The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, also known as the Harmonized System (HS) of

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. (The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as ''onymology'' or ''taxonymy'' ). The principl ...

is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify traded products. It came into effect in 1988 and has since been developed and maintained by the

World Customs Organization The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Notable projects include its collaboration with the WTO on trade facilitation and the implementation of the SAFE Framework of Standar ...

(WCO) (formerly the Customs Co-operation Council), an independent intergovernmental organization based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It is used by over 200 WCO member countries and economies as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of international trade statistics as well as many other purposes.

Structure

The HS is organized logically by economic activity or component material. For example, animals and animal products are found in one section of the HS, while machinery and mechanical appliances are found in another. The HS is organized into 21 Sections, which are subdivided into 96 Chapters (Chapters 1 to 97 with Chapter 77 reserved for potential future use by the HS). The 96 HS Chapters are further subdivided into 1,228 headings and 5,612 subheadings in the current 2022 edition of the HS. Section and Chapter titles describe broad categories of goods, while headings and subheadings describe products in more detail. Generally, HS Sections and Chapters are arranged in order of a product's degree of manufacture or in terms of its technological complexity. Natural commodities, such as live animals and vegetables, for example, are described in the early Sections of the HS, whereas more evolved goods such as machinery and precision instruments are described in later Sections. Chapters within the individual Sections are also usually organized in order of complexity or degree of manufacture. For example, within Section X (''Pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material; Recovered (waste and scrap) paper or paperboard; Paper and paperboard and articles thereof''), Chapter 47 provides for ''pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic materials'', whereas Chapter 49 covers ''printed books, newspapers, and other printed matter''. Finally, the headings within individual Chapters follow a similar order. For example, the first heading in Chapter 50 (''Silk'') provides for ''silk worm cocoons'' while articles made of silk are covered by the Chapter's later headings. The HS code consists of 6-digits. The first two digits designate the Chapter wherein headings and subheadings appear. The second two digits designate the position of the heading in the Chapter. The last two digits designate the position of the subheading in the heading. HS code 1006.30, for example, indicates Chapter 10 (''Cereals''), heading 10.06 (''Rice''), and subheading 1006.30 (''Semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed''). In addition to the HS codes and commodity descriptions, each Section and Chapter of the HS is prefaced by Legal Notes, which are designed to clarify the proper classification of goods. To ensure harmonization, the Contracting

Parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

to the Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, have agreed to base their national tariff schedules on the HS Nomenclature and Legal Notes. Parties are permitted to subdivide the HS Nomenclature beyond 6-digits and add their own Legal Notes according to their own tariff and statistical requirements. Parties often set their customs

duties A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; , past participle of ; , whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, e ...

at the 8-digit "tariff code" level. Statistical suffixes are often added to the 8-digit tariff code for a total of 10 digits. If the number of digits are more than 6, additional digits are called as the national subdivision. Chapter 77 is reserved for future use by the HS. Chapters 98 and 99 are reserved for domestic use for the Contracting Parties to the HS Convention. Since its creation, the HS has undergone several revisions to reflect changes in trade. These revisions eliminate some headings and subheadings describing commodities with low volume of trade and create new headings and subheadings that address new needs, for example, to reflect technological advancements or monitor goods posing environmental concerns. The current edition of the HS became effective on 1 January 2022.

Classification

The process of assigning HS codes is known as "HS Classification". All

products Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that can be offered to a market to satisfy the desire or need of a customer. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution ...

can be classified in the HS by using the '' General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System ("GRI")'' that must be applied in strict order. HS codes can be determined by a variety of factors including a product's composition, its form and its function. An example of a product classified according to its form would be whole

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es. The classification will also change depending on whether the potatoes are fresh or frozen. Fresh potatoes are classified, under heading 07.01 (''Potatoes, fresh or chilled''), more specifically under subheading 0701.90 (''Other''), while frozen potatoes are classified, under heading 07.10 (''Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen''), more specifically under subheading 0710.10 (''Potatoes''). An example of a product classified according its material composition is a picture frame. Picture frames made of tropical

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

are classified under heading 44.14 (''Wooden frames for paintings, photographs, mirrors or similar objects''), more specifically under subheading 4414.10 (''Of tropical wood''). Picture frames made of

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

are classified under heading 39.24 (''Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and hygienic or toilet articles, of plastics''), more specifically under subheading 3924.90 (''Other''). Picture frames made of

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

are classified under heading 7020.00 (''Other articles of glass''), the ".00" at the end indicates the heading is not further subdivided. An example of a product classified according to its form is personal hygiene

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

. When in the form of a bar, cake or moulded shape, such soap is classified under heading 34.01 (''Soap'', among others), then under 1-dash subheading 3401.1 (''Soap and organic surface-active products and preparations, in the form of bars, cakes, moulded pieces or shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent''), and under 2-dash subheading 3401.11 (''For toilet use (including medicated products)''). Conversely,

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

personal hygiene soap, depending on what is in the liquid, is classified under either subheading 3401.20 (''Soap in other forms''), or subheading 3401.30 (''Organic surface-active products and preparations for washing the skin, in the form of liquid or cream and put up for retail sale, whether or not containing soap''). An example of a product classified according to its function is a

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...

(CO)

detector A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

. If the CO detector captures and displays

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

measurements, then it is properly classified under subheading 9027.10 (''Gas or smoke analysis apparatus''), under heading 90.27 (''Instruments and apparatus for physical or chemical analysis (for example, polarimeters, refractometers, spectrometers, gas or smoke analysis apparatus); instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking viscosity, porosity, expansion, surface tension or the like; instruments and apparatus for measuring or checking quantities of heat, sound or light (including exposure meters); microtomes''). If the CO detector does not capture and display gas measurements, then it is properly classified under subheading 8531.10 (''Burglar or fire alarms and similar apparatus''), under heading 85.31 (''Electric sound or visual signaling apparatus (for example, bells, sirens, indicator panels, burglar or fire alarms), other than those of heading 85.12 or 85.30''). Although every product and every part of every product is classifiable in the HS, very few are explicitly described in the HS Nomenclature. Any product for which there is no explicit description can be classified under a "residual" or "basket" heading or subheading, which provide for ''Other'' goods. Residual codes normally occur last in numerical order under their related headings and subheadings. An example of a product classified under a residual heading is a live

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

, which must be classified under heading 01.06, which provides for ''Other live animals'' because dogs are not covered by headings 01.01 through 01.05, which explicitly provide for ''live

equine Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, known from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They originated in North America, before dispersing to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. They are ...

'', ''live

bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including Bos, cattle, bison, African buffalo, Bubalus, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this gro ...

'', ''live

swine Suina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminant artiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in ...

'', ''live sheep and goats'', and ''live

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

'', respectively.

Applications

As of 2022, there were more than 200 countries or economies applying the Harmonized System worldwide. HS codes are used by Customs authorities, statistical agencies, and other government regulatory bodies, to monitor and control the import and export of commodities through: * Customs tariffs * Collection of

trade data Trade data, or import and export statistics, consist of statistical data about international trade, typically organized by time period, country, and commodity (using HS codes). They are used by governments, corporations, manufacturers, law firms, ...

(

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

statistics) * Rules of origin * Collection of internal taxes * Trade negotiations (e.g., the schedules of

concessions of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

) * Transport tariffs and statistics * Monitoring of controlled goods (e.g., wastes,

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

chemical weapon A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

ozone layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the a ...

depleting substances,

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

wildlife trade Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...

) * Other areas of Customs controls and procedures, including risk assessment, information technology and compliance. Companies use HS codes to calculate the total landed cost of imported products and parts, and to identify selling and sourcing opportunities abroad.

Challenges in classification for companies

HS classification is not always straightforward. Many automotive parts, for example, are not classified under heading 87.08, which provides for ''Parts and accessories of the

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

s of headings 87.01 to 87.05''. For example, automotive seats are classified as articles of furniture under heading 94.01, which provides for ''Seats (other than those of heading 94.02), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof'', and more specifically under subheading 9401.20, which provides for ''Seats of a kind used for motor vehicles''. In many jurisdictions, traders alone bear the legal responsibility to accurately classify their goods. However, due to a lack of familiarity with the rules of HS classification traders may inadvertently determine erroneous HS codes for their commodities. Depending on the severity of the infraction, incorrect classification can result in the imposition of non-compliance penalties, border delays or seizures, or denial of import privileges. There are multiple resources available to traders to assist in properly classifying their goods including the following. Global * Th
Official Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System
published by the

(WCO) (Paid publication) * Th
WCO Trade Tools
(WCO online database for the HS, Valuation and Origin, containing both free and paid content, with the legal text of the Harmonized System freely available) National or Regional * Th
US Census "Classify your Commodity" engine

by US Census
Explanatory notes to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union
by the European Commission
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS)
by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Binding Tariff Information (BTI)
by the European Commission
Informed compliance publications
by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Classification Guides
by HM Revenue & Customs
Harmonized Tariff Schedule
as the principal US page with updated info about Tariffs.
Integral System of Trade Information (SIICEX)
by the Confederation of Associations of Custom Brokers of the Mexican Republic ( CAAAREM). It provides updated information about tariffs and explanatory notes in order to import and export goods from/to Mexico. It compiles information of many national and international legal regulations. Traders may sometimes resort to usin
HS code determination guides
and other references to classify their traded commodities. These could include local databases published by authorities in other countries. However, such databases are not valid globally. Many Customs authorities around the world allow traders to apply for an advanced HS classification ruling. Such rulings are legally binding in the countries where they are issued and give certainty to the trader. Provided the information supplied in the request was truthful and valid, they may also provide legal protection to the trader following the ruling if there are future questions on the classification of the goods.

References

{{reflist

External links

World Bank's list of HS Codes products

EU Combined Nomenclature Search Engine
by European Commission - Eurostat
United Nations Comtrade Wiki

Tariffs by region

Integrated Tariff of the European Union - TARIC

Central Excise Tariff of India
by Department of Customs, Ministry of Revenue
East Africa Community Common External Tariff

Japan Tariff Association – webpage refers to Japan Harmonised System Code Search

Mexico import-export codes (Harmonized Tariff Schedule)
by SIICEX and CAAAREM
UK Tariffs

Official Tariff Book of South Africa (South African Revenue Service)
* United States of America :

by U.S. International Trade Commission :
U.S. export codes
by

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

Australian Customs & Border Protection Service - Tariff
Standards Product classifications Chemical numbering schemes World Customs Organization