20/07/2011
REMINDER: HARMONIZED SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION CHANGES IN 2012
The World Customs Organization (WCO) has published the agreed amendments to the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature that will enter into force on January 1, 2012. This update will focus heavily on eliminating HS codes with end use provisions and for Canada specifically, further lowering tariffs on HS codes as per initiative taken in spring of 2010.
This may result in a substantial amount of updates, corrections and changes to your current company product HS database. Omnitrans will be working diligently to assist all our clients to ensure that compliance with these changes is seamless.
The HS Tariff schedule is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in international trade patterns. This round of amendments will include:
- Deleting more than 40 subheadings due to the low volume of trade in specific products
- New subheadings for specific chemicals controlled under the Rotterdam Convention and ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montréal Protocol
- Separate identification of certain species of fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates
- New subheadings for the identification of certain edible vegetables, roots and tubers, fruit and nuts, as well as cereals
- Reflecting advances in technology
- Clarify texts to ensure uniform application of the HS
The correlation tables between the 2007 version and the 2012 version of the Harmonized System are available on the WCO website at:
The schedule of 2012 amendments is at:
Additional information on the Harmonized System of Classification is available from the WCO at: