A Guide to HTS Codes
An HTS code is a harmonized tariff schedule developed by the World Customs Organization and are codes which are used to define and classify imported and exported goods. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule classifies goods according to name, use, materials used for its making and then assigns that good a ten-digit classification code number. HTS numbers are administered by the United States International Trade Commission since HTS codes are specific to the United States. HTS CODES are very important since commodity duties are based on their classification. An HTS Code is in the same form as an HS code for the first six digits and then has differing four last digits. HTS Codes differ from both HS codes and schedule B codes.
A Harmonized System code is a six-digit standard for classifying globally traded products. The six-digit standard is called a subheading. HS codes are used all over the world by customs authorities to identify duty and tax rates for different and specific types of products. They are usually administered by the World Customs Organization and recognized in the majority of world trade. HS codes are universal classification tools recognized by many governments. Governments around the world add some digits to the HS codes to help further distinguish the products to certain categories. These additional numbers differ from country to country. HS codes are used in referencing for the documentation of export and import goods and also in commercial invoices. Get more info here!
The harmonized system is organized into 21 sections, subdivided into 96 chapters which are also subdivided to headings and subheadings. The section and chapter parts describe broad categories of goods and the headings and subheadings are then used to further describe the goods to more detail. For the sections and chapters, the commodities are arranged according to the technological complexity. Natural goods are described in the early sections while technological complex goods are described in later sections. Vegetable products and animal products, for example, come in the earlier sections while machinery is described in later sections. In the chapters, as also seen in the sections, commodities are arranged according to the degree of their manufacture, click to know more!
Schedule b code is a ten digit subset of HTS codes for American exporters. They are used by the US government for statistical purposes to monitor their export. These codes are usually maintained by the United States Census Bureau. It is faster and much easier for classification of products under these codes as compared to using HTS codes. For further details regarding HTS codes, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cbLufmydbA.
