How does Zonos Classify work?

Zonos Classify uses keywords for your products, such as item description, brand, and color to search for the most appropriate HS code. Image recognition and machine learning can also be used for even better results.

What is the Harmonized System (HS)?

The Harmonized System (HS) is what’s used to classify cross-border goods for global trade. More than 200 countries and economics use the HS as a basis for their Customs tariffs and the collection of international trade statistics.

What is the difference between HS and HTS codes?

The difference between HS and HTS codes is the number of digits within the code. A code with six-digits is the universal standard as part of the HS (Harmonized System, Harmonized Tariff System) code whereas a code with 7-10 digits is determined by the country of import and is considered the HTS code.

Are HS codes required for landed cost calculation?

No, HS codes are not required; however, landed cost calculations will be more precise and accurate if the products are properly classified to the sixth-digit HS or eighth-digit HTS tariff-level code.

How many languages does Zonos Classify support?

Zonos Classify supports over 100 languages.

Who is Zonos Classify designed for?

Zonos Classify can be used for a variety of use cases, including: Ecommerce companies that ship internationally Ecommerce platforms Online marketplaces Customs brokers Logistics providers with shipping platforms or APIs Government customs agencies Shipping software platforms

Canada Post + Zonos

Starting August 29, 2025, a U.S. executive order requires duty to be paid on all shipments into the United States. As of July 24, 2026, the duty prepayment threshold has risen from $800 to $2,500 USD. As a result, all postal shipments under $2,500 USD must have duties prepaid.

If you’re shipping parcels from Canada to the United States, you must prepay duties before your parcel crosses the border.

To support small businesses and merchants, Canada Post has partnered with Zonos® to meet the new Executive Order requirements to collect duties and remit them directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with ease.

See how we help both businesses and individuals

A big change is coming to your U.S.-bound shipments

Starting October 22, 2026, the U.S. requires additional product data on an estimated 40-50% of postal shipments — missing data can get a package held or returned. Zonos has already built the free tools you need into every account.

What's changing

What you need to do before October 22

Now

Duties are prepaid through your Verified Account or the Zonos app, as described above
Section 232 metal-origin data already applies to postal shipments (since July 24, 2026)
Free trade agreement (USMCA, AU, KR, IL) claims are available on shipments under $2,500 USD

Starting October 22, 2026

Partner government agency (PGA) review — FDA, CPSC, and others — reaches postal shipments
Products without the required data can be held or returned at the border
Zonos Catalog, Clarify, and document uploads are free ways to get ahead of it — see below

See which of my items are affected

Breaking it down

What kinds of new data are needed?

Product-specific tariffs, like Section 232

Some U.S. tariffs depend on details about the product itself. Section 232, which has applied to postal shipments since July 24, 2026, covers steel and aluminum goods and asks where the metal was originally made — the country of melt and pour for steel, or smelt and cast for aluminum. Supply that documentation and your shipments can qualify for a lower duty rate.

Postal shipments are eligible for free trade agreements for the first time

USMCA, U.S.–Australia, U.S.–Korea, and U.S.–Israel can all reduce duty on goods that qualify, on shipments under the $2,500 USD threshold described above. Claiming a rate requires a valid certificate of origin with the shipment. Store the certificate against your products and Zonos sends it along, so the claim is available on every parcel it covers.

U.S. agency review starts for postal shipments on October 22, 2026

Partner government agencies are the U.S. bodies other than customs that control what can be imported — the CPSC for consumer products, the FDA for anything applied to or taken into the body, and others. From October 22, 2026, and possibly sooner, they review postal shipments too. Products they regulate need specific details supplied before the parcel can be cleared.

Paying duty in advance with Zonos

Choose your solution

Zonos simplifies international commerce and shipping with with solutions that allow businesses to easily sell internationally without extra hassle.

We currently offer 2 methods of U.S. duty payments (with no subscription required):

For businesses

Automatic billing with Zonos (recommended)

No subscription required

Every U.S.-bound shipment includes duties validation through a Declaration ID. Canada Post can issue labels instantly, with Zonos invoicing you and remitting U.S. duties.

What you get

Uninterrupted clearance, labels issued without delay, and duty remittance handled directly by Zonos

Transparent duty invoices plus tools to calculate duties

Lower fees, ideal for merchants scaling with higher volumes and repeat international shipments

For individuals and small businesses

Manually pay duties per shipment using the Zonos app

No subscription required

Download the Zonos app, available on iOS, Android, and web.

The free Zonos app lets you create a customs declaration, calculate duties, and pay securely in CAD. You’ll receive a Declaration ID and QR code to present at the counter or in the Canada Post online shipping tools. Without a Declaration ID, your shipment cannot be accepted.

About the app:

Prepay duties/taxes when you create a shipment

View the total landed cost (duties and fees) so there are no surprises

Available with a flat remittance fee and processing fee (with optional photo discount)

Ideal for micro-businesses shipping occasional shipments

Download the app on iOS

Download the app on Android

Use the Zonos app in your browser

Already have a Verified Account or the Zonos app set up?

Good news — account setup and billing above is already done. The only thing that changes for you is Part 2 below: getting your product data ready before October 22. You don't need to redo anything above.

Preview: existing account holders will see a one-time prompt in their Zonos Dashboard — "Two new steps to keep shipping to the U.S. after October 22" — with a checklist (see flagged products, add required info, store info for reuse on every Canada Post shipment) and a "Show me the new steps" button that jumps straight to Part 2 below.

Ongoing · new

Get your products ready

Two new steps, on top of the account setup and billing above (Part 1). This is Part 2 — the ongoing work of keeping your product data current as you add new products.

| Step 1

New

Set up your Catalog

Connect your store with Zonos Sync, or upload a CSV. Either way, Zonos then knows what you sell and can tell you which items need more information before they can be shipped to the U.S.

Zonos Sync works with Etsy, eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce (Magento), Wix, and Amazon, with BigCommerce coming soon and more after that. A CSV upload works for any platform.

See the store connection steps

Video walkthrough (1:24) — placeholder

Video walkthrough (1:48) — placeholder

| Step 2

New

Reduces delays

Lowers duties

Add product-specific info to your Catalog

Zonos checks every product in your Catalog and flags the ones that need attention — melt and pour data for a steel water bottle, FDA details for a lip gloss. Anything without a flag is good to go.

Zonos Clarify Zonos AI heading to the Requirements tab pre-drafts likely answers for you to review, rather than starting from a blank form. For requirements that paperwork satisfies, you can upload documents directly to your Catalog: certificates of origin, metal-origin records for Section 232 (melt and pour for steel, smelt and cast for aluminum), and trade agreement documentation.

See what Zonos checks for

Product matching — details still being finalized

Exactly how Zonos matches your Catalog data to a Canada Post shipment (by product description vs. a product/declaration ID) is still being finalized with Canada Post. This section will be updated once that's confirmed — treat this page as a draft until then.

What you get

Zonos tools you already have

These are free and already included in your Verified Account or the Zonos app — no extra sign-up required.

Who is Zonos?

Zonos is the global leader in cross-border technology.

Zonos specializes in helping ecommerce and supply chain business grow internationally, making cross-border simple, transparent, and compliant. From APIs used by global carriers to ecommerce integrations that calculate and collect duties and taxes at checkout, Zonos has been helping businesses expand internationally for over a decade.

Learn more

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How does this relate to my existing Account Key and duty prepayment?

They're separate. Your Account Key and Verified Account billing handle duty prepayment — that doesn't change. The October 22 requirement is about product data: giving U.S. customs the details it needs to clear the shipment at all, regardless of who's paying the duty. If you already have a Verified Account, you don't need a new one or a new Account Key — you only need to complete Part 2 above (Catalog setup and product data).

Does this change my Declaration ID or the $2,500 USD threshold?

Why do I need to provide this information now when I haven't had to before?

Because the postal channel is being brought in line with commercial shipping. Importers using commercial carriers have supplied this kind of product detail for years, while postal parcels moved under a simpler process that did not ask for it.

Three changes closed that gap:

Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum began applying to postal shipments on July 24, 2026, and the rate depends on where the metal was originally made.
U.S. agency review, from bodies such as the FDA and CPSC, reaches postal shipments on October 22, 2026, and can start applying sooner.
Free trade agreements became available to postal parcels under $2,500 USD for the first time, and claiming a rate requires supporting documentation.

Nothing about your products has changed. What changed is how much detail U.S. entry asks for when a parcel arrives by post.

What does this cost?

How do I know which of my products need more data?

What documents can I upload, and which trade agreements are supported?

You can upload certificates of origin, metal origin documentation for Section 232 (country of melt and pour for steel, country of smelt and cast for aluminum), and free trade agreement documentation.

Supported agreements at launch: USMCA, U.S.–Australia, U.S.–Korea, and U.S.–Israel.

Documents can be attached at the organization level or linked to specific products, so one certificate can cover everything it applies to.

What is Zonos Clarify Zonos AI?

Clarify Zonos AI identifies the additional product-specific details a given item is required to provide, and asks you for them.

That is the gap it fills. Requirements sit with different U.S. agencies and vary product by product, so checking a whole catalog yourself is a slow job. Clarify Zonos AI works it out per product, and infers the likely answers from the product information you already have, so you can move through a lot of products quickly — reviewing what Zonos proposes and correcting anything that needs it before you submit. Every answer is saved to the product and reused.

What is a PGA, and why does it matter to a postal shipment?

What is country of melt and pour, or smelt and cast, and why is Zonos asking for it?

It is where the metal in a product was originally made, which is frequently not the country the finished product was made in. Steel uses the country of melt and pour. Aluminum uses the country of smelt and cast.

Reporting it is mandatory on goods subject to Section 232, and the cost of not having it is severe: aluminum declared with an unknown country of smelt or cast is charged a punitive rate. Recording it once, per product, means every shipment carries the right answer.

When do I need to have this done by?

October 22, 2026 is the date to have the extra information complete for the products that need it, but treat it as a backstop rather than a target. These requirements can start applying to your shipments before then.

Section 232 tariffs have applied to postal shipments since July 24, 2026, and trade agreement claims are available today — both depend on data you would otherwise be adding in October anyway.

Who do I contact for help?

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