Section XI · Textiles and textile articles

Chapter 51: Wool, fine or coarse animal hair; horsehair yarn and woven fabric

Chapter 51 of the Harmonized System has 13 four-digit headings, from 51.01 to 51.13. Each heading is split further into six-digit subheadings, then into national 8- and 10-digit commodity codes.

Headings in chapter 51

HeadingDescription
51.01Wool, not carded or combed
51.02Fine or coarse animal hair, not carded or combed
51.03Waste of wool or of fine or coarse animal hair, including yarn waste but excluding garnetted stock
51.04Garnetted stock of wool or of fine or coarse animal hair
51.05Wool and fine or coarse animal hair, carded or combed (including combed wool in fragments)
51.06Yarn of carded wool, not put up for retail sale
51.07Yarn of combed wool, not put up for retail sale
51.08Yarn of fine animal hair (carded or combed), not put up for retail sale
51.09Yarn of wool or of fine animal hair, put up for retail sale
51.10Yarn of coarse animal hair or of horsehair (including gimped horsehair yarn), whether or not put up for retail sale
51.11Woven fabrics of carded wool or of carded fine animal hair
51.12Woven fabrics of combed wool or of combed fine animal hair
51.13Woven fabrics of coarse animal hair or of horsehair

Classifying goods in chapter 51

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