Why It's Crucial to Have Your Goods Classified Accurately at Customs

 

From a customs perspective, the way your items are classified is crucial. If you misidentify your items, you may face delays in the customs declaration procedure or if the Customs Authorities hold your cargo at the border. There may be additional fees and taxes imposed as a result.

It is important to keep in mind that the following factors are affected by how your items are Customs classification:

·         Duties

·         Bans on importing and exporting

·         Requirements for Documentation

·         Licenses

·         Interventions in Commercial Policy

·         Interventions for Safety

Just how do we categorize products?

It is the Harmonized System that is used to categorize goods. World Customs Organization (WCO) guidelines are used for customs categorization. Classification-related details may be found in each chapter and section. Because of their complexity, I will simply briefly describe the two most often-used categorization rules.

Rule 1 of Classification

Titles of sections, chapters, and subchapters are provided for convenience only and shall not be used for purposes of interpretation or construction hereunder; rather, for all statutory and other legal purposes, classification shall be determined following the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes and, if the headings or notes do not otherwise require, following the following provisions.

If you're trying to figure out how to categorize a product, you should start with Rule 1.

Rule 6 of the Classification states that the language of the headings and any relevant section or chapter notes is utilized for statutory reasons in determining how products are classified. The same holds, mutatis mutandis, except that only comparable categories may be compared. The provisions in the headers and notes to the relevant sections or chapters of this Rule apply unless the context dictates otherwise.