What Is Harmony Tariff Code ?
| Before we talk about harmony tariff code, it is first important to understand what harmony codes are. Harmony codes refer to an international goods classification system, which is used to describe goods in international trade under a single commodity coding system. |
Harmony code was established by the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC), which is an international customs organization located in Brussels, Belgium. The code is product nomenclature that is structured hierarchically and contains around 5,000 headings and sub-headings. The harmony code is in 99 chapters which are arranged in 22 sections.
A basic harmony code contain 44 headings a 6 digit sub-heading. However, many countries add additional digits to the code for Customs tariff and statistical purposes. In the US, harmony codes for duty rates are 8 digits while for statistical purposes the code extends to 10 digits.
The Harmonized System is currently used in the US tariff schedule for imports and it is the basis for the 10 digit Schedule B export code. This is what makes up the harmony tariff code in the US. The harmony tariff code has many uses. It is used for preparing and comparing trade statistics, and the codes are used when conducting trade negotiations. In addition, the harmony tariff codes help authorities and officials to regulate and monitor shipments of controlled items. However, one of the most important uses of harmony tariff codes is to determine import tariff on certain goods and products.
The US Census Bureau Foreign Trade Division has more than 8,000 product categories and every item that is exported has 10 digit code that the exporter selected from the Census Bureau’s database. In the 10 digit code, the first 6 digits are considered to in harmony with majority of countries with whom the US does international trade.
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