What is a Commodity Code?

A commodities code is a six-, eight-, or ten-digit numerical sequence that is used within European Union (EU) countries or outside the borders of member states.

The commodity code is essentially used to determine the following: 

• the customs authority duties and other charges that may be levied on the goods 
• the set of preferential treatments that may apply to imported goods 
• the restrictions and prohibitions that may apply to the import, export, or transit of goods

The six-digit commodities codes are referred to as HS codes. Internationally, the codes are used to track trade volumes and apply international trade measures to goods.

The commodity codes with eight digits are used for export declarations and Intrastat commodity code declarations. The Intrastat commodity codes declaration is a system for gathering statistics on inter-EU commerce in goods.

The ten-digit commodity numbers are required for TARIC import declarations and are used for the importing of items from outside the EU.