HS codes explained

The Harmonized System is a nomenclature maintained by the World Customs Organization. Its first six digits are shared by more than 200 customs administrations: chapter (2 digits), heading (4) and subheading (6). Every country then extends the code for its own tariff and statistics — 10 digits in the United States (HTS), the United Kingdom (commodity code) and the European Union (TARIC), 8 in Australia, 9 in Japan, 10 in Korea (HSK), 12 in Türkiye (GTİP).

The code decides the rate

Duty rates, preferences, trade remedies, quotas and most import controls are attached to national codes. Two products that look alike commercially can sit in different headings with different rates: a cotton T-shirt (knitted, heading 6109) and a cotton shirt (woven, heading 6205) are separated by construction, not use.

How classification is decided

Classification follows the six General Rules of Interpretation, the section and chapter notes, and the legal text of each heading and subheading. Commercial names, marketing descriptions and what the seller wrote on the invoice carry no weight. The most common decisive facts are material, construction, function, whether the goods are a set or a part, and — for food and chemicals — composition.

National differences

The six-digit structure is shared, but countries subdivide differently and occasionally interpret borderline cases differently. A code that is correct in the EU is a strong indication for the UK (which inherited the same nomenclature) but only a starting point for the United States, whose statistical suffixes follow their own logic.

Rulings

When the value at stake is significant or the classification is contested, ask the authority for a binding decision: a CBP ruling in the United States, Binding Tariff Information in the UK and EU, a Tariff Advice in Australia. LandedGrid’s guided finder walks the tariff’s own branches and tells you when a ruling is advisable, but it does not replace one.