What isExport Customs Declarationthe "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:

• Identifies the unique sequence of different products within the same customs declaration
• Links product information with accompanying documents (such asCertificate of Origin, licenses)
• Serves as the basis for cargo localization during customs inspection

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

After the upgrade of the 2025 smart customs declaration system, item number errors may lead to the following consequences:

• Customs clearance delay: A company in Shenzhen was automatically intercepted by the system because the item number did not match the license, and the goods were detained at the port for 8 days
• Document invalidation: A complete set of certificates of origin for a company in Shanghai had to be re-applied for due to item number displacement
• Administrative penalties: In customs declaration errors investigated by Qingdao Customs in 2024, item number issues accounted for 17%

III. How to correctly prepare export item numbers?

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

• Level 1: Establish a correspondence table between products and item numbers when preparing the packing list
• Level 2: Verify the consistency between item numbers and accompanying documents before customs declaration
  • Whether the license corresponds to continuous item numbers
  • Whether the product items on the certificate of origin match
• Level 3: Verify the automatically generated item number sequence during electronic submission

IV. What are the new changes in customs management of item numbers in 2025?

The latest policy trends show:

• Trial implementation of thesmart item number association system, automatically matching products with supervision documents
• ExpandFault tolerance mechanismApplicable scope: Item number displacement can be corrected if the product attributes are correct
• EstablishItem number credit file, enjoying rapid release if there are no errors for 12 consecutive months

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

• EstablishItem number management SOP, covering the entire process of document creation, verification, and declaration
• Use theautomatic item number generation module
• of professional customs declaration systemsRegularly participate in

document standardization training organized by customs?