From 1 November 2026 (voluntary from 1 July), the customs data must carry product identifiers per product line — not one set per parcel, but a set for each distinct product in it. For each product there are up to three: a merchant identifier (your own SKU), a non-standardised manufacturer identifier (the supplier’s part number), and a standardised manufacturer identifier (a GTIN / barcode). Where a product genuinely has no standardised identifier, code Y081 is declared in its place — so “three” is the ceiling, not always the count.
Source: Product identifiers mandatory in customs data from 1 Nov 2026 (voluntary 1 Jul); per product line, repeatable; up to three, with Y081 where no standardised identifier exists. TARIC codes C127/C128/C129. Confirm against the Official Journal.
A barcode that passes its checksum tells you the GTIN is well-formed. It tells you nothing about the other two identifiers. A catalogue that has clean barcodes but no supplier part numbers is not ready for 1 November — it just looks ready. The honest check is the one that fails you for what is missing, not the one that passes you for what is present.
Source: Design note: a checker that greenlights on GTIN alone is a false all-clear.
Drop your catalogue into the identifier checker. It reads all three columns, tells you which products are genuinely ready, and — where a product truly has no barcode — says so instead of failing it.
Open the tool →Every claim on this page is sourced to the regulation, not to a summary of it. DutyVault verifies against primary EU texts (EUR-Lex, DG TAXUD). None of this has been reviewed by a customs lawyer, and consistency with a text is not the same as being right about your exact situation — it is a starting point that makes a lawyer’s hour cheap.
Verified 14 Jul 2026 · rules current to the €3 interim regime (1 Jul 2026 – 1 Jul 2028) and the March 2028 reform.