HS codes
ITC-HS, HSN and the customs tariff code: what differs
Independent site, not a government service. General information, not customs advice.
Importers meet three names for almost the same number. They share a root, but each is published for a different purpose. Search the customs tariff below and read what the other two add.
Check a code in the customs tariff
Type a code or a word
12,522 lines searchable
Rate shown: the tariff rate before exemptions, from the CBIC compilation with Finance Act changes laid over it. Open a line for IGST and exemption entries. General information, not a classification ruling.
India has three common labels for goods codes, all built on the Harmonized System. The customs tariff code is the eight-digit line in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, published by CBIC, and it sets the rate of Basic Customs Duty. ITC(HS) is the classification used by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade: its schedules state import and export policy, such as free, restricted or prohibited, for each line. HSN is the term used under GST, in rate notifications and on tax invoices, and those entries are often shorter, at chapter or heading level. In most cases the numbers line up for the same goods, so an importer can move between them. But each answers a different question: what duty applies, whether import is allowed at all and what GST applies. A single answer from one source does not settle the other two.
Tariff and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The three side by side
| Name | Published by | Answers | Used on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customs tariff item | CBIC / Parliament (First Schedule) | What duty applies | Bill of entry |
| ITC(HS) | DGFT | Whether import or export is free, restricted or prohibited | Licences, policy checks |
| HSN | GST rate notifications | What GST or IGST applies | Tax invoices, GST returns |
Where they can part ways
Three situations cause trouble. A GST entry can be written at heading level, so it covers more goods than one tariff item. A tariff amendment can add or split a line at one source before another has followed. And a supplier's code from another country may match only for the first six digits, since the last two are Indian. The search above uses the customs tariff; its source tag shows where a Finance Act changed a line.
What we show, and do not
We show the customs rate and, on request, the IGST entries. We do not reproduce the DGFT schedules: the DGFT website policy allows reproduction only after permission by email. So check policy conditions there yourself. Also, to import for business, you will need an Importer Exporter Code. For an explanation of the digits, see what an HS code is.