HS Code

Definitions #

A six-digit international numbering system used by customs to classify goods for tariffs and statistical tracking.

Technical The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System nomenclature, developed by the World Customs Organization, providing a six-digit code (with country-specific extensions) for identifying traded products at import/export.

Example The HS code 8471.30 is used for portable automatic data processing machines.

Etymology #

Short for Harmonized System, established by the WCO in 1988 to harmonize customs classifications globally.

Collocations #

6-digit HS code 六位编码（国际通用层级）
commodity code 商品编码（特定国家的扩展码，如在 EU 中）
HS tariff classification 关税归类（根据HS编码确定税率）
HS code search HS代码查询（用于报关前确认编码）

Real Business Examples #

The HS code 8471.30 is used for portable automatic data processing machines.
Customs officers verified the HS code on the shipment's commercial invoice before clearance.

Register & Variants #

Register: formal
BrE/AmE: 全球通用，缩写为 HS 无美英差异

Synonyms & Antonyms #

Synonyms: Harmonized System Code, Commodity Code

Common Errors #

把 HS code 与本国 customs tariff number（海关税则号）混为一谈，忽略国家层级扩展 HS code 为国际统一6位；不同国家会在后加2-4位形成完整税号，申报时需使用该国的完整编号
使用旧版 HS code 而未检查更新（如 WCO 每五年更新）务必在申报前确认使用当前有效的版本，因为编码会定期修订

Confusable Terms #

Customs Tariff Number vs HS Code: 海关税则号包含国家扩展（如 EU 的 8 位或 10 位码），而 HS code 只有国际通用 6 位

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is an HS code??

国际通用层级是 6 位数字；各国可能扩展为 8 至 10 位用于关税和统计

Can two different products share the same HS code??

可能，HS 码粒度有限，同一六位码下可能包含多种类似产品，因此需提供详细信息确定具体税率

Published: 2026-09-24 Category: Customs & Clearance