Articles

As the HS celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, we decided to gather together a number of articles explaining how the HS is managed and used, and questioning how it can be improved and whether … a structural revision is now necessary.

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, generally referred to as “Harmonized System” or simply the “HS”, is seldom mentioned in the pages of this magazine. It is, however, one … of the WCO’s flagship instruments. One can even say that it is the backbone of the WCO. Being a nomenclature of transportable goods, it has become over the years a universal language for identifying and coding merchandise being traded internationally, with almost all the world’s economies using it as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of trade statistics.

While the Harmonized System, or HS, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it is, in fact, much older because it was developed over several years starting in the 1970s. Having worked on HS … matters for at least 40 years, both within Danish Customs and at the WCO Secretariat, I have been in the fortunate position to have closely followed its development, implementation, maintenance and use for a long time, up until my official retirement in 2017. This article provides me with an opportunity to share some personal reflections on the HS.

As the WCO celebrates the 30th anniversary, in 2018, of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, more popularly known as the Harmonized System or the HS, the question may be asked … whether the time has come to contemplate a major overhaul of the system. This article looks at the structure of the HS, its changing uses, whether it is still a sufficient solution, how it can be improved, and whether a structural revision is now necessary.

In January 2018, the Ghanaian government notified the WCO Secretariat that it had accepted seven Harmonized System (HS)-related WCO Council Recommendations, testimony to its strong commitment … to implement objective, predictable and transparent classification practices as well as facilitate the collection of international trade statistics and the monitoring of global trade. This article presents the path that the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has charted over the years in its quest to create a functional and workable classification infrastructure, touching on, among others, advance rulings, training challenges and capacity building needs, and more education to enhance the appeals process.

Appropriate policies and sound legal and regulatory frameworks are necessary conditions to make international trade a virtuous engine to eradicate poverty and hunger, and to promote prosperity … and sustainable development. On 25 September 2015, the 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets, and 232 indicators.

The WCO website tells us that tariff classification using the Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature “allows a world of many languages to speak with one.” As we mark the 30th anniversary of the … official adoption of the HS in 1988, few could argue against the value of this universal language that has brought great clarity to the world of trade. With 157 Contracting Parties to the HS Convention basing their domestic Customs tariffs on the HS, and dozens more using it despite not being signatories, the HS truly is the language of international trade. It is currently used by more than 200 countries that comprise approximately 98% of world trade.

As industry continues to innovate, the work on amending the Harmonized System is never complete. This article looks at the origin and evolution of LED products to illustrate how the System can … adapt to product developments over time, lighting the way for traders and guaranteeing the flow of legitimate trade across international borders.

How does a specific product become the subject of a global classification decision at the WCO? What information is considered when amendments are made to the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature? … And how can a company or industry sector engage at the WCO to support classification decisions and HS amendments?

The new edition of the WCO Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature entered into force on 1 January 2017. The changes in HS 2017 encompass 242 sets of amendments relating to a wide range of products … and product groups.

Goods classification and origin determination of goods are closely interlinked. Typically, the requirements for determining origin are specified for individual products or product categories … identified according to their respective Harmonized System (HS) code. Classification of goods is, therefore, of the utmost importance in establishing which Rules of Origin (RoO) apply to a good.

The WCO has published the agreed amendments to the Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature that will enter into force on 1 January 2017. They include 233 sets of amendments, divided as follows: agricultural … sector (85); chemical sector (45); wood sector (13); textile sector (15); base metal sector (6); machinery sector (25); transport sector (18); and other sectors (26).

Article 3 of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) provides for advance rulings. The expression generally refers to the option that Customs has to issue a prior decision … or ruling on a regulation in force, at the request of an economic operator planning a foreign trade operation. This article argues that WCO instruments relating to binding advance rulings provide comprehensive information for WCO Members who have not yet implemented such schemes, as well for those Members who are already issuing such rulings.

The new version of the WCO Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature entered into force on 1 January 2012. It includes 220 sets of amendments: 98 relating to the agricultural sector; 27 to the chemical … sector; 9 to the paper sector; 14 to the textile sector; 5 to the base metal sector; 30 to the machinery sector; and an additional 37 that apply to a variety of other sectors.

The HS 2012 explanatory notes 2012 are now available in paper format and the Alphabetical Index is under fi nal review before its publication.

The WCO secretariat is currently rounding off its work related to the implementation of the 2012 version of the Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature, which mainly comprises updating HS publications … and tools, such as the Explanatory Notes, the Alphabetical Index and the Compendium of Classifi cation Opinions.