HS code Singapore: what it is and how to find yours

1What is an HS code?

An HS code (also written hscode, or called a tariff code) is the product's number in the Harmonised System, a product nomenclature kept by the World Customs Organization and used by customs authorities around the world. It sorts every physical product into a numbered place: a sofa, a cotton T-shirt, a phone charger and a plastic storage box each have their own. Because the first six digits mean the same thing everywhere, a customs officer in Singapore and an exporter in Guangdong can talk about the same goods without agreeing on a single word of description.

Singapore uses the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN), which takes the international six digits and adds two more, so a Singapore HS code has 8 digits. The current schedule is STCCED 2022. When people search for a harmonised code, an HS code, a tariff code or a commodity code in Singapore, this is the number they mean. Singapore Customs explains the structure on its page on understanding HS classification.

2How the eight digits are built

The system works from broad to narrow. Each level sits inside the one before it, so you never need to read the whole schedule to find one product.

Classification starts at the 4-digit heading and works down, guided by the General Interpretative Rules: the legal rules that settle which heading wins when a product could fit more than one. In practice what decides the line is what the product is, what it is made of and what it is for, which is why a clear description matters more than anything else on your invoice.

3Why every Singapore import permit carries one

Every commercial shipment into Singapore needs an import permit, lodged through TradeNet, Singapore Customs' permit system (see how a Customs import permit is obtained), and every item on the permit is declared under its HS code. The code is how Singapore Customs reads the shipment. It tells them three things:

• Whether duty applies. Singapore charges duty only on liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products. The HS code is what identifies those goods. Everything else is duty-free.
• That GST is due. Duty-free is not tax-free: GST at 9% applies to the customs value of almost everything imported. Our GST and customs clearance guide explains how it is worked out, and the import GST calculator does the sum on your figures.
• Whether the product is controlled. Some goods can only be imported with approval from a Competent Authority, the agency responsible for that product (food, cosmetics and health products, for example). The HS code, together with a product code on some lines, is how the permit system knows to ask for that approval.

So the HS code does not set your freight price and, for most goods from China, it does not change your tax bill. What it does is decide how the permit is processed. A code that does not match the goods is a reason for Customs to query the declaration, and a queried shipment waits until the question is answered.

4HS code search: how to find your HS code with the Singapore Customs checker

Singapore Customs publishes three free tools on its page on finding your Harmonised System code. Used in this order, they answer most questions in a few minutes:

1. Write one plain sentence about the product. What it is, what it is made of and what it is for: "wooden dining table", "knitted cotton T-shirt", "USB phone charger". Brand names and marketing words do not help.
2. Search the HS/CA Product Code Checker. It finds HS codes and their product codes from a keyword, and shows whether the product is controlled by a Competent Authority (CA). This is the HS code search most people are looking for.
3. Read the Traders' Product Guide if the result is unclear. It gives general descriptions of products with their HS classification and whether they are dutiable.
4. Look in the Customs Ruling Database for a product that is genuinely borderline. It holds past classification rulings, which show how Customs has decided similar goods.
5. Still unsure? You can apply to Singapore Customs for an official Customs Ruling on the classification of your product. For a product you will import again and again, that gives you Customs' own written answer to work from.

Singapore Customs says its classifications in these tools are for general reference only. They are the right place to look, and the code on the permit still has to fit the goods actually in the carton.

5Common goods from China and their HS chapters

Most of what Singapore businesses and households buy from China falls into a handful of chapters. The table stays at chapter level on purpose: the exact 8-digit line depends on the product, so check it in the Customs checker or ask us.

Furniture and lighting

Sofas, beds, tables, cabinets, mattresses and lamps all sit in Chapter 94, which is why a mixed furniture order from Foshan is usually simple to classify: one chapter, a few headings. The detail that moves a piece from one line to another is what it is and what it is made of, so "solid wood bed frame" and "metal office chair" classify quickly where "furniture" does not. A ceiling lamp is classified as a light fitting, but loose bulbs and LED strips can fall in Chapter 85 with electrical goods. Our furniture shipping guide covers packing and delivery.

Clothing

Garments are split by how the fabric is made before anything else: knitted goods in Chapter 61, woven and other fabrics in Chapter 62. A T-shirt is usually knitted and a shirt with buttons usually woven, but the invoice should say which, along with the fibre (cotton, polyester) and who it is for.

Electronics

Electrical goods such as phones, chargers, cables and speakers are in Chapter 85; computers and machines that do mechanical work are in Chapter 84. For both, the battery is the bigger question. Lithium batteries affect which mode and carrier will take the cargo, so tell us before the supplier ships.

6When the code flags a controlled product

The HS/CA Product Code Checker shows whether a product is controlled by a Competent Authority. Controlled does not mean banned: it means the importer needs that authority's approval, a licence or a notification before the permit can be approved. Singapore Customs keeps the list of controlled and prohibited goods for import, and our guide on whether you need an import licence in Singapore explains what that approval involves.

7Who enters the HS code, and how we help you find it

You do not need to know your HS code to ship with us. Shiplet is a Registered Declaring Agent with Singapore Customs, under Empirical Marine and Trading Pte. Limited, UEN 202418701E. When we lodge the permit, we enter the HS code for each item, working from the product description on your commercial invoice. If you want the code before you buy, for example to check whether a product is controlled or to compare suppliers' invoices, we can help you find it: send us the product description, its material and what it is for, or the listing link, and we work out the right code with you. The permit, the clearance and the declaration are included in our sea LCL and air rates; see the pillar guide for everything else the rate covers.

What slows classification down is a vague description. "Gift", "sample", "accessories" and "parts" could be almost anything, so we have to come back to you or the supplier before the permit can go in. Ask your supplier for plain product descriptions on the invoice, one line per kind of goods, and the code follows from them. The importer named on the permit stays responsible for the accuracy of what is declared, so a plain, honest description protects you as well as speeding things up.

A Taobao or 1688 order screenshot is accepted as the invoice, as long as it shows what each item is, the quantity and the price paid. If the order has more than five different items, we also need a proper packing list. The post on the commercial invoice and packing list shows what each document should carry.

Describe the goods plainly when you get an instant quote and upload the invoice once you accept the confirmed quote: the description question is then settled before the cargo leaves China. To see what the freight itself comes to, put your carton sizes into the CBM calculator: sea LCL is S$82 per CBM hub to door, minimum 1 CBM, with the permit and clearance included.