What ECICS is
ECICS links about 110,000 chemical substances to the Combined Nomenclature code under which the customs of every Member State classify them. Each entry has a CUS number assigned by the Commission, the CAS registry number where there is one, a name in English and the commodity code.
A CAS number can have several entries: the same substance is classified differently according to its purity, its form or the preparation that contains it. The tool lists them all, the substance on its own first, and marks the mixtures and preparations.
What you can enter
- a CAS number (for example 64-17-5), as printed on the safety data sheet: its check digit is verified before searching, so a typing error is spotted at once;
- a CUS number (for example 0019735-3), as found in the inventory or in a customs document;
- a name in English or a synonym (methanol, 2-aminothiophenol): the words must each start a word of the name, and the CAS number shown with each result confirms it is the right substance.
Names are in English only: the translations of the Commission's online consultation are not part of its public export.
What the result does not decide
The code is the one the Commission gives to the substance itself. A mixture, a preparation or a product that contains it — a paint, a solvent blend, a denatured alcohol — can fall under another heading, depending on its composition and use. The tool applies neither the general rules of interpretation nor the explanatory notes.
For legal certainty, ask customs for a binding tariff information decision (BTI). The file checker compares the CAS number cited in the description of a line with this inventory and flags a code that differs from it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the search free?
Yes, without signing up, within the day's free uses. A number or a name is sent to our server, which looks it up in its copy of the inventory; it is sent to no third party and stored nowhere.
My CAS number is not found: what now?
Not every substance is in the inventory, which lists those that customs had to classify. Check the number on the safety data sheet, search the substance by name, or classify the product with the commodity code search. A product made of several substances is classified as a whole.
Where does the data come from, and under what licence?
From the European Commission's ECICS export (DG TAXUD), reloaded every week. The Commission publishes no reuse licence for these data and CAS Registry Numbers are a registered trademark of the American Chemical Society: the inventory is therefore consulted number by number, not offered for download. The date of the extract is shown under each result.
Is your file ready?
Check it for free in a few minutes, before you prepare your declaration.