FreightUtils MCP Server

ics2_check

Read-onlyIdempotent

Check a goods description against the official EU ICS2 stop-words list before filing an ENS, flagging vague or generic terms that can trigger rejection.

Instructions

Check a goods description against the official EU ICS2 stop-words list — terms the European Commission deems too vague or generic for an entry summary declaration (ENS) goods-description field (data element 18 05 000 000).

Pass description=. Behavior: deterministic term matching against the in-force EU list; each flagged term carries a note (a standalone stop-word means automatic rejection, an embedded one means make the description more specific); clean=true means no listed term matched — it does NOT guarantee acceptance, and no binary accepted/rejected verdict is given. Rate-limited: a limit error carries reset_at, the UTC time the allowance resets.

Returns: the description echo, flagged[] (term + note), clean, caveat and disclaimer under result, plus a _source citing the EU list and legal basis, plus confidence, _source and citation (the FreightUtils v1 response envelope).

Limitations: STRICTLY a reference check — not an ENS filing, not a customs-compliance determination, not legal advice; the EU list is non-exhaustive and updated periodically.

Related: hs_code_lookup (commodity codes — a different field of the ENS), uk_duty_calculator (duty/VAT, unrelated to ENS screening). Intended for checking a goods description before an ENS is filed.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`description`	Yes	The goods description to check. Example: "gifts" (flagged) vs "wooden toys for retail" (specific).

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`ok`	Yes
`_meta`	No
`as_of`	No
`result`	Yes
`status`	No
`_source`	Yes
`edition`	No
`citation`	Yes
`validity`	No
`warnings`	No
`confidence`	Yes
`missing_inputs`	No
`blocking_errors`	No
`envelope_version`	Yes
`normalized_input`	No

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed4 schema fields changedv2.27.0Oct 31, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / check_id
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / edition_basis
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / receipt

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "properties": {
+    "created_at": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "dataset_version": {
+      "additionalProperties": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "propertyNames": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "engine_version": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "inputs": {},
+    "reason": {
+      "const": "key_required",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "receipt_hash": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "result": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "propertyNames": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "schema_version": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "stored": {
+      "const": false,
+      "type": "boolean"
+    },
+    "tool": {
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "stored",
+    "reason",
+    "schema_version",
+    "receipt_hash",
+    "created_at",
+    "tool",
+    "inputs",
+    "dataset_version",
+    "engine_version",
+    "result"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / receipt_url
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

Changed10 schema fields changedv2.24.0Oct 29, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / _meta

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "properties": {
+    "identify": {
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / as_of
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
addedOutput schema / properties / blocking_errors / items / properties / recovery / properties / params / propertyNames
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / edition

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "applies_from": {
+          "type": [
+            "string",
+            "null"
+          ]
+        },
+        "may_apply_until": {
+          "type": [
+            "string",
+            "null"
+          ]
+        },
+        "name": {
+          "type": "string"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "name",
+        "applies_from",
+        "may_apply_until"
+      ],
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ]
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / envelope_version / enum

Previous value: -[
-  "1",
-  "1.1"
-]New value: +[
+  "1",
+  "1.1",
+  "1.2"
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / missing_inputs

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / normalized_input / propertyNames
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

changedOutput schema / properties / result / anyOf

Previous value: -[
-  {
-    "additionalProperties": true,
-    "properties": {
-      "caveat": {
-        "type": [
-          "string",
-          "null"
-        ]
-      },
-      "clean": {
-        "type": [
-          "boolean",
-          "null"
-        ]
-      },
-      "description": {
-        "type": [
-          "string",
-          "null"
-        ]
-      },
-      "disclaimer": {
-        "type": [
-          "string",
-          "null"
-        ]
-      },
-      "flagged": {
-        "anyOf": [
-          {
-            "items": {
-              "additionalProperties": true,
-              "properties": {
-                "note": {
-                  "type": [
-                    "string",
-                    "null"
-                  ]
-                },
-                "term": {
-                  "type": [
-                    "string",
-                    "null"
-                  ]
-                }
-              },
-              "type": "object"
-            },
-            "type": "array"
-          },
-          {
-            "type": "null"
-          }
-        ]
-      }
-    },
-    "type": "object"
-  },
-  {
-    "additionalProperties": {},
-    "type": "object"
-  }
-]New value: +[
+  {
+    "additionalProperties": {},
+    "properties": {
+      "caveat": {
+        "type": [
+          "string",
+          "null"
+        ]
+      },
+      "clean": {
+        "type": [
+          "boolean",
+          "null"
+        ]
+      },
+      "description": {
+        "type": [
+          "string",
+          "null"
+        ]
+      },
+      "disclaimer": {
+        "type": [
+          "string",
+          "null"
+        ]
+      },
+      "flagged": {
+        "anyOf": [
+          {
+            "items": {
+              "additionalProperties": {},
+              "properties": {
+                "note": {
+                  "type": [
+                    "string",
+                    "null"
+                  ]
+                },
+                "term": {
+                  "type": [
+                    "string",
+                    "null"
+                  ]
+                }
+              },
+              "type": "object"
+            },
+            "type": "array"
+          },
+          {
+            "type": "null"
+          }
+        ]
+      }
+    },
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  {
+    "additionalProperties": {},
+    "propertyNames": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "type": "object"
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / status

Added value: +{
+  "enum": [
+    "ok",
+    "partial",
+    "not_found",
+    "unsupported",
+    "ambiguous"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / warnings / items / properties / details / propertyNames
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

Changed1 schema field changedv2.22.3Oct 14, 2026
- addedInput schema / properties / description / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```
Changed5 schema fields changedv2.17.2Aug 21, 2026
- addedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / authority_current_edition
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / checked_at
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / dataset_edition
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
- removedOutput schema / properties / envelope_version / const
```
Removed value: -"1"
```
- addedOutput schema / properties / envelope_version / enum
```
Added value: +[
+  "1",
+  "1.1"
+]
```

Changed29 schema fields changedv2.11.0Jul 10, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / description / description

Previous value: -"The goods description to check against the EU ICS2 stop-words list."New value: +"The goods description to check. Example: \"gifts\" (flagged) vs \"wooden toys for retail\" (specific)."

removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / authority
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
addedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / checked
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / dataset
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / legal_basis
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / licence
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / list_in_force
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
addedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / name
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / non_exhaustive
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "boolean"
-}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / provenance_status

Added value: +{
+  "enum": [
+    "verified",
+    "pending-verification",
+    "computed",
+    "live"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / retrieved
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / retrieved_via
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / _source / properties / type
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```

changedOutput schema / properties / _source / required

Previous value: -[
-  "type",
-  "authority",
-  "dataset",
-  "legal_basis",
-  "list_in_force",
-  "source_url",
-  "licence",
-  "retrieved",
-  "non_exhaustive",
-  "retrieved_via"
-]New value: +[
+  "name",
+  "checked",
+  "provenance_status"
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / blocking_errors

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "additionalProperties": false,
+    "properties": {
+      "code": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "message": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "recovery": {
+        "additionalProperties": false,
+        "properties": {
+          "action": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "params": {
+            "additionalProperties": {},
+            "type": "object"
+          },
+          "tool": {
+            "type": "string"
+          }
+        },
+        "required": [
+          "action"
+        ],
+        "type": "object"
+      }
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "code",
+      "message",
+      "recovery"
+    ],
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / caveat

Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / citation

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "properties": {
+    "qualifier": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "text": {
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "text"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / clean

Removed value: -{
-  "type": "boolean"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / confidence

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "properties": {
+    "basis": {
+      "enum": [
+        "deterministic",
+        "provenance",
+        "match_quality",
+        "freshness"
+      ],
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "level": {
+      "enum": [
+        "high",
+        "medium",
+        "low"
+      ],
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "score": {
+      "maximum": 1,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "number"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "level",
+    "basis"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / description
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / disclaimer
```
Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / envelope_version

Added value: +{
+  "const": "1",
+  "type": "string"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / flagged

Removed value: -{
-  "items": {
-    "additionalProperties": false,
-    "properties": {
-      "note": {
-        "type": "string"
-      },
-      "term": {
-        "type": "string"
-      }
-    },
-    "required": [
-      "term",
-      "note"
-    ],
-    "type": "object"
-  },
-  "type": "array"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / normalized_input

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / ok
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "boolean"
+}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / result

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "additionalProperties": true,
+      "properties": {
+        "caveat": {
+          "type": [
+            "string",
+            "null"
+          ]
+        },
+        "clean": {
+          "type": [
+            "boolean",
+            "null"
+          ]
+        },
+        "description": {
+          "type": [
+            "string",
+            "null"
+          ]
+        },
+        "disclaimer": {
+          "type": [
+            "string",
+            "null"
+          ]
+        },
+        "flagged": {
+          "anyOf": [
+            {
+              "items": {
+                "additionalProperties": true,
+                "properties": {
+                  "note": {
+                    "type": [
+                      "string",
+                      "null"
+                    ]
+                  },
+                  "term": {
+                    "type": [
+                      "string",
+                      "null"
+                    ]
+                  }
+                },
+                "type": "object"
+              },
+              "type": "array"
+            },
+            {
+              "type": "null"
+            }
+          ]
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "type": "object"
+    }
+  ]
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / validity

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "properties": {
+    "as_of": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "effective_from": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "effective_to": {
+      "type": [
+        "string",
+        "null"
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "as_of"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / warnings

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "additionalProperties": false,
+    "properties": {
+      "code": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "details": {
+        "additionalProperties": {},
+        "type": "object"
+      },
+      "message": {
+        "type": "string"
+      }
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "code",
+      "message"
+    ],
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "description",
-  "flagged",
-  "clean",
-  "caveat",
-  "_source",
-  "disclaimer"
-]New value: +[
+  "envelope_version",
+  "ok",
+  "result",
+  "confidence",
+  "_source",
+  "citation"
+]

Addedv2.10.0Jun 24, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare read-only/idempotent/non-destructive, yet the description still adds substantive behavior: deterministic term matching, the two note semantics (standalone = automatic rejection vs embedded = make more specific), the crucial caveat that clean=true does not guarantee acceptance, and rate-limit behavior with reset_at in UTC.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with purpose and usage, then behavior, returns, limitations, and related tools in clearly labeled segments. It is long, and the Returns paragraph largely restates the existing output schema, which is the one place text does not fully earn its space.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a single-parameter reference check, everything an agent needs is present: what is checked, what clean means and does not mean, what flagged entries carry, rate-limit recovery, and the scope disclaimers. The output schema and annotations are reinforced rather than left unexplained.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Only one parameter and schema coverage is 100%, so the schema already documents it fully, including a flagged-vs-specific example. The description's 'Pass description=<goods description>' restates the schema rather than adding format or length guidance beyond it, so the baseline of 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb and resource: check a goods description against the official EU ICS2 stop-words list, and pins it to the exact regulatory data element (18 05 000 000). It is unmistakable against every sibling, none of which touch ENS goods-description screening.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Gives explicit timing ('before an ENS is filed'), explicit exclusions ('not an ENS filing, not a customs-compliance determination, not legal advice'), and routes to two named alternatives with the reason they differ (hs_code_lookup covers a different ENS field, uk_duty_calculator is unrelated to screening).

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.