New edition of the Harmonized System from 2022
A new edition of the Harmonized System was published and will apply from January 1, 2022
The Harmonized System is an index of goods that classifies goods based on a six-digit code. It forms the basis for international trade in goods. Almost all countries use at least the first few digits of the codes of the HS, which makes it easier to research taxes incurred abroad as well as to find out which products are in scope of different product regulations.
The HS is updated every five years and applied on January 1st. The current HS 2017 will be replaced by HS 2022 on January 1, 2022.
The new edition contains 351 changes that cover numerous goods in cross-border trade. The most important changes of HS 2022 are adjustments to the current trade through the recognition of new product flows and the consideration of environmental and social issues as well as technical progress.
Some examples of the changes are:
- HS 2022 provides for new, special provisions, for example for electrical and electronic scrap, new types of tobacco and nicotine products and smartphones.
- A number of new subheadings are introduced, for example for dual-use items and chemicals.
- In addition to adapting the content, linguistic changes have also been made to enable alignment between different languages.
If you would like to find out more about the HS system and its upcoming changes, please do not hesitate to contact our EFS Product Compliance Team.
