Study Guide

A specimen Nomenclature page is provided below that shows an example of legal notes and classification numbers/descriptions for HS Chapter 18 – Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations. At this point, a useful rule of thumb is that the fewer digits used, the more general the product grouping; the more digits used, the more specific the product description is – working from the 2‑digit chapter level through to the 6‑digit subheading level. 

HS Nomenclature - specimen page

The above diagram illustrates how a product’s Harmonized System (HS) code is built. The six-digit HS code is organized into three levels:

1806.32	Chapter	First two digits — broad product category (here: Cocoa and Cocoa Preparations).
1806.32	Heading	Next two digits — more specific product grouping within the chapter.
1806.32	Subheading	Final two digits — the most detailed international classification.

In this example, 1806.32 identifies a chocolate bar. Because the HS subheading level differentiates between plain chocolate and filled chocolate, this structure allows Customs administrations to distinguish unfilled bars from those containing fillings such as nuts, caramel, or creams.