If you are in the industry of exporting and importing goods, you would be familiar with the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, better understood as the Harmonised System (HS) or Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN). It is a globally accepted method of classifying traded goods. Its main function is to assist customs authorities to determine products and assess the right duties and taxes on them. In the Harmonised System, each product is allocated a unique numerical code-named the HS code. In this article, we will discuss HS Code for Laptops in brief.
Know About HS Code
HS code is brief for Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. It's a checklist of numbers utilized by customs to classify a product. Discover why they're important and where you can get one. Harmonized System (HS) Codes are generally utilised throughout the export process for goods. The Harmonized System is a standardised numerical process of classifying traded products. It is used by customs authorities around the world to determine products when assessing duties and taxes and for collecting statistics.
The HS is administered by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and is revised every five years. It operates as the foundation for the import and export classification systems utilised in the United States and by many trading partners. The HS assigns detailed six-digit codes for varying classifications and commodities. Countries are permitted to add longer codes to the first six digits for further classification.
The United States uses a 10-digit code to categorise products for export, known as a Schedule B number, with the first six digits being the HS number. There is a Schedule B digit for every physical product, from paper clips to airplanes. Schedule B is issued by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division.
The Harmonised System comprises more than 5,000 groups of commodities. These are grouped into 97 Chapters and 21 Sections. Each chapter is diverged into headings and, where appropriate, sub-headings. As a rule, goods are arranged in order of degree of manufacture – raw materials first, then unworked products, semi-finished products, and, eventually, finished products. So, Chapter 1 is “Live Animals”, Chapter 41 is “Raw Hides and Skins (other than Furskins) and Leather” and Chapter 64 is “Footwear”.
HSN Code for Laptops & Computers
As we know, computers and laptops export-import have a massive contribution to the GDP of not only India but numerous countries around the globe. The laptop is a personal computer so it arrives in the personal computer category. The growth in the export and import of laptops or personal computers signifies the demand and development of the IT industry of a country.
The four-digit HSN code for computers is 8471. Laptops and desktops come under Chapter 84 of HSN. These are detailed under chapter head 8471 ‘Automatic data processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form, and machines for processing such information, not elsewhere determined or included.
According to HSN Chapter, the word “automatic data processing machine” implies any time of equipment that is capable of:
Keeping the processing program or programmes and at least the data immediately necessary for the execution of the program;
Being freely programmed following the conditions of the user;
Performing arithmetical computations defined by the user; and
Executing, without human intervention, a processing program that needs them to modify their execution, by logical decision during the processing run.
The chapter contains personal computers, laptops, and micro-computers. Here’s a glance at HSN codes 84713000 on computer devices and accessories under chapter 84:
8471 – Four-digit HSN code for laptops, desktops, and other confidential computers
8471 – Four-digit HSN code for printers, keyboards, and USB storage gadgets.
8528 – Four-digit HSN code for computer monitors not surpassing 32 inches
8528 – Four-digit HSN code for monitors (other than computer monitors not exceeding 32 inches)
8443 – Four-digit HSN code for printers
8471 – Four-digit HSN code for computer keyboards, mouse, and other input gadgets; USB drives, hard disks, and other storage devices.
How You Use the HS Code
You will require both the U.S. Schedule B digit and the foreign country’s version of the HS code for your product during the export procedure. You use it to:
Categorise physical goods for shipment to a foreign country;
Report shipments in the Automated Export System (AES) when the value is more than $2,500, or the item needs a licence.
Complete needed shipping documentation such as shipper’s letter of instructions, commercial invoice, or certificate of origin;
Select import tariff (duty) rates and figure out if a product qualifies for a preferential tariff under a free trade agreement;
Conduct market research and receive trade statistics;
Concede with U.S. law, where applicable.
Why is HS Code significant?
An HS code consists of at least six digits and is utilised by customs to type the product being shipped. That way it can accurately estimate taxes and duties and apply any essential restrictions.
If you don’t include the HS code on the commercial invoice and other shipping documents, you might stake the receiver paying the incorrect tax and could delay the shipment. The preliminary function of the Harmonised System is to act as a basis for customs tariffs worldwide. But it has other usages as well, such as:
The assemblage of international trade statistics
The group of internal taxes such as excise duties and value-added tax (VAT)
As a base for freight and transport tariffs
As a basis for rules of origin (which are the criteria to select the national source of a product)
As a basis for the set of preferential tariffs and MFN (most favoured nation) tariffs under free trade agreements
As a basis for governments to determine their trade policies
For the monitoring of controlled commodities (narcotics, chemical weapons, endangered species, waste, etc.)
As a facilitator of customs controls and processes such as risk assessment and compliance
Choose the Right HS code for your product
If you import or export products into or from anywhere in the world or laptop importers in Kenya, you will be required to search out the HS code for your products, so that you will know which product mandates apply, and the quantity of import duties and taxes you (or your customers) have to pay. Discovering which product code to use can be quite challenging. Numerous products are not enumerated literally in the good's nomenclature. For instance: a computer is classified under 'automatic data processing machines. Kenya Trade Data Solutions are recognized as a global trade data provider and marketing research organisation in India. It offers laptop import data of Kenya, foreign trade data from more than 100 countries in the world. We provide the latest, well-managed verified, and validate global trade data with shipment particulars of traded products including HS code, descriptions, net weight amount, the destination country, and much more.
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