Interpretation of the revised catalogue of the 2022 Coordination System

        Harmonized System (HS) is a commodity classification and coding System developed under the auspices of the World Customs Organization (WCO) for the common use of all parties in international trade. In order to adapt to the development of trade and science and technology, the HARMONization System is generally revised every five years. The WCO started the sixth review cycle in September 2014, and its outcome, the 2022 version of the Harmonization System, will be implemented globally from January 1, 2022. The General Administration of Customs recently released the Chinese version of the revised catalogue of the coordination System for 2022. What are the main aspects of the revised harmonization System?

        I. Main features of this revision

        There are 351 groups of revisions to the 2022 HARMONization System, and the revised harmonization System has 5,609 six-digit sub-items, 222 more than the 2017 harmonization System. The new version of the Harmonization System adjusts the original structure of the harmonization system to adapt to the current trade development by listing new products that form major trends in trade and products related to environmental and social issues of global concern.

        The harmonization system divides commodities into 21 categories, but only category 8 (leather goods), category 12 (shoes, hats, etc.) and category 19 (weapons and ammunition) have not been revised. There were 52 groups (14.8% of all groups) for Category 16 (mechanical and electrical products), 47 groups (13.4%) for Category 6 (chemicals), 31 groups (8.8%) for Category 1 (animal products), and 31 groups (8.8%) for Category 9 (wood and wood products).

        II. Key contents of this revision

        1. Revisions made in response to the development of new technologies and the demand for new product trade

        Additional items, such as: new tobacco products (24.04), flat panel display module (85.24), uav (88.06), etc. Amend notes and provisions of the Chapter, e.g. semiconductor transducers (heading 85.41), etc.

        2. Revisions made in response to changing needs of industrial and trade development

        Adjust the structure of items, such as glass fiber and its products (item 70.19), forging and stamping machine tools for metal processing (item 84.62), etc.

        3. Revisions made in response to international concerns about safety, environmental protection and health

        A new category to clarify the scope of certain wastes in accordance with the Basel Convention (heading 85.49); Amending the Harmonized System for certain chemicals controlled under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), certain hazardous chemicals controlled under the Rotterdam Convention and Ozone Depleting Substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol (related headings in Chapters 29, 38 and 39); Add suborders for placebo and blind (or double-blind) clinical trial kits (suborder 3006.93), diagnostic or experimental reagents for Zika virus and other diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes (suborder 3822.12), etc.

        4. Revisions made in response to the need to simplify and optimize the catalogue structure of the HARMONization System

        Items and subitems with low trade volume, such as cadmium and its products (subhead 81.07), globes and astronomical instruments (subhead 4905.10), nickelmetal batteries (subhead 8507.40), telephone answering machines (subhead 8519.30), clockworks (subhead 9114.10), etc.

        5. Revisions made in response to the normative application requirements of the Coordination System

        Amendment of relevant categories, chapter notes and provisions to clarify the scope of commodities, e.g. amendment of category provisions in 15.15 to clarify the inclusion of microbial oils and fats, and addition of note 3 in Chapter 59 to clarify the definition of “textiles laminated with plastic”, etc.

        III. China Customs has been deeply involved in the revision

        In this round of revision, 45 groups of Chinese customs proposals and revised opinions were adopted, a record high. Among them, “glass window”, “communication antenna”, “uav” and “stainless steel vacuum insulation container” have been listed in the new version of “Coordination System” to solve the classification dispute and help our superior products to go out. At the same time, the “Chinese scheme” for clarifying the classification of products such as “microbial grease”, “3D printer” and “integrated circuit testing equipment” was approved, and the Chinese elements such as Beidou Navigation system and the national standard of “laminated single-board material” were included in the Notes for the Coordination System.

Article source:General Administration of Customs of People’s Republic of China