What isthe "Item Number" in the form?

According to Announcement No.45 of 2020 by the General Administration of Customs,the item number specifically refers to thesequence numberin the customs declaration product list.Each item number corresponds to a specific product on the customs declaration and has the following core functions:

• Identifiestheuniquesequenceofdifferentproductswithinthesamecustomsdeclaration
• Linksproductinformationwithaccompanyingdocuments(suchas,licenses)
• Servesasthebasisforcargolocalizationduringcustomsinspection

II.What are the actual impacts of incorrect item number entry?

After the upgrade of the customs intelligent document review system in 2025,item number errors may lead to the following consequences:

• Customsclearancedelay:AcompanyinShenzhenwasautomaticallyinterceptedbythesystembecausetheitemnumberdidnotmatchthelicense,andthegoodsweredetainedattheportfor8days
• Documentinvalidation:AcompletesetofcertificatesoforiginforacompanyinShanghaihadtobere-appliedforduetoitemnumberdisplacement
• Administrativepenalties:AmongthedeclarationerrorsdetectedbyQingdaoCustomsin2024,theproportionoferrorsinitemnumbersreached17%.

III.How to correctly prepare export item numbers?

Based on our 20 years of agency experience,we recommend adopting athree-tier verification mechanism:

• Level1:Establishacorrespondencetablebetweenproductsanditemnumberswhenpreparingthepackinglist
• Level2:Verifytheconsistencybetweenitemnumbersandaccompanyingdocumentsbeforecustomsdeclaration
  • Whetherthelicensecorrespondstocontinuousitemnumbers
  • Whethertheproductitemsonthecertificateoforiginmatch
• Level 3: Verify the automatically generated item number sequence during electronic submission

IV.What are the new changes in item number management by the customs in 2025?

The latest policy trends show:

• Trialimplementationofthesmartitemnumberassociationsystem,automaticallymatchingproductswithsupervisiondocuments
• ExpandFaulttolerancemechanismApplicablescope:Itemnumberdisplacementcanbecorrectediftheproductattributesarecorrect
• EstablishItemnumbercreditfile,enjoyingrapidreleaseiftherearenoerrorsfor12consecutivemonths

V.Common Questions and Answers

Question 1: Are item number and commodity code the same concept?

No.The commodity code is the 10-digit HS code,and the item number is the internal sequence number of the customs declaration.They belong to different identifier systems.

Question 2: Do item numbers need to be re-sequenced during split declarations?

Yes.Each customs declaration independently prepares its item number sequence.A composite identification scheme of "Customs Declaration Number + Item Number" is recommended.

Question 3: How to manage item numbers for LCL cargo?

It is recommended to adopt a "main item number + sub-item number" model,e.g.1.1,1.2 to represent different products within the same container.

VI.Professional Advice

• EstablishItemnumbermanagementSOP,coveringtheentireprocessofdocumentcreation,verification,anddeclaration
• Usetheautomaticitemnumbergenerationmodule
• ofprofessionalcustomsdeclarationsystemsRegularlyparticipatein

(Data in this article is cited from the General Administration of Customs’ 2024 Statistical Yearbook,and policy interpretations are based on the 2025 Customs Work Plan Draft.Please refer to the competent customs for specific operations.For professional agency services,contact us for customized solutions.)