Mapping of Goods and Services Identification Number to United Nations Standard Products and Services Code

In 2021, an international goods and services classification for procurement called the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC, v21) was implemented to replace the Government of Canada’s Goods and Services Identification Numbers (GSIN) codes for categorizing procurement activities undertaken by the Government of Canada. For the transition from GSIN to UNSPSC, a subset of the entire version 21 UNSPSC list was created. The Mapping of GSIN-UNSPSC file below provides a suggested linkage between the subset of UNSPSC and higher levels of the GSIN code list. As procurement needs evolve, this file may be updated to include other UNSPSC v21 codes that are deemed to be required. In the interim, if the lowest level values within the UNSPSC structure does not relate to a specific category of goods or services, the use of the higher (related) level code from within the UNSPSC structure is appropriate.

Please note: This dataset is offered as a means to assist the user in finding specific UNSPSC codes, based on high-level comparisons to the legacy GSIN codes. It should not be considered a direct one-to-one mapping of these two categorization systems. For some categories, the linkages were only assessed at higher levels of the two structures (and then simply carried through indiscriminately to the related lower categories beneath those values). But given that the two systems do not necessarily group items in the same way throughout their structures, this could result in confusing connections in some cases. Please always select the UNSPSC code that best describes the applicable goods or services, even if the associated GSIN value as shown in this file is not directly relevant.

The data is available in Comma Separated Values (CSV) file format and can be downloaded to sort, filter, and search information. The United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC) page on CanadaBuys offers a comprehensive guide on how to use this reference file. The Finding and using UNSPSC Codes page from CanadaBuys also contains additional information which may be of use.

This dataset was originally published on June 22, 2016. The format and contents of the CSV file were revised on May 12, 2021. A copy of the original file was archived as a secondary resource to this dataset at that time (labelled ARCHIVED - Mapping of GSIN-UNSPSC in the resource list below).

As of March 23, 2023, the data dictionary linked below includes entries for both the current and archived versions of the datafile, as well as for the datafiles of Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN) dataset and the archived United Nations Standard Products and Services Codes (v10, released 2007) dataset.