HS+Convention

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, generally referred to as Harmonized System or simply "HS", is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). HS is governed by "The International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System", which was adopted in June 1983 and entered into force January 1988.

The objective of the HS Convention is to facilitate trade and information exchange by harmonizing the description, classification and coding of goods in international trade. HS is used for Customs tariffs and the collection of external trade statistics. It is also extensively used by governments, international organizations and the private sector for many other purposes, such as internal taxes, trade policies, monitoring of controlled goods, rules of origin, freight tariffs, transport statistics, price monitoring, quota controls, compilation of national accounts, and economic research and analysis.

HS is a nomenclature for the coding, description and classification of goods/products in international trade. It consists of about 5,000 commodity classes, which are structured into 21 sections (sections I to XXI), 97 chapters (1 - 97), four-digit headings and six-digit sub-headings. Chapters 98 and 99 are for national use only. The HS harmonizes the codification of commodities up a six-digit scheme. Most Customs administrations, however, use a ten or more digit commodity coding system, with the first six digits being the HS code. To achieve uniform classification of goods in HS, it also contains Section, Chapter and Subheading Notes and General Rules for interpretation. The official interpretation of HS is given in Explanatory Notes (5 volumes in English and French) published by the WCO. These Explanatory Notes are also available online and on CD-ROM, as part of a commodity database giving the HS classification of more than 200,000 commodities actually traded internationally (Source: WCO website).

HS is binding to contracting parties. The convention and any disputes are administered by the WCO HS Committee. The latest edition now in force is the 2012 edition, following those of 2002 and 2007. As of October 2011, HS has 141 contracting parties (140 countries and the EU), of which 128 have adopted the 2007 edition, and 60 countries have already adopted the 2012 edition. Besides the 141 contracting parties, many more countries and territories actually apply HS without being a contracting party. As of October 2011, over 206 countries, territories and economic or Customs unions are applying HS in practice. More detailed information about the contracting parties or information about all countries and territories applying HS is provided by the WCO with regular updates on their website.

Pages that reference the HS Convention
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