Section V · Mineral products

Chapter 27: Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes

Chapter 27 of the Harmonized System has 16 four-digit headings, from 27.01 to 27.16. Each heading is split further into six-digit subheadings, then into national 8- and 10-digit commodity codes.

Headings in chapter 27

HeadingDescription
27.01Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal
27.02Lignite, whether or not agglomerated, excluding jet
27.03Peat (including peat litter), whether or not agglomerated
27.04Coke and semi-coke of coal, of lignite or of peat, whether or not agglomerated; retort carbon
27.05Coal gas, water gas, producer gas and similar gases, other than petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons
27.06Tar distilled from coal, from lignite or from peat, and other mineral tars, whether or not dehydrated or partially distilled, including reconstituted tars
27.07Oils and other products of the distillation of high temperature coal tar; similar products in which the weight of the aromatic constituents exceeds that of the non-aromatic constituents
27.08Pitch and pitch coke, obtained from coal tar or from other mineral tars
27.09Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude
27.10Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70% or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils
27.11Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons
27.12Petroleum jelly; paraffin wax, microcrystalline petroleum wax, slack wax, ozokerite, lignite wax, peat wax, other mineral waxes, and similar products obtained by synthesis or by other processes, whether or not coloured
27.13Petroleum coke, petroleum bitumen and other residues of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals
27.14Bitumen and asphalt, natural; bituminous or oil-shale and tar sands; asphaltites and asphaltic rocks
27.15Bituminous mixtures based on natural asphalt, on natural bitumen, on petroleum bitumen, on mineral tar or on mineral tar pitch (for example, bituminous mastics, cut-backs)
27.16Electrical energy

Classifying goods in chapter 27

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 27 in the UK Trade Tariff, the EU TARIC and the US HTS.