HS codes: what they tell you, and what they never tell you

An HS code is a classification, not a price list. Importers get into trouble when they treat a code they found in a spreadsheet as proof of a duty rate.

What the digits mean

• The first two digits are the chapter — the broad family of goods.
• The first four digits are the heading.
• The first six digits are the international subheading, harmonised worldwide.
• Digits seven to ten are national. Your destination invents them, and they carry the rate.

Why a code alone cannot give you a duty rate

The same six-digit subheading can attract different duty in two countries, different duty in the same country depending on origin, and no duty at all under a rebate or exemption. Rates also change with budgets and trade measures.

So the honest workflow is: classify the goods, look up the destination's own tariff line, record its wording, record where you found it, and record the date. If you cannot do that yet, treat the rate as an assumption and label it as one.

How TrueCost handles this

TrueCost never assigns a duty rate from an HS code. It normalises the digits, shows you the chapter, separates the international six digits from the national extension, and asks you for the official tariff description, the source and the verification date. If those are missing, your report says so.