HS codes for ecommerce in Europe, classify right or pay the wrong duty

Co je HS code?

An HS code, or Harmonised System code, is a standardised numerical identifier used to classify a traded product for customs purposes. The Harmonised System is maintained by the World Customs Organization and is used by almost every trading country, which is why the first six digits of a product's code are the same worldwide. Individual territories then extend it: the European Union adds further digits under its Combined Nomenclature, so an EU import is classified to an eight-digit CN code, and further still to a ten-digit TARIC code that carries the measures actually applied, such as duty rates, suspensions and restrictions. This code is far more than an administrative label. It is the single input that most determines what an import costs and how it is treated: customs uses it to set the duty rate, to establish the VAT treatment, and to flag any licences, controls or preferential rates that apply to the goods. Getting classification right therefore sits at the centre of accurate landed cost. A wrong code has consequences in both directions: classify too high and a brand overpays duty on every shipment; classify too low and it underpays, which customs can correct retrospectively with back-duty and penalties, and which can trigger holds that stall inventory. Classification is decided by the objective characteristics of the goods, their material, function and the way they are made and presented, rather than by what is convenient, and borderline products can be genuinely difficult to place. This is why the classification step is one of the most valuable things a competent customs or fulfilment partner does: assigning the correct code, and clearing consistently against it, is what makes duty, VAT and clearance predictable rather than a source of surprise.

Také nazýváno: commodity code, tariff code, CN code, Harmonised System code