{"id":995,"date":"2022-05-27T08:41:47","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T06:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matchplat.local\/hs-codes-what-they-are-and-why-you-need-them\/"},"modified":"2022-05-27T08:41:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T06:41:47","slug":"hs-codes-what-they-are-and-why-you-need-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/hs-codes-what-they-are-and-why-you-need-them\/","title":{"rendered":"HS codes: what they are and why you need them"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"HSHS codes<\/strong> are essential for companies operating abroad.<\/p>\n

HS stands for ‘Harmonised System’<\/strong> and indicates the system used to classify globally traded products<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The system is based on assigning goods a standardised numerical code<\/strong><\/a>, which is used by customs authorities to calculate duties<\/strong>, taxes<\/strong> and collect statistical data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

How is the classification structured? Why is it useful to know HS codes?<\/p>\n

More importantly, how can you easily identify the correct ones for your export business?<\/p>\n

We will answer all these questions in our article.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Harmonized System: how it is structured<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System<\/strong> (or more briefly Harmonised System) is governed by a convention drawn up by the World Customs Organisation<\/strong><\/a> (WCO<\/strong>), the intergovernmental organisation engaged in the coordination of world customs policies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The system is updated every 5 years<\/strong> to reflect the evolution of the global market and the goods traded within it.<\/p>\n

Recognised by over 200 public authorities<\/a>, it is used to standardise the identification of the same product traded between different countries through the assignment of a six-digit code<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

To these, the authorities of individual countries may add further digits<\/strong> for statistical and analysis purposes.<\/p>\n

In the case of the European Union<\/strong>, for example, the Commission annually updates the so-called Combined Nomenclature<\/strong> (CN), which is based on the use of eight digits and used for trade within the Union.<\/p>\n

The code assignment is in fact based on the principle of increasing significance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What does this mean?<\/p>\n

The greater the number of digits that make up the code, the greater its specificity in describing the product.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, it is the first 6 digits that are officially recognised internationally<\/strong>, which is why importers in foreign countries often do not immediately recognise the codes used by exporters.<\/p>\n

To date, HS codes are used for more than 5,000 categories of goods, included within 21 different sections.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Section I\u00a0(Chapters 1-5,\u00a0live animals; animal products).<\/li>\n
  2. Section II (Chapters 6-14,\u00a0vegetable products).<\/li>\n
  3. Section III (Chapters 15,\u00a0animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes).<\/li>\n
  4. Section IV (Chapters 16-24,\u00a0prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco and manufactured tobacco).<\/li>\n
  5. Section V (Chapters 25-27\u00a0mineral products).<\/li>\n
  6. Section VI (Chapters 28-38\u00a0products of the chemical or allied industries).<\/li>\n
  7. Section VII (Chapters 39-40,\u00a0plastics and articles thereof; rubber and articles thereof).<\/li>\n
  8. Section VIII (Chapters 41-43,\u00a0raw hides and skins, leather, furskins and articles thereof; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silkworm gut).<\/li>\n
  9. Section IX (Chapters 44-46,\u00a0wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal; cork and articles of cork; manufactures of straw, of esparto or of other plaiting materials; basketware and wickerwork).<\/li>\n
  10. Section X (Chapters 47-49,\u00a0pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material; recovered (waste and scrap) paper or paperboard; paper and paperboard and articles thereof).<\/li>\n
  11. Section XI (Chapters 50-63,\u00a0textiles and textile articles).<\/li>\n
  12. Section XII (Chapters 64-67,\u00a0footwear, headgear, umbrellas, sun umbrellas, walking sticks, seat-sticks, whips, riding-crops and parts thereof; prepared feathers and articles made therewith; artificial flowers; articles of human hair).<\/li>\n
  13. Section XIII (Chapters 68-70,\u00a0articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials; ceramic products; glass and glassware).<\/li>\n
  14. Section XIV (Chapters 70,\u00a0natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin).<\/li>\n
  15. Section XV (Chapters 72-83,\u00a0base metals and articles of base metal).<\/li>\n
  16. Section XVI (Chapters 84-85,\u00a0machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical equipment; parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles).<\/li>\n
  17. Section XVII (Chapters 86-89,\u00a0vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment).<\/li>\n
  18. Section XVIII (Chapters 90-92,\u00a0optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; clocks and watches; musical instruments; parts and accessories thereof).<\/li>\n
  19. Section XIX (Chapters 93,\u00a0arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof).<\/li>\n
  20. Section XX (Chapters 94-96,\u00a0miscellaneous manufactured articles).<\/li>\n
  21. Section XXI (Chapters 97,\u00a0works of art, collectors’ pieces and antiques).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Find new clients, distributors and suppliers in 196 countries.<\/p>\n

    Request your free pre-analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    Choosing the right codes: why it is crucial for your business<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    As you can guess, using the correct HS codes<\/strong> allows you to avoid problems when exporting.<\/p>\n

    Correct identification of codes allows you to avoid blocking goods<\/strong> at customs in foreign countries<\/strong>, both EU and non-EU.<\/p>\n

    This can reduce export times<\/strong> or unplanned costs<\/strong> such as fines.<\/p>\n

    That is why it is necessary to pay the utmost attention<\/strong> to the correct filling in of all customs documentation, employing experienced staff and using reliable sources to search for information.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    HS codes are essential for companies operating abroad. HS stands for ‘Harmonised System’ and indicates the system used to classify globally traded products. The system is based on assigning goods a standardised numerical code, which is used by customs authorities to calculate duties, taxes and collect statistical data. How is the classification structured? Why is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internationalization","category-portfolio-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matchplat.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}