Posted by Harmonized System (6 Digits)
The Nomenclature governed by the Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, commonly known as “HS Nomenclature”, is an international multi purpose nomenclature which was elaborated under the auspices of the World Customs Organization (WCO). At present there are 155 Contracting Parties to this Convention, however, it is applied by more than 200 administrations worldwide, mostly to set up their national customs tariff and for the collection of economic statistical data. The European Union and its member states together represent a block of 29 Contracting Parties to the aforementioned Convention.
The HS Nomenclature comprises about 5,000 commodity groups which are identified by a 6-digit code and arranged according to a legal and logical structure based on fixed rules. The Combined Nomenclature of the European Union (EU) integrates the HS Nomenclature and comprises additional 8-digit subdivisions and legal notes specifically created to address the needs of the Community.
The Combined Nomenclature (8 Digits)
The Combined Nomenclature (CN) is a tool for classifying goods, set up to meet the requirements both of the Common Customs Tariff and of the EU’s external trade statistics. The CN is also used in intra-EU trade statistics
How does CN8 work?
It is used to classify most goods when they are declared to customs in the EU.
The CN subheading stated in declarations for imported and exported goods determines: Which rate of customs duty applies How the goods are treated for statistical purposes or for other European Union policies
| Chapter in the Harmonized System (HS) | 2 digits | e.g. ‘Chapter 18 Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations’ |
| HS heading | 4 digits | e.g. ‘1806 Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa’ |
| HS subheading | 6 digits | e.g. ‘1806 10 — Cocoa powder, containing added sugar or sweetening matter’ |
| CN subheading | 8 digits | e.g. ‘1806 10 15 — — Containing no sucrose or containing less than 5 % by weight of sucrose (including invert sugar expressed as sucrose) or isoglucose expressed as sucrose’ |
10 Digit example
In some cases an additional 2 digits are added to the 8 digit commodity code for imports into the EU
| 9104 | Instrument panel clocks and clocks of a similar type for vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft or vessels : (TN701) |
| 9104 00 00 10 | For use in civil aircraft (TN100) |
| 9104 00 00 90 | Other |
Intrastat code (8 digit)
The CN8 code is used for the Intrastat Report
Non EU import code (10 digit)
The 10 digit code is used for all Non EU imports Unless there is a specific 10 digit commodity code, the code to be used is the CN8 with two zeros added to the end of the code Example: CN8 Code: 50072011 Import code: 5007201100
EU Customs Tariff (TARIC)
Tariff measures, Agricultural measures, Trade Defence instruments, Prohibitions and restrictions to import and export, Surveillance of movements of goods at import and export
TARIC Consultation – EU Customs Tariff
TARIC, the integrated Tariff of the European Union, is a multilingual database integrating all measures relating to EU customs tariff, commercial and agricultural legislation.
The Combined Nomenclature an explanation
Combined nomenclature 2023 commodity codes, duty rates, supplementary units
The Combined Nomenclature (CN) is a tool for classifying goods, set up to meet the requirements both of the Common Customs Tariff and of the EU’s external trade statistics. The CN is also used in intra-EU trade statistics. It is a further development (with special EU-specific subdivisions) of the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System nomenclature. This is a systematic list of commodities applied by most trading nations (and also used for international trade negotiations).
What are supplementary units
Sometimes an imported item has to be converted to a second measurement 10 rolls of silk fabric must also be converted to the amount of square metres of material This allows for rolls of different widths and lengths to be converted to the same measurement, in this case square metres.
| TEXTILES AND TEXTILE ARTICLES | |
|---|---|
| 5007 | Woven fabrics of silk or of silk waste: |
| 5007 10 00 | Fabrics of noil silk |
| Supplementary unit: | m2 (square metres) |
10 rolls of 500cm wide x 50m long 10 x 0.5m x 50m = 250m2 Unit: Roll = 10 Supplementary Unit: m2 = 250m2
Supplementary unit types
In an export-import context, the number of units in a consignment. The measurement used depends in the type of goods.
| c/k | Carats (1 metric carat = 2 × 10–4 kg) |
| ce/el | Number of cells |
| ct/l | Carrying capacity in tonnes (1) |
| g | Gram |
| gi | F/S Gram of fissile isotopes |
| kg | H2O2 Kilogram of hydrogen peroxide |
| kg | K2O Kilogram of potassium oxide |
| kg | KOH Kilogram of potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) |
| kg met.am. | Kilogram of methylamines |
| kg N | Kilogram of nitrogen |
| kg NaOH | Kilogram of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) |
| kg/net eda | Kilogram drained net weight |
| kg P2O5 | Kilogram of diphosphorus pentaoxide |
| kg 90 % sdt | Kilogram of substance 90 % dry |
| kg U | Kilogram of uranium |
| 1 000 kWh | Thousand kilowatt hours |
| l | Litre |
| l alc. | 100 % Litre pure (100 %) alcohol |
| m | Metre |
| m2 | Square metre |
| m3 | Cubic metre |
| 1 000 m3 | Thousand cubic metres |
| pa | Number of pairs |
| p/st | Number of items |
| 100 p/st | Hundred items |
| 1 000 p/st | Thousand items |
| TJ | Terajoule (gross calorific value) |
| t. CO2 | Tonne of CO2 (carbon dioxide) equivalent (2) |
| — | No supplementary unit |
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