HS codes and Binding Tariff Information
How the 8-digit Combined Nomenclature builds on the HS, why the code sets duty and other rules, and how a BTI decision gives three years of certainty.
Every good imported into the EU is declared under an eight-digit Combined Nomenclature code, which builds on the six-digit Harmonised System of the World Customs Organization. The code sets the duty rate and decides which other EU measures apply, from anti-dumping duties to CBAM. A Binding Tariff Information decision, or BTI, fixes the classification of a specific product for three years, binding on customs authorities in every member state and on the holder.
Classification is the first fact in any import. Most of the others depend on it.
What is the difference between an HS code, a CN code and a TARIC code?
They are three layers of the same system.
| Layer | Digits | Set by | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmonised System (HS) | 6 | World Customs Organization | Shared structure of chapters, headings and subheadings |
| Combined Nomenclature (CN) | 8 | European Union | The EU’s tariff and statistical nomenclature, with a duty rate per code |
| TARIC | 10 | European Union | The CN code plus two digits for EU measures |
The Commission describes the CN as “a further development of the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System nomenclature”, with “an 8-digit code number followed by a description and a duty rate.” The Court of Justice of the EU describes the TARIC code as the eight-digit CN code supplemented by two additional digits, carrying the duty rates and other measures that apply to specific goods.
The CN is updated every year. The 2026 version was published by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1926 on 31 October 2025 and applies from 1 January 2026. A code correct last year may not be correct this year.
How are goods classified?
The legal framework comes from Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87. According to the Court of Justice, it includes general rules of interpretation, explanatory notes and classification regulations adopted by the Commission.
The Commission notes that the CN “can be interpreted with the aid of the explanatory notes”, which explain the scope of the headings, and that these notes are “not legally binding.” The Court’s case law carries much of the weight. It has repeatedly identified the factors to consider, such as the intended purpose or function of a product, and has interpreted how to classify products with several components or that form part of another product. Many of the questions it answers concern the objective characteristics and properties of the goods.
In practice, classification is a reasoned decision, not a lookup. The more a product combines functions or materials, the more room there is for two plausible codes.
Why does tariff classification matter beyond the duty rate?
Because the code is the key that other EU rules use. A few examples from the laws in force:
- Trade defence. Anti-dumping and countervailing duties are published in TARIC against specific codes and origins. Anti-dumping duties and the origin of goods explains how they attach.
- CBAM. The goods covered are listed by CN code in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/956. CBAM for importers of steel and aluminium sets out the consequences.
- Origin. For goods listed in Annex 22-01 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, origin follows product-specific rules written per code.
- Food controls. Some official controls at the border identify goods by their Combined Nomenclature codes.
- Statistics. The Commission notes that the CN is also the basis for declaring goods in intra-Union trade statistics.
A wrong code can therefore mean the wrong duty, a missed measure, or a missed exemption.
What is Binding Tariff Information and how long is it valid?
Article 33 of the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, provides that customs authorities take BTI decisions on application. The main rules:
| Point | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Validity | Three years from the date the decision takes effect | Article 33(3) |
| Binding on customs | For goods whose formalities are completed after the decision takes effect | Article 33(2) |
| Binding on the holder | From the date the holder receives notification | Article 33(2) |
| Proof | The holder shows the declared goods correspond in every respect to those described | Article 33(4) |
| Decision time | At the latest 120 days after the application is accepted, with limited extensions | Article 22(3) |
| Scope | Binding throughout the EU, whichever member state issued it | Commission BTI page |
An application is rejected where one has already been made for the same goods at another customs office, or where it does not relate to an intended import or export. The Commission states that any economic operator planning an import or export may apply, and that the EU Customs Trader Portal has been the single access point for applications since October 2019. Croatia, Germany, Poland and Spain keep national portals as an alternative.
Each application covers one product type. A range of similar products may need several decisions.
Can a BTI decision stop being valid before three years?
Yes, in defined cases set out in Article 34 of the Code.
- The nomenclature changes. A BTI decision ceases to be valid when an amendment to the nomenclature means it no longer conforms to the law, from the date the amendment applies. The yearly CN update can do this.
- Interpretation changes. Customs authorities revoke a decision that is no longer compatible with CN explanatory notes, a judgment of the Court of Justice, or classification decisions and opinions of the World Customs Organization.
- Wrong information. A decision based on inaccurate or incomplete information from the applicant is annulled.
A BTI decision may not be amended, and the holder cannot have it revoked on request. Where it ends for some of these reasons, the holder may ask to keep using it for binding contracts concluded beforehand, for up to six months, by applying within 30 days.
Where can I see how similar goods have been classified?
In the EBTI database, the Commission’s public register of BTI decisions. The Commission states that “all valid and invalid BTI decisions are available in the public EBTI database,” with confidential information protected.
A search there shows how customs authorities in any member state classified comparable products, and on what reasoning. It is a guide, not a ruling for someone else’s product. Only a BTI issued to the holder for its own goods binds customs for that holder.
A worked example
Suppose a brand from outside the EU plans to import a desk lamp with a built-in wireless speaker. The details are hypothetical, for the mechanics only, and no code is proposed here.
Its customs broker sees two plausible headings: one for lamps, one for sound equipment. The duty rates differ, and so might other measures on the product.
The broker searches EBTI for similar combined products and finds decisions going both ways for products of different designs. The brand decides the question is worth settling.
It applies for BTI through the EU Customs Trader Portal, with a technical description, photographs, a parts list and the main use. The decision arrives within the legal time limit. For the next three years, its imports of that exact lamp are declared under the code in the decision.
Each autumn, when the next year’s CN is published, the broker checks it for changes that could end the decision’s validity. A new model with a different speaker gets its own review, because the decision covers only goods that match it in every respect.
This is general information, not customs advice. The classification of specific goods is confirmed with a customs broker, and where needed through a BTI decision.
Which part of classification sits with EFC?
None of the decision itself: EFC does not classify goods, apply for BTI or give customs advice. The code comes from the brand and its customs broker. EFC’s work in Portugal, with its logistics partner, runs from the classified goods onward: release for free circulation, importer of record services for brands without an EU entity, and storage and dispatch, as described on warehousing.
Sources
| Label | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CN structure | 8-digit code with description and duty rate; development of the WCO Harmonized System; explanatory notes not legally binding | European Commission, Combined Nomenclature, opened 2026-07-24 |
| CN 2026 | Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1926, published 31 October 2025, applies from 1 January 2026; updated every year; basis for declarations and intra-Union trade statistics | European Commission, 2026 version of the Combined Nomenclature, opened 2026-07-24 |
| Classification framework and case law | Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87; general rules of interpretation; explanatory notes; classification regulations; intended purpose or function; TARIC as CN plus two digits | Court of Justice of the EU, fact sheet: tariff classification of goods, December 2025, opened 2026-07-24 |
| BTI decisions | on application; binding on customs and holder; three years; correspondence in every respect; rejection grounds | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 33, on legislation.gov.uk, opened 2026-07-24 |
| BTI management | cessation on nomenclature change; revocation; annulment; no amendment; extended use up to six months, application within 30 days | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 34, on legislation.gov.uk, opened 2026-07-24 |
| Decision time limit | 120 days from acceptance, extensions limited | Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, Article 22, on legislation.gov.uk, opened 2026-07-24 |
| BTI applications | any operator planning import or export; EU Customs Trader Portal since October 2019; national portals in HR, DE, PL, ES; binding throughout the EU | European Commission, EU Binding Tariff Information, opened 2026-07-24 |
| EBTI database | valid and invalid BTI decisions public; confidential information protected | European Commission, European Binding Tariff Information, opened 2026-07-24 |