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UK Tariff Commodity Classification (HS) Codes

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Every product / item being imported into the UK must be classified under a Classification / commodity (HS) code. This code not only identifies what type of item it is but it also advises the rate of import duty and / or VAT which will be due, as well as any restrictions or additional requirements, or if any exemptions, reliefs or quotas are available. Ensure that you lookup your specific goods on the UK’s online Trade Tariff site, before you actually place an order with your supplier (or any overseas seller), to minimise any surprises or problems when your goods arrive into the UK.

Every 10-digit code is listed, but if you cannot find out which applies to you, then read the tips / advice below. ukimports

Search tip/advice

Here’s a tip to make it easier to find your 10-digit commodity code on the Taric website, and information relating to duty rates and restrictions:

The first of the two options by which you can search is, if you have been given a classification / commodity code, or maybe you have just part of it, such as the chapter prefix. With this, you can enter it directly in the “code” section.

The second of the two options, and perhaps for some, the easier option, is to search under the ‘Taric Description’.

When searching for your items, be sure to try both singular and plural descriptions, e.g. Baby / Babies, Machine / Machines, Brush / Brushes etc. as the EC Taric website looks for exact words, not parts or words. Therefore, if you were looking for a ‘Dishwasher’, you would find your code by searching for ‘Machines’ (plural), but not when searching for ‘Machine’ (singular). ukimports

Here is a list of the Chapters from UK Customs Tariff, which maybe helpful.

Codes 01 - 05 - Live animals: animal products
01. Live animals.

02. Meat and edible meat offal.

03. Fish and Crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates.

04. Dairy products; Birds’ eggs; Natural honey; edible products or animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included.

05. Products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included.

Codes - 06 - 14 - Vegetable Products

06. Live trees and other plants; bulbs, roots and the like; cut flowers and ornamental foliage.

07. Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers

08. Edible fruit and nuts; Peel of citrus fruit or melons.

09. Coffee, Tea, Mate and Spices.

10. Cereals.

11. Products of the milling industry; Malt; Starches; Inulin; Wheat Gluten.

12. Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits; Miscellaneous Grains, Seeds and Fruit; Industrial or Medicinal Plants; Straw and Fodder.

13. Lac; Gums, Resins and other vegetable saps and extracts.

14. Vegetable Plaiting Materials; Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included.

Codes beg. 15 - Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes
15. Animal of Vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; Prepared edible fats; Animal or Vegetable waxes
Codes 16 - 24 - Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes
16. Preparations of Meat, of Fish or of Crustaceans, Molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates.

17. Sugars and Sugar Confectionery.

18. Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations.

19. Preparations of Cereals, Flour, Starch or Milk; Pastrycooks’ products.

20. Preparations of Vegetables, Fruit, Nuts or other parts of plants.

21. Miscellaneous edible preparations.

22. Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar.

23. Residues and Waste from the food industries; Prepared animal fodder.

24. Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes.

Codes 25 - 27 - Mineral Products
25. Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone Plastering materials, Lime and Cement.

26. Ores, Slag and Ash.

27. Mineral fuels, Mineral oils and products of their distillation; Bituminous substances; Mineral waxes.

Codes 28 - 38 - Products of the chemical or allied industries
28. Inorganic Chemicals; Organic or Inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes.

29. Organic Chemicals.

30. Pharmaceutical products.

31. Fertilizers.

32. Tanning or dyeing extracts; Tannis and their derivatives; Dyes, Pigments and other colouring matter; Paints and Varnishes, Putty and other Mastics; Inks.

33. Essential oils and resinoids; Perfumery, Cosmetic or Toilet preparations.

34. Soap, Organic surface-active agents, Washing preparations, Lubricating preparations, Artificial Waxes, Prepared Waxes, Polishing or Scouring preparations, Candles and similar articles, Modeling Pastes, ‘Dental Waxes’ and Dental preparations with a basis of plaster.

35. Albuminoidal substances; Modified Starches; Glues; Enzymes.

36. Explosives, Pyrotechnic products; Matches; Pyrophoric alloys; Certain combustable preparations.

37. Photographic or Cinematographic goods

38. Miscellaneous Chemical products.

Codes 39 - 40 - Plastics and articles thereof; rubber and articles thereof
39. Plastics and articles thereof.

40. Rubber and articles thereof.

Codes 41 - 43 - Raw 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)
41. Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather.

42. Articles of leather; Saddlery and Harness; Travel goods, Handbags and similar containers; Articles of animal gut (other than silkworm gut).

43. Furskins and artificial fur; Manufactures thereof.

Codes 44 - 46 - Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal; cork and articles of cork; manufactures of straw, of esparto or of other plaiting materials; basketware and wickerwork
44. Wood and articles of wood; Wood charcoal.

45. Cork and articles of cork.

46. Manufactures of straw, of esparto or of other plaiting materials; Basketware and Wickerware.

Codes 47 - 49 - Pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material; waste and scrap of paper or paperboard; paper and paperboard and articles thereof
47. Pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material; Recovered (waste and scrap) paper or paperboard.

48. Paper and paperboard; Articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard.

49. Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; Manuscripts, Typescripts and plans.

Codes 50 - 63 - Textiles and textile articles
50. Silk.

51. Wool, fine or coarse animal hair; Horsehair yarn and woven fabric.

52. Cotton.

53. Other vegetable textile fibres; Paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn.

54. Man-made filaments; Strip and the like of man-made textile materials

55. Man-made staple fibres.

56. Wadding, felt and nonwovens; Special yarns; Twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof.

57. Carpets and other textile floor coverings.

58. Special woven fabrics; tufted textile fabrics; Lace; Tapestries; Trimmings; Embroidery.

59. Impregnated, coated, covered or laminated textile fabrics; Textile articles of a kind suitable for industrial use.

60. Knitted or crocheted fabrics.

61. Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted.

62. Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted.

63. Other made-up textile articles; sets; Worn clothing and Worn textile articles; Rags.

Codes 64 - 67- Footwear, 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
64. Footwear, gaiters and the like; Parts of such articles.

65. Headgear and parts thereof.

66. Umbrellas, sun umbrellas, walking sticks, seat-sticks, whips, riding-crops and parts thereof.

67. Prepared feathers and down and articles made of feathers or of down; Artificial flowers; Articles of human hair.

Codes 68 - 70 - Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials; ceramic products; glass and glassware
68. Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials.

69. Ceramic products.

70. Glass and glassware.

Codes beg. 71 - Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coins
71. Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; Imitation jewellery; Coins.
Codes 72 - 83 - Base metals and articles of base metal
72. Iron and Steel.

73. Articles of Iron or Steel.

74. Copper and articles thereof.

75. Nickel and articles thereof.

76. Aluminium and articles thereof

77. Does not exist.

78. Lead and articles thereof.

79. Zinc and articles thereof.

80. Tin and articles thereof.

81. Other base metals; Cermets; and articles thereof.

82. Tools, implements, cutlery, spoons and forks, of base metal; Parts thereof of base metal.

83. Miscellaneous articles of base metal.

Codes 84 - 85 - Machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical equipment; parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such article
84. Nuclear Reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; Parts thereof

85. Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles

Codes 86 - 89 - Vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment
86. Railway or tramway locomotives, Rolling Stock and parts thereof; Railway or Tramway Track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; Mechanical (including electromechanical) Traffic Signalling Equipment of all kinds.

87. Vehicles other than railway or Tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof.

88. Aircraft, Spacecraft, and parts thereof.

89. Ships, Boats and floating structures.

Codes 90 - 92 - Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; clocks and watches; musical instruments; parts and accessories thereof
90. Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and accessories thereof.

91. Clocks and Watches and Parts thereof.

92. Musical Instruments; Parts and accessories of such articles.

Codes beg. 93 - Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof
93. Arms and Ammunition; Parts and accessories thereof.
Codes 94 - 96 - Miscellaneous manufactured article
94. Furniture; Bedding, Mattresses, Mattress Supports, Cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; Lamps and Lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; Illuminated signs, Illuminated nameplates and the like; Prefabricated Buildings.

95. Toys, Games and Sports Requisites; Parts and accessories thereof.

96. Miscellaneous manufactured articles.

Codes 97 - 99 - Works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques
97. Works of art, Collectors’ Pieces and Antiques.

98. Does not exist.

99. Does not exist.

Important!

To ensure that you are reading the correct information, always enter the ‘Country of Origin’ of your goods. ukimports

Alternatively, to obtain the code which most suits your product or perhaps you feel the need advice on any parts returned from your search, such as rates and / or any restrictions, then you can email a specialist Customs team directly at the following:

UK Tariff Classification Helpline – Email: classification.enquiries@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk 

Reading the duty types and rates; and calculating additional duty

Third Country Duty - Click here for more information
Once you have found the details relating to the goods that you are, or are planning on importing, the rate of duty will be shown as: “Third Country Duty”. As mentioned above, the Taric website allows you, once you have your commodity code, to find whether there is any duty payable.

In a majority of cases this will be the only duty payable to Customs, or on some commodities you wont see this at all, as there’s no duty payable.

However, on some commodities, you may find that there is more than one type of duty to pay. ukimports

For example
1704907500 – For “Toffees, caramels and similar sweets” and we’ll select “China” as our Country of origin.

Along with the normal Import duty which is shown as “Third Country Duty”, it shows the following: “EA(1) MAX 18.70 % +ADSZ(1)”. This means that there is also “European Agricultural (EA) Duty” payable.

But what does it mean if you see something like “EA Duty”? Well, were going to try and explain, hopefully without confusing anyone.

European Agricultural (EA) Duty - Click here for more information
This code shows a normal (Third Country) duty rate of 9% or there’s a lower preferential rate (as the Tariff preference (SPGL) part shows): 5.5% if your supplier if raising a GSP document.

Now, believe it or not, there’s actually 2 options available here, albeit not shown very clearly.

The other thing to look out for, especially on processed foods, is an “Additional Code” which tells Customs the percentage of certain ingredients.

This is a 4-digit code which must be added to the Customs entry following the commodity code (in this case 1704907500). This additional code represents the % quantity of the Sugar, Starch / Glucose, Milk Proteins, Milk Fats etc. contained in the product. This is information which you must obtain from the shipper / manufacturer, however if they refuse or are unable to supply that information to you, then an educated guess should be acceptable by Customs.

Now, continuing on, lets say, for the sake of this example, that this product contained: Max. 70% Sugar, Approx 10% Glucose (no milk products). The additional code these goods, based on the above quantities, is: 7008.

So on to the EA Duty… apparently you can either pay the EA rate, which for these goods and quantities is: EUR 31.41 per 100 Kilos. Or you can pay the Max. 18.70% plus EUR 22.25 per 100 Kilos (which I believe this was the standard Sugar levy). Anyway, your cheapest option is the 1st one at: EUR 31.41 per 100 Kilos

If you would like more help or advise regarding this, then the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) Team on (T) +44 (0) 1702 361 829, is a Customs team that you can talk to.

Please note: The duty rates shown above were correct at the time of writing.

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