The European Union’s Import Control System 2 (ICS2) has transformed how pre-arrival cargo data is validated and risk-assessed ahead of goods entering or transiting EU borders. A central component of this shift is the enforcement of a “stop words” regime in Entry Summary Declarations (ENS), designed to improve data quality and make safety/security screening more effective.
What are stop words?
In ICS2, stop words are terms or phrases considered too generic, vague or non-descriptive to fulfil the plain-language requirements for goods descriptions, party names and addresses. Examples include broad labels like “general goods,” “parts,” “electronics,” placeholders such as “N/A” or “unknown,” and ambiguous descriptors like “stuff” or “various products.” If such words appear on their own in key fields of an ENS, the system’s validation logic treats them as insufficiently specific and rejects the filing outright. This mechanism ensures that customs authorities receive descriptive, actionable data for risk profiling.
How they are used operationally
ICS2’s stop word list is embedded into the Common Repository and applied automatically each time an ENS is submitted. During validation, the system checks goods descriptions and party information against the list; any match to a stop word used in isolation triggers a rejection. Filers must then correct and resubmit with detailed descriptions to proceed. This process applies to all transport modes -air, sea, road and rail- and to all economic operators lodging ENS data. The rule reinforces the requirement that descriptions be precise enough for customs risk analysis before arrival.
Operational consequences include delayed shipments, potential holds at borders and additional administrative work for freight forwarders and carriers to correct filings. Training and system updates are widely advised to avoid repeated rejections.
Where to find the official list
The full, non-exhaustive stop word list is published on the European Commission’s CIRCABC platform.
Here is the direct download link hosted in the Common Repository.
Compliance teams and data providers are recommended to integrate this list into their filing tools and validation workflows to minimise disruptions during ENS submission under ICS2.
For more information on ICS2, see WiseTech Academy’s course: New Demands of the EU’s Import Control System (ICS2)
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