Section XI · Textiles and textile articles
Chapter 53: Other vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn
Chapter 53 of the Harmonized System has 10 four-digit headings, from 53.01 to 53.11. Each heading is split further into six-digit subheadings, then into national 8- and 10-digit commodity codes.
Headings in chapter 53
| Heading | Description |
|---|---|
| 53.01 | Flax, raw or processed but not spun; flax tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) |
| 53.02 | True hemp (cannabis sativa l.), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true hemp (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) |
| 53.03 | Jute and other textile bast fibres (excluding flax, true hemp and ramie), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of these fibres (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) |
| 53.05 | Coconut, abaca (manila hemp or musa textilis nee), ramie and other vegetable textile fibres, not elsewhere specified or included, raw or processed but not spun; tow, noils and waste of these fibres (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) |
| 53.06 | Flax yarn |
| 53.07 | Yarn of jute or of other textile bast fibres of heading 5303 |
| 53.08 | Yarn of other vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn |
| 53.09 | Woven fabrics of flax |
| 53.10 | Woven fabrics of jute or of other textile bast fibres of heading 5303 |
| 53.11 | Woven fabrics of other vegetable textile fibres; woven fabrics of paper yarn |
Classifying goods in chapter 53
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 53 in the UK Trade Tariff, the EU TARIC and the US HTS.