Every product you import has a commodity code, and that code does a lot of work. It sets the duty rate, the import VAT rate, and whether any licences or restrictions apply. Classify wrongly and you either overpay, underpay (and face the bill later), or get held at the border. It is one of the most common places importers slip up.
In short: a commodity code (10 digits for UK imports) classifies your goods in the UK Trade Tariff and determines the duty rate, the import VAT rate, and any licensing or restrictions. Getting it wrong means overpaid duty, a later underpayment bill with penalties, or delays at the border. For certainty, HMRC can give you a legally binding classification (an Advance Tariff Ruling / Binding Tariff Information).
It is a number that classifies your product, built on the international Harmonised System used worldwide, and extended to 10 digits for UK imports. You look your goods up in the UK Trade Tariff, and the code you land on carries the duty rate, the import VAT rate and any controls associated with it.
Similar-looking products can sit under very different codes, so “close enough” is not good enough.
For most goods, careful classification, documented in line with the tariff, is enough. Where a product is borderline, novel or high-value, you can apply to HMRC for a legally binding decision:
Either gives you a classification HMRC is bound by, which is worth having when the duty difference is material or you import the same product in volume. Moving goods into Northern Ireland rather than Great Britain? The rules there work differently. See moving goods into Northern Ireland.
Author: Michelle Lawrence (customs).
Reading time: about 3 minutes.
Sources (verified 12 Aug 2026): UK Trade Tariff; Apply for an Advance Tariff Ruling; Apply for a Binding Tariff Information decision.
As importer, the responsibility is yours, even where the agent keyed the declaration. That is why it is worth agreeing the codes rather than leaving them to the agent.
Yes, especially where the code implies a licence or control that has not been met.
Yes. For Great Britain you can apply for an Advance Tariff Ruling; for Northern Ireland, a Binding Tariff Information decision.
Send us your product list and we will make sure it is classified correctly and get you binding certainty where it matters. Contact our customs team.
Associate Director
VAT
Director
Head of Indirect Tax & HR
