Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System

The Customs Tariff is based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS). The HS was developed and is maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO), an independent intergovernmental organization with over 160 member countries based in Brussels, Belgium.

The HS is a six-digit nomenclature. Almost 200 countries, representing about 98% of world trade, use the HS as a basis for trade negotiations, collecting international trade statistics, quota controls, rules of origin, and statistical and economic research and analysis.

The WCO's Harmonized System Committee (HSC) is the international authority on classification. It resolves classification disputes between member administrations, issues classification decisions for goods presented by member administrations, works to ensure the uniform interpretation of the HS (e.g., the explanatory notes to the HS), and updates the HS to include changes in technology and patterns of international trade. HSC sessions are usually held in late September and mid March.

The Harmonized System Review Sub-Committee (RSC) meets in late November and mid- to late May. It is responsible for systematically examining and refining proposals to amend the HS nomenclature, and preparing consequential changes to the explanatory notes.

The agendas for the next sessions of the Harmonized System Committee or the HS Review Sub-Committee are available for your review. Anyone interested can request information on an agenda item. Agendas are usually available about two months before a session.

Agendas deal with issues relating to the HS, not the Customs Tariff. While the HS makes up the first six digits (headings and subheadings) of the Customs Tariff, rates of duty are set at the eight-digit (tariff item) level. The Department of Finance Canada, which has legislative responsibility for the Customs Tariff, strives to ensure to the extent practicable that changes resulting from HS amendments are tariff-rate neutral. When an HS provision is removed or amended, detail lost may be added to the Customs Tariff at the discretion of the Department of Finance Canada.