CLASSIFICATION INPUT / 01
Request the facts, not a supplier-supplied tariff answer.
The World Customs Organization describes the Harmonized System as an international product nomenclature with uniform classification rules. Customs administrations apply their own laws, tariff schedules and national subdivisions. Start by identifying the goods accurately, then retain the import-market decision with the party responsible for it.
PRODUCT DATA / 02
Ask for six dated fields before the decision
Use one request record for the product version and order you are actually considering. Where a fact is unknown, contradictory, derived from another product or not authorised for sharing, retain that limit instead of converting it into a confident product description.
| Product-data field | Request from the supplier | Keep in the buyer record |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Exact model, order or sample version, intended import market and the question to be answered | Decision owner, date, market and the product or order version in scope |
| Name and use | Plain product name, principal use, user and operating principle or function | Supplier wording, source document, date and any unanswered-use question |
| Materials and components | Principal materials, composition or percentages when known, and the role of key components | Source version, missing composition data and any conflict between documents |
| Construction and condition | Structure, dimensions, assembly state, manufacturing detail, packaging state, drawings and product images | What the evidence shows at the relevant time, rather than an inference from a catalogue |
| Product relationship | Whether the goods are a complete item, part, accessory, set, sample or packaging material | The relationship claimed, supporting record and any question that remains open |
| Version and change | Document title, revision, date, owner and material, function, structure, use or packaging changes | Controlled source list, permitted sharing scope and the event that requires the question to be revisited |
A supplier can provide product facts. The buyer, importer, declarant, broker, adviser or authority responsible for the relevant market must decide what those facts mean under the applicable rules.
Freeze the product definition before asking for tariff data
Begin with the controlled product specification, model, sample or order baseline. If a drawing, sample, quotation, bill of materials or image describes a different product version, record the conflict. Do not ask the supplier to make a classification answer bridge an unresolved product-definition gap.
Create a controlled product specification before comparing supplier data →
Describe the product in the condition relevant to the transaction
Record whether it is shipped assembled or unassembled, complete or partial, individual or in a set, and how it is packaged. Attach the exact images and documents used, their dates and version identifiers. A previous shipment can be a lead to investigate, not proof that the present product is identical.
Keep product facts tied to the current purchase-order baseline →
Separate product facts from the trade and import decision
Log the intended market, importer/declarant, delivery context and decision owner, but do not replace the product record with an assumed tariff, rate, licence, origin result or clearance outcome. Product classification can interact with other trade questions; each still requires its own applicable evidence and decision path.
Keep delivery terms and shipment documents in their own controlled record →
DECISION RECORD / 03
Record what the product data can—and cannot—support
| Record | Useful for | Does not determine |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier product-data pack | A dated description of identified product facts and their sources | An HS code, local tariff rate or regulatory status |
| Drawing, image or sample record | The stated design or observed condition for one identified version | Every future lot, unseen internal component or unchanged production |
| Past declaration or marketplace listing | A question to compare with the current product record | That the present goods should be classified or admitted the same way |
| Classification or customs decision | A result within its issuing authority, scope, date and stated facts | A universal answer for another market, product version or transaction |
METHOD / 04
How this checklist was prepared
Currawong Web reviewed the official sources below on 2 August 2026. They directly support the distinction between an international nomenclature, a customs classification process and a product record; our six-field request and decision-record framework is original guidance for organising evidence.
This page does not determine an HS code, tariff, licence, origin or destination-market admissibility. It is not customs, tax, legal, export-control, product-compliance or contractual advice. We did not inspect any supplier, product, sample, order, customs entry or import-market rule for a reader.
PRIMARY SOURCES / 05
Official sources used for this guide
Open the live, applicable source before a material decision. Rules, tariff schedules, classifications and market requirements can change.
- PRC Customs — Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Goods Classification (2024 revision)Officially published current Chinese classification rule describing the use of tariff provisions, general interpretative rules and notes to determine a tariff item. It does not provide a classification answer for this site’s readers.
- World Customs Organization — What is the Harmonized System (HS)?Primary overview of the international nomenclature, its six-digit commodity groups and the uniform classification rules supporting it.