Customs authorities around the world require that goods descriptions be precise. The level of detail provided must allow Customs to pre-screen the cargo and conduct an adequate risk analysis. Therefore broad and general descriptions such as “computer”, “equipment”, “food”, “textiles”, “goods” etc are not allowed and will result in Customs process failures.

Guidelines on what constitutes an acceptable and unacceptable description can be found on our website.  A compliant description is a detailed and accurate goods description enabling Customs to successfully identify the goods.

For Direct MAWBs, the compliant goods description must appear on the physical MAWB and the FWB.

For Consolidated shipments, the goods description of the MAWB should indicate Consolidation. The compliant goods descriptions for each HAWB must be included in the FHL message description field.

At DHL Aviation we recognise the importance of compliant goods descriptions in the efficient handling of your cargo.  To further support you in this area, we are planning some upgrades in the near future:

• We are working to improve our descriptions input fields in CMS and an updated CMS version will be released in the coming months, to reflect this.

• We are also working on providing full message capability for IATA standard FWB/FHL messaging, details of which will be provided in the coming weeks.

It is important to note that updating the goods description after the initial booking request or confirmation will not result in a re-booking. Your original booking confirmation will not be changed due to a goods description update.

We request your full support in this important matter and look forward to a much improved data quality environment, delivering improved service quality as a result.   

If you require any further information then please do not hesitate to contact us. As always we appreciate any feedback you provide.

Regards,
Air Capacity Sales
EUROPE

For Bookings: acsbook.euap@dhl.com
Website: https://aviationcargo.dhl.com