (WCO), the tariff classifications found in ECICS are helpful across the world.

Each product listed in ECICS is identified by the CUS code, assigned by DG TAXUD, which is an easy identifier to search the database and to communicate with customs. Products are also identified by CAS RN (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number), as well as by other identifiers such as EC numbers, UN numbers…

ECICS lists chemical names in a number of EU languages. These names are usually recognised internationally like International Non-proprietary Names for pharmaceuticals, International Organization for Standardization names for pesticides and chemical names constructed according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) nomenclatures. ECICS is also equipped with a module aimed at translating chemical names from English into other EU languages. It focusses currently on IUPAC names, but other types of names are in development.

The Inventory covers pure chemicals mainly, as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, chemical weapons precursors, narcotic drugs and precursors, ozone-depleting substances or hazardous chemicals for the health and environment.

In particular, it covers:

 
  1.  

Pesticides and other plant protection products listed by the International Organization for Standardization under ISO 1750;
  1.  

International Non-proprietary Names (INN) assigned to pharmaceuticals by the World Health Organization;
  1.  

Salts and esters of INNs, known as INNMs ("M" standing for "Modified");
  1.  

Pharmaceuticals intermediates, i.e. compounds used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals;
  1.  

Narcotic and psychotropic substances and their precursors;
  1.  

Ozone-depleting substances;
  1.  

Chemicals controlled under the International Chemical Weapons Convention;
  1.  

Chemicals subject to other international conventions e.g. Rotterdam prior informed consent (PIC) procedure, Stockholm convention for the control of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs);
  1.  

Other products subject to import/export controls;
  1.  

Colour Index dyes and pigments;
  1.  

Chemicals subject to EU legislation (e.g REACH, RoHS, food additives)
  1.  

Other commercially significant products.

The content of the database is regularly enriched by DG TAXUD, assisted by Member States’ representatives in the Customs Code Committee – Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature Section (Agriculture/Chemical sector). Its coverage is also progressively extended to regulated mixtures. 

The database and more related information can be accessed here.

The information provided in ECICS is not binding and does not give rise to protection of any kind. For any question, suggestion or correction of information found in the database, please do not hesitate to contact us via our mailbox taxud-dds-ecicsatec [dot] europa [dot] eu with the maximum of information about your request (i.e., description of the product, CAS RN, chemical name and structure, uses, exact composition with components, Safety Data Sheet, etc.).