subject: Harmonized Code List An Integral Part Of The Import Export Trade [print this page] Harmonized code or HS Code is an inevitable aspect of the import export trade. It is a unique numerical code assigned to various products and commodities required while shipping from one country to another. It is used to describe particular goods in the import export trading platform.
The ITC HS Code List or India harmonized code list is regulated and maintained by the Director General of Foreign Trade or DGFT India. The international coding system has been adopted in India for export import operations. It is an eight digit code that has been developed at par with the international coding system to suit the requirements of the international trading community of the country. The code is basically, a unique ID assigned to a particular trading product, which is used by more than 200 countries across the world.
DGFT India in the governing authority that takes care of the changes or formulation or addition of new codes in the existing harmonized code list. The authority carries out periodical activities like commodity description, weeding out of defunct codes, addition of new codes, change of product description etc. It maintains the harmonized code list, which is a collection of such codes classified under 21 sections. The 21 sections include Animals & Animal Products; Vegetable Products; Animal or Vegetable Fats; Prepared Foodstuffs; Mineral Products; Chemical Products; Plastics & Rubber; Hides & Skins; Wood & Wood Products; Wood Pulp Products; Textiles & Textile Articles; Footwear, Headgear; Articles Of Stone, Plaster, Cement, Asbestos; Pearls, Precious Or Semi-Precious Stones, Metals; Base Metals & Articles Thereof; Machinery & Mechanical Appliances; Transportation Equipment; Instruments - Measuring, Musical; Arms & Ammunition; Miscellaneous; and Works Of Art. Each of these 21 sections is further divided into 98 chapters. The chapters are further divided into sub-headings under which particular HS Codes for different products are mentioned.
Every trader dealing in international market has to mention the particular code number of his product in all the forms and other important paperwork that needs to filled up at the time of import export. All the related activities like customs duty or excise duty or drawback rates or even the exemption of commodities, are carried out in reference to the code mentioned in the papers. Hence one can say that these codes are mandatory while dealing in foreign trade. If the HS tariff list was not available, it would have been very troublesome for the traders to search for a particular segment of products. The list presents the entire product coding with a number of categories, simplifying the task of importers and exporters. You can easily access this code list over the internet with the online data companies like Infodrive India. Besides providing a detailed HS tariff list, the company has also provided an internal search box for searching the codes of particular goods simply by entering the products names.
by: Jayden William
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