Section IV · Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; Products, whether or not containing nicotine, intended for inhalation without combustion; Other nicotine containing products intended for the intake of nicotine into the human body

Chapter 20: Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants

Chapter 20 of the Harmonized System has 9 four-digit headings, from 20.01 to 20.09. Each heading is split further into six-digit subheadings, then into national 8- and 10-digit commodity codes.

Headings in chapter 20

HeadingDescription
20.01Vegetables, fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid
20.02Tomatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid
20.03Mushrooms and truffles, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid
20.04Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, frozen, other than products of heading 2006
20.05Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading 2006
20.06Vegetables, fruit, nuts, fruit-peel and other parts of plants, preserved by sugar (drained, glacé or crystallised)
20.07Jams, fruit jellies, marmalades, fruit or nut purée and fruit or nut pastes, obtained by cooking, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter
20.08Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included
20.09Fruit or nut juices (including grape must and coconut water) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter

Classifying goods in chapter 20

Start with the chapter and section notes: they are legally binding and often decide what is included or excluded. Then choose the heading whose wording best describes your product (GRI 1), and work down to the six-digit subheading before choosing the national commodity code.

The six-digit code is shared internationally. The UK and EU add digits for their own tariffs and statistics, and the US uses its own 10-digit HTS lines, so always confirm the final code in the tariff of the country you are importing into.

Official sources

Check chapter 20 in the UK Trade Tariff, the EU TARIC and the US HTS.