"Rules of the Customs Tariff": The General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System
19. Juni 2025
Copyright:Photographed by مانفی and published under CC BY-SA 4.0 / customs classification of a frozen durian fruit, see below
Published
19. Juni 2025
traide
info@traide.ai
In times of new trade conflicts, customs classification is increasingly discussed in the media. Are there at least internationally uniform rules that regulate customs classification "timelessly"? The so-called "General Rules of Interpretation" (GRI) of the Harmonized System are the core of the customs tariff classification. They set the rules for how goods are classified into the various headings of the Combined Nomenclature (CN). This is crucial because only a correct classification allows smooth customs clearance and accurate calculation of import duties.
In order for all users to achieve the same result, "rules of the game" are needed. These "rules of the game" should ensure a uniform classification of goods. These are considered international law; they are legally binding, and one must adhere to the rules of the game and be able to argue accordingly with customs authorities when there are discrepancies.
The so-called General Rules of Interpretation are a kind of checklist that should be followed step by step. Please click on the links below to view the nomenclature at subheading level.
There are six General Rules of Interpretation. The fifth is a special rule that governs how packaged goods are classified. The majority of all goods are already classified using the first rule. It states:
General Rule 1 (Goods conform to wording of the first four digits = heading)
The titles of Sections, Chapters and sub-Chapters are provided for ease of reference only; for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative Section or Chapter Notes and, provided such headings or Notes do not otherwise require, according to the following provisions. |
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💡 The term "heading" is frequently encountered and simply means "the first four digits" of the customs tariff numbers.
👉 If we therefore want to classify a "plastic plate" in the nomenclature, the following wording of heading 3924 is the most suitable: "Tableware, other household or kitchen articles, hygiene or toilet articles, of plastics"
👉 However, if this plastic plate is a toy (for example, a plastic plate for LEGO), it will be excluded from Chapter 39 due to the Note 2y to Chapter 39 "Goods of Chapter 95 (e.g., toys, games, sports equipment) (GRI E3902Y00);". It will be classified under Chapter 95.
General Rule 2a (Dismantled, incomplete goods)
Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as presented, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article. It shall also be taken to include a reference to that article complete or finished (or falling to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this Rule), presented unassembled or disassembled. |
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💡 This provision is intended to prevent abuse and ensure that products are not deliberately dismantled to classify their parts under other headings with potentially lower duty rates.
👉 Goods that have to be shipped disassembled for transport reasons (for example, a cableway with drive, towing and carrying cables, supports, and cabins), are classified under heading 8428. This means that in a customs declaration, the entire cableway is declared under one heading and not with multiple headings for the individual parts – even if the transport takes place in several containers.
💡 Of course, this regulation does not apply to spare parts shipped individually at a later date and billed separately.
General Rule 2b (Raw material positions also apply to mixed goods)
Any reference in a heading to a material or substance shall be taken to include a reference to mixtures or combinations of that material or substance with other materials or substances. Any reference to goods of a given material or substance shall be taken to include a reference to goods consisting wholly or partly of such material or substance. The classification of goods consisting of more than one material or substance shall be according to the principles of Rule 3. |
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👉 Simply put: All plastic goods of Chapter 39 can also contain shares of other raw materials. For example, a "plastic plate with a decorative steel rim" would still be classified under heading 3924 – provided the plate is predominantly made of plastic.
General Rule 3a (Multiple headings viable = more specific wording prevails)
When by application of Rule 2 (b) or for any other reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows: The heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods. |
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💡 A heading that specifies a specific product by name is more precise than one that covers an entire area of merchandise: e.g., razors belong to heading 8510 (”Razors, … with built-in electric motor”) and not to heading 8467 (”… hand-held tools with electric motor (electric ...)) or to heading 8509 (”Electromechanical household appliances with built-in electric motor, ...”).
General Rule 3b (Classification according to the essential character of composite or mixed goods)
Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3 (a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. |
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The feature that determines the essential character depends on the nature of the good and will be determined from case to case. The character of the good may be derived from:
the material nature, or
the components it is composed of,
its volume,
its quantity,
its weight,
its value, or
the importance of a material in relation to the use of the good.
Examples:
An empty yogurt cup, inside made of plastic (Pos. 3923) and outside made of cardboard (Pos. 4819) → by the significance of the material due to the plastic cup's function as a container for yogurt
Frozen berry mix containing 60% strawberries (subheading 0811.10) and 40% blueberries (subheading 0811.90) → Volume (predominantly strawberries)
A hammer with a wooden handle (Pos. 4421) and a rubber head (Pos. 4016) → by significance of the material due to the head being the working part
General Rule 3c ("Last-Resort-Rule", classification according to the last applicable heading in order of enumeration)
When goods cannot be classified by reference to 3 (a) or 3 (b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration. |
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👉 Example: A glass body that can equally function as a vase (glassware for interior decoration of heading 7013) and as a candle holder (lighting fittings of heading 9405).
Neither the more specific designation (GRI 3a) nor the essential character (GRI 3b) can be defined here, so the heading last in numerical order (GRI 3c) is applied.
Heading 9405 → "Lamps and lighting fittings (including spotlights) and parts thereof, …"
→ Classification under the last listed heading in sequence: 9405
General Rule 4 (for groundbreaking innovations (!), so please do not argue with it 😉)
Goods which cannot be classified in accordance with the above Rules shall be classified under the heading appropriate to the goods to which they are most akin. |
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💡 This rule is rarely applied by customs authorities that issue binding tariff information (BTIs), as most goods should be classified under GRIs 1-3.
General Rule 5 (Goods in packaging are classified according to their contents)
Packaging is classified with the contained goods if it is of a kind normally used for the goods. This rule does not apply to containers that give the whole its essential character. |
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👉 Thus, a yogurt cup filled with strawberry yogurt, inside made of plastic (Pos. 3923) and outside made of cardboard (Pos. 4819), is classified under heading 0403 "Yogurt (...)".
General Rule 6 (All preceding rules also apply for determining the subheadings)
For legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related Subheading Notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above Rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. For the purposes of this Rule the relative Section and Chapter Notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires. |
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👉 Natural yogurt with a fat content of 3.8% is initially assigned to heading 0403 under GRI 1. The further subheadings are determined as follows:
Code Number | Wording of the (Sub-)Heading |
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0403 | Yogurt; buttermilk, sour milk, sour cream, kefir and other fermented or acidified milk (including cream), even thickened or flavored, even with added sugar, other sweeteners, fruits, nuts, or cocoa |
0403 20 | Yogurt |
0403 20 11 00 - 0403 20 39 00 | neither flavored nor with added fruits, nuts, cocoa, chocolate, spices, coffee or coffee extract, plants, plant parts, cereals or baked goods |
0403 20 11 00 - 0403 20 19 00 | without added sugar or other sweeteners, with a milk fat content of: |
more than 3 to 6 GHT (weight parts) |
👉 Example of an exclusion note: Vegan yogurts based on coconut milk are excluded due to Note 5c to Chapter 4 and classified in heading 2106.
Manual classification of "frozen durians"
Find the appropriate wording in Access2Markets
Click on the plus on the left in Section II = "Vegetable Products"
😉 The wording of heading 0810 "Other fruit, fresh" does not apply here.
A more appropriate wording according to GRI 1 is therefore to be found in heading 0811
👉 "Fruit and nuts, even cooked in water or steam, frozen, even with added sugar or other sweeteners"
Next, the appropriate subheading within heading 0811 should be determined.
Since neither "strawberries" (0811.10) nor "raspberries, blackberries, mulberries, loganberries, black, white or red currants, and gooseberries" (0811.20) are applicable, the HS subheading 0811.90 "others" should be selected.
Even when choosing between “with added sugar or other sweeteners” and “others”, the case is clear. It pertains to fresh durian fruits without added sugar; thus, the plus on the left of "others" is to be clicked.
Upon reviewing the remaining subheadings, it becomes clear: Neither blueberries nor cherries are relevant. But could perhaps subheading 0811 90 85 with the wording "tropical fruits and tropical nuts" be applicable? "Of course!", many would promptly answer. But as we know according to GRI 1, not only are the wordings of headings legally relevant but also the section and chapter notes related to them.
Notes are not easily found in many customs tariff applications. While "Access2Markets" does not contain notes, these are available in the German Customs Tariff – more precisely in the "Electronic Customs Tariff" (EZT).
Please click on the following link: https://auskunft.ezt-online.de/ezto/Welcome.do
Click directly on “Texts” in the header.
Click on "Contents Notes” in the newly opened tab.
Now click on “Chapter 08” (EDIBLE FRUIT AND NUTS; PEELS OF CITRUS FRUITS OR MELONS)
In the Additional Notes 2, you will find the definition of "tropical fruits" in the context of subheading 0811 90 85. You will find: Frozen durian fruits are not included in the enumeration and thus do not count as tropical fruits.
Returning to the tariff tree of "Access2Markets", we can establish the final customs tariff number: 0811 90 95 90.
