Correctly classifying goods under the Harmonized System is the first step in calculating import duty, and getting the wrong chapter or heading can mean overpaying or facing customs penalties and delays. This helper lets you search common commodity descriptions, see the relevant HS chapter and heading, and get indicative Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) duty rates for the US, EU, and UK as a fast starting point before consulting official tariffs.
How the Harmonized System works
The Harmonized System organises all traded goods into 21 sections and 97 active chapters. A full code is built hierarchically:
Chapter (2 digits) broad category e.g. 09 = coffee, tea, spices
Heading (4 digits) product group e.g. 0901 = coffee
Subheading (6 digits) specific item e.g. 0901.21 = roasted, not decaffeinated
National extension country-specific e.g. 8 or 10 digits (US HTS, EU CN, UK TCS)The first six digits are internationally harmonized — they mean the same thing in every WTO member country. Digits 7 onward are national subheadings that vary by country, which is why this tool shows the 4-digit heading level rather than full national codes.
This tool matches your keyword against embedded chapter and heading descriptions, then displays indicative ad valorem MFN duty rates. When you enter a customs value, the indicative duty is simply value × rate.
Worked example: coffee
Searching coffee returns chapter 09, heading 0901 (coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated).
Indicative MFN rates for roasted coffee (heading 0901.21):
- EU: approximately 7.5% — but coffee enters duty-free from many origins under the Everything But Arms scheme or GSP
- US: generally 0% for most coffee — the US applies duty-free MFN treatment to most unprocessed coffee
- UK: similar to EU rates post-Brexit
On a CIF customs value of 10,000, the EU indicative duty would be roughly 750, before applying any preferential trade agreement.
What MFN means (and when it does not apply)
Most-Favoured-Nation rate is the standard rate a WTO member charges to imports from other WTO members without a preferential agreement. It is the baseline — but many shipments attract a different rate:
| Scenario | Effect on duty |
|---|---|
| Free trade agreement (e.g., EU-UK TCA, US-CAFTA) | Often reduces duty to 0% |
| GSP / preference schemes | Lower rates for developing country origins |
| Anti-dumping duties | Add substantial extra duty on top of MFN |
| Tariff-rate quotas | Low rate on in-quota volume; much higher out-of-quota |
| Safeguard measures | Temporary extra duties on specific goods |
Always check whether a preferential agreement applies to your specific origin-destination combination before budgeting on the MFN rate.
Common classification mistakes
- Cotton vs synthetic: Chapter 52 (cotton) and chapter 55 (man-made fibres) attract very different duty rates. The material composition determines classification, not the product type.
- Parts vs whole products: Parts of machinery often fall in different chapters than the finished machines, sometimes with lower or higher rates.
- Prepared vs unprepared food: Chapter 19 (prepared cereals, pastry) attracts higher duties than Chapter 10 (unprocessed grains) in many markets.
Always confirm the full 8–10 digit national code and current rate in the official tariff schedule — the WTO Tariff Analysis Online tool, the EU’s TARIC database, and the US HTS Online are the authoritative sources.