The HS or Harmonized System Nomenclature is the international customs nomenclature for the classification of goods, which is the basis for the determination of customs duties. HS 2017 is currently applied by 212 countries. Although the nomenclature undergoes a review every year, its revised iteration is introduced every five years on the 1st of January.
While January 2022 may seem far off, a lot of work still needs to be done at the World Customs Organization (WCO) and at national and regional levels to ensure the timely implementation of HS 2022. The WCO is developing correlation tables between HS 2017 and HS 2022, and updating its HS publications - Explanatory Notes (EN), Classification Opinions, and Alphabetical Index
The new HS 2022 Edition makes some major changes to the HS with a total of 351 sets of amendments covering a wide range of goods. In its release the WCO highlighted the core amendments, which include the recognition of new product streams and addressing environmental and social issues of global concern. Electrical and electronic waste, commonly referred to as e-waste, is one example of a product class which presents significant policy concerns as well as a high value of trade, hence HS 2022 includes specific provisions for its classification to assist countries in their work under the Basel Convention. New provisions for novel tobacco and nicotine-based products resulted from the difficulties of the classification of these products, lack of visibility in trade statistics, and the very high monetary value of this trade. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, also gain their own specific provisions to simplify the classification of these aircraft. Smartphones will gain their own tariff subheading, which will also clarify and confirm the current heading classification of these multifunctional devices. Major reconfigurations have been undertaken for glass fibres and for metal-forming machinery.
The recognition of the dangers of delays in the deployment of tools for the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases in outbreaks has led to changes to the provisions for such diagnostic kits to simplify classification. New provisions for placebos and clinical trial kits for medical research to enable classification without information on the ingredients in a placebo will assist in facilitating cross-border medical research. Cell cultures and cell therapy are among the product classes that have gained new and specific provisions. On a human security level, a number of new provisions specifically provide for various dual use items.
Protection of society and the fight against terrorism are increasingly important roles for Customs. Many new tariff subheadings have been created for dual use goods that could be diverted for unauthorised use, such as radioactive materials and biological safety cabinets, as well as for items required for the construction of improvised explosive devices, such as detonators.
HS 2022 introduces new tariff subheadings for specific chemicals controlled under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), for certain hazardous chemicals controlled and for certain persistent organic pollutants (POPs). At the request of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), new tariff subheadings have been introduced for the monitoring and control of fentanyls, their derivatives and two fentanyl precursors.
Due to the wide scope of the changes the WCO encourages all business to carefully read the HS 2022.
A copy of HS 2022 is available on request.
Story by: Riaan de Lange