Every 5 years, the World Customs Organization (WCO) renews its list of international product codes for global trade. The 2022 edition comes in effect on January 1, 2022 and includes updates that may impact your products’ classification.
What are HS Codes and why are they important?
HS code is short for Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. HS codes are used by customs authorities around the world to identify products when assessing duties and taxes and for gathering statistics. As a shipper, adding HS codes to your customs declaration makes for a much quicker and smoother clearance process. Incorrect or missing HS Codes can lead to potential delays in customs. Also, without an HS code attached to a product, shippers are at the mercy of customs officials to determine proper product classification before receiving customs clearance.
Why do HS codes change?
HS codes are updated to account for the development of new products, and to eliminate products and/or categories which have become obsolete. For example, the prior (2017) HS edition did not have a separate category for smartphones or Hybrid vehicles. In the 2022 edition, relatively recent products such as 3D printers, drones, and vape pens, have been assigned a code. And some growing markets, such as insect-based human food, have become large enough to warrant their own category.
For a full breakdown of the 2022 updates, click here to download the amendment list from the WCO website.
How can I find the HS codes for your products?
Use our free HS Classification Tool to easily identify your products codes. It only takes a few clicks to automatically generate the approved HS code for your product using the World Customs Organization schedule.
2022 updates to the Harmonized System
