Commodity codes and the Trade Tariff

A commodity code is a reference number that describes a specific product. GOV.UK calls it a commodity code, and it applies every time goods move into or out of the UK. A t-shirt, a laptop battery and a bag of coffee beans each sit under their own code, and that code decides several things at once for the business moving them.

The rate of Customs Duty and import VAT

Each commodity code carries its own rate of Customs Duty, and often its own treatment for import VAT. Two products that look alike on an invoice can sit under different codes and face different charges, so the code is where working out the cost of a shipment begins.

Whether a licence is needed

Some commodity codes are tied to goods that cannot move freely across the border. The code can show that a product needs a licence or a certificate first, which matters for goods such as certain foods, chemicals, plants and restricted materials.

Whether a lower rate may apply

A commodity code also decides whether a lower or zero rate of duty is available, for example where a trade agreement covers goods from a particular country. The code has to be correct before anyone can work out whether a reduced rate applies to a product.

A supplier's invoice or packing list often shows a code for the product already. That code is usually correct as far as it goes, but it only goes so far.

Most countries build their own tariff codes on top of the same international system, which groups goods into chapters and headings. The first six digits of a commodity code come from that shared system, so a supplier in China or the EU and a business in Great Britain can start from the same six digits for the same product.

Where the codes split apart

Past those six digits, each country adds its own further digits. Those extra digits are where the United Kingdom sets its own detail, including the rate of Customs Duty and import VAT that applies to goods arriving here, and whether a licence or a lower rate might apply. A country's own digits are built for that country's own tariff.

This means a code copied straight from a supplier's paperwork can describe the right product and still be the wrong code once it reaches a UK customs declaration. The six-digit starting point is usually sound. What comes after it needs checking against the UK's own version of the code before it goes on a declaration.

Describing a product in your own words and finding the ten-digit reference HMRC wants for it are two different things, and that gap is what GOV.UK's Trade Tariff tool is built to close.

What the tool asks you for

You start by typing an ordinary description of the goods, such as "wooden chairs" or "cotton t-shirts". The tool then works through a series of narrower choices until it reaches a single code. Along the way it typically asks what the product is made from, what it is used for, and how far it has been processed, because those are the details that separate one heading from another. The closer your description matches what you are actually sending or bringing in, the fewer wrong turns you take before reaching the right code.

The A to Z of common goods

Alongside the search box, the tool keeps an alphabetical list of goods that come up often. If your product is something ordinary, such as clothing, furniture or electronics, it can be quicker to find it by letter than to work through the question-and-answer search from scratch.

When a product is harder to classify

Some goods do not sit neatly under one description. A set sold with several items in the box, a product made from more than one material, or a part that only makes sense alongside a larger machine can all point to more than one plausible code. For cases like these, the tool links through to separate guidance written for that kind of product.

The number you need sits on GOV.UK's own lookup service, the Trade Tariff tool. It is the page built to search the UK tariff rather than a supplier's own paperwork, a search engine result, or a code used in another country, because those can describe a similar product under a different number.

Searching the tool with a plain description of your product often turns up the closest match. More than one result can come back for goods that sound alike, and the tool itself can return the wrong entry for what you actually have, so the description against your own goods is worth checking before you use the code it gives you.