How to find your HTS code

Chapter and section notes are binding and frequently exclude things you would expect to be included. A plausible-looking subheading can be wrong because a note earlier in the chapter carves your product out. This is the single most common classification error among first-time importers.

When two subheadings genuinely could apply, the General Rules of Interpretation provide the tiebreakers: the more specific description wins, composite goods are classified by the component that gives them their essential character, and where neither resolves it, the last in numerical order applies. For a high-value or repeat shipment, a binding ruling from CBP removes the uncertainty entirely.