An HS code is the customs classification number for a product under the Harmonized System, maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO). The first six digits are the same in every member country. Each country then adds digits for its own tariff and statistics.
The code decides your import duty, whether trade remedies apply, and which licences or controls are triggered. Getting it wrong can mean paying the wrong duty, or a penalty later.
Where chemicals sit
- Chapter 28 covers inorganic chemicals, such as caustic soda, soda ash and bromine.
- Chapter 29 covers organic chemicals that are separate, defined compounds, including most dye intermediates.
- Chapter 31 covers fertilisers.
- Chapter 32 covers dyes, pigments, tanning extracts, paints and inks.
- Chapter 34 covers soaps and organic surface-active agents, which includes many surfactants.
- Chapter 38 covers miscellaneous chemical products, including many mixtures and pesticide formulations.
- Chapter 39 covers plastics in primary forms, such as polymers and resins.
How to find the right code
Start with the product's chemical identity, its CAS number and whether it is a pure compound or a mixture. That one fact often decides the chapter. A defined organic compound usually goes to chapter 29, while the same compound mixed with other ingredients may move to chapter 38. See why the CAS number matters.
Then use your own country's tariff tool to go from six digits to the full national code. The EU uses TARIC, the UK has the online Trade Tariff, and the US uses the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. India's exporter will declare an eight-digit ITC(HS) code on the shipping bill, which may not match your import code beyond six digits.
Where the classification is not clear, ask your customs broker, or apply for a binding ruling. The EU issues Binding Tariff Information decisions, and US Customs issues binding rulings. These give you legal certainty for future imports.
Common classification mistakes
- Classifying by end use rather than chemical identity, for example putting a dye intermediate under dyes because it is used to make them.
- Using the supplier's export code as your import code without checking the national digits.
- Treating a solution or blend as the pure compound, when the added ingredients move it to another heading.
- Keeping an old code after a tariff update, which can leave you paying the wrong duty for months.
Changes coming in 2028
The HS is revised every few years. According to the WCO, the eighth edition, HS 2028, enters into force on 1 January 2028. Some codes will change, so check your products against the WCO correlation tables before then.
Each country also changes its own national digits more often than the WCO changes the first six. Check your full code at least once a year, and again whenever your supplier changes the composition or form of the product.
Next step
Your customs broker or importer of record is responsible for the declared code. We give them accurate composition data and documents from the manufacturer. To start, book a free sourcing review.