Find the right HS code for your product

What is an HS code?

The Harmonized System (HS) is the World Customs Organization's product nomenclature — a hierarchy of 21 sections, 97 chapters and roughly 5,600 six-digit subheadings that every WCO member uses as the common backbone for tariffs, trade statistics and rules of origin. The first two digits identify the chapter (85 — electrical machinery), the next two the heading (8507 — electric accumulators), and digits five and six the subheading (8507.60 — lithium-ion). Those six digits are internationally harmonized: a lithium-ion power bank is 8507.60 in Rotterdam, Newark and Felixstowe alike.

Beyond the sixth digit, each customs territory extends the code on its own. The European Union appends two digits to form the eight-digit Combined Nomenclature (CN) used on export declarations and Intrastat, and up to ten digits (TARIC) on import. The United States extends to the ten-digit HTSUS administered by the USITC, and the United Kingdom publishes its own ten-digit commodity codes in the Online Tariff. The duty rate, VAT treatment and any anti-dumping or licensing measures hang off these national extensions — which is why this tool shows you all three ladders, not just the HS6 core.

Why classification accuracy matters

The declared code drives the duty rate, import VAT, preferential-origin eligibility and any prohibitions or licence requirements. Misclassification is one of the most common customs compliance failures: it can mean underpaid duty plus interest and penalties, retroactive reassessment of past entries, or goods held at the border. Under both EU and US law, the importer of record — not the carrier or the broker — is legally responsible for the accuracy of the declaration. Getting from a product description to a defensible heading means applying the WCO General Rules of Interpretation in order, reading the section and chapter notes, and documenting why competing headings were rejected — exactly the reasoning trail this tool drafts for you.

When to get a binding ruling

For recurring shipments, borderline products or high duty-rate differences between candidate headings, ask the authority to commit in writing. In the EU, a Binding Tariff Information (BTI/EBTI) decision binds all member-state administrations for three years. In the US, a CBP binding ruling — searchable in the CROSS database — fixes the HTSUS treatment of your product. In the UK, HMRC issues Advance Tariff Rulings (ATaR). Rulings are free, and presenting a well-reasoned candidate classification (description, composition, function, GRI rationale) materially speeds them up. Use the output of this tool as the starting brief, never as the final word.

What is the difference between an HS code, an HTS code and a commodity code?

They are layers of the same system. The HS code is the 6-digit core maintained by the World Customs Organization (currently the HS 2022 edition) and is identical in every member country. An HTS code — formally HTSUS — is the United States' 10-digit extension of that core, administered by the US International Trade Commission and published at hts.usitc.gov. A commodity code is the UK term for its own 10-digit extension, published in the UK Integrated Online Tariff. The European Union extends the core to 8 digits for export declarations (the Combined Nomenclature, CN) and up to 10 digits for imports (TARIC). The first six digits always match across all four systems; everything after digit six is national and can differ.

What is the HS code for a power bank?

A consumer power bank classifies as a lithium-ion accumulator under HS 8507.60. In the US the full line is 8507.60.00.90 — the 'Other' statistical suffix, because .10 is reserved for EV-propulsion batteries and .30 for grid-scale battery energy storage systems — verified against the official USITC HTS API on 2026-06-11. In the UK the commodity code is also 8507.60.00.90, the residual consumer line, verified against the UK Online Tariff API on 2026-06-11. In the EU the Combined Nomenclature keeps a single line, 8507.60.00, per the CN 2026 annual publication (snapshot of 2026-01-01).

What is the HS code for a cotton t-shirt?

Knitted cotton t-shirts classify under HS 6109.10 — 'T-shirts, singlets and other vests, of cotton, knitted'. The EU line is CN 6109.10.00, and the UK declarable code is 6109.10.00.10, verified against the UK Online Tariff API on 2026-06-11. In the US the legal line is 6109.10.00, but the 10-digit statistical suffix depends on gender and style (men's, women's, underwear and so on), so no single 10-digit code can be assigned from a product description alone — this finder shows the 8-digit legal line and leaves the suffix to your broker or your own lookup. Note the knitted/woven split: a woven (non-knitted) men's cotton shirt belongs in chapter 62 instead, under HS 6205.20.

What happens if I use the wrong HS code?

The declared code drives the duty rate, import VAT, preferential-origin eligibility and licence requirements, so a wrong code usually means underpaid — or overpaid — duty. Customs authorities can reassess past entries retroactively, charge interest and penalties, and hold goods at the border while the classification is disputed. Legally, the importer of record answers for accuracy, not the carrier or the broker: in the US under the 'reasonable care' standard of 19 U.S.C. § 1484, and in the EU under the Union Customs Code (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013). A written reasoning trail — which heading was chosen, under which General Rule of Interpretation, and why the alternatives were rejected — is the standard defence file, and it is exactly what this tool drafts for you.

Is the 6-digit HS code enough for a customs declaration?

No. The 6-digit code is only the international core; actual declarations use national extensions: an 8-digit CN code for EU export declarations (10-digit TARIC for imports), a 10-digit HTSUS line for US entries, and a 10-digit commodity code for UK declarations. That extension — not the HS6 — is what fixes the duty rate and any measures. Where the national subdivision depends on attributes this finder does not collect (power output, fibre content, unit value, lens material), it deliberately leaves the row blank rather than guess: look the full line up in the official tariff browser, or ask your broker, before filing.

Where can I look up the official duty rate for my HS code?

Always read the rate from the authority's own tariff database: the USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule at hts.usitc.gov for US rates, the UK Integrated Online Tariff at trade-tariff.service.gov.uk for UK rates, and the European Commission's TARIC database for EU rates. All three are free and always current. For transparency about this finder's own data: its US and UK lines were last verified against the official USITC and UK Online Tariff APIs on 2026-06-11, while EU CN lines follow the Combined Nomenclature 2026 annual publication (snapshot of 2026-01-01) and are not re-verified line-by-line in between.

Can I rely on a free HS code finder for my customs declaration?

Treat any automated result — this one included — as a well-reasoned starting point, not a legal determination. This tool is deterministic and fail-closed: it covers a curated dictionary of 12 high-volume e-commerce headings across 7 HS chapters, returns 'no match' rather than a guess for anything outside it, and never invents a national subdivision it cannot support. For recurring shipments, borderline products or large duty differences between candidate headings, convert the draft into certainty with a binding ruling: Binding Tariff Information (BTI/EBTI) in the EU, valid for three years; a CBP ruling searchable in the CROSS database in the US; or an Advance Tariff Ruling (ATaR) from HMRC in the UK. Rulings are free, and a documented GRI rationale speeds them up.