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Guide

Commodity code: which number you actually declare

Updated on 31 August 2026

Commodity code, customs tariff number, HS code, CN code, TARIC code: these are not five different classifications. They are the same classification read at different lengths, and which length you need depends entirely on what you are filing.

The confusion is expensive rather than academic. A code taken from an Intrastat return and pasted into an import declaration is two digits short, and a code taken from a supplier in a third country may be right for six digits and wrong for the rest.

One classification, five lengths

Read from the left, each length is contained in the next:

  • 6 digits, HS code: worldwide, set by the World Customs Organization.
  • 8 digits, CN code: the EU Combined Nomenclature, carries the EU duty rate. Declared on export declarations and in Intrastat.
  • 10 digits, TARIC code: adds the EU measures such as anti-dumping duties, quotas, and licensing.
  • 11 digits, German commodity code: adds the national digit. This is what a German import declaration requires.
  • Plus additional codes where the measure needs them, for example to name a producer subject to an anti-dumping duty.

Which length for which filing

Getting this wrong is one of the most common causes of a rejected declaration:

  • German import declaration: 11 digits.
  • EU export declaration: 8 digits.
  • Intrastat dispatch and arrival reporting: 8 digits.
  • Preferential origin documents and supplier declarations: normally 4 or 6 digits, because the origin rules are written at heading or subheading level.
  • Binding tariff information: issued at the level the goods are classified to, generally 8 or 10 digits.

Who is liable for the code

The declarant. Not the supplier, not the forwarder, not the software. A forwarder who enters the code you supplied has not assumed your liability for it, and a customs audit that finds a systematically wrong code will look at the whole period, not the single shipment in front of it.

That is why a classification is only as good as its documentation. A code with the reasoning behind it, the sources it rests on, and the date it was decided can be defended. A code that appeared in a spreadsheet cannot.

Frequently asked questions

Is a commodity code the same as a customs tariff number?

In German customs practice the terms are used for the same thing, most precisely for the eleven-digit code on an import declaration. Both are built on the same six-digit HS code.

How many digits does a German import declaration need?

Eleven. That is the ten-digit TARIC code plus a national eleventh digit used for the VAT rate and national prohibitions and restrictions.

How many digits does Intrastat need?

Eight, the CN code of the Combined Nomenclature. The same eight digits are used on an EU export declaration.

Who is liable if the commodity code is wrong?

The declarant. A code supplied by a vendor or entered by a forwarder does not transfer the liability, and a customs audit will normally review the whole period rather than a single declaration.

Where do I find the right commodity code?

In the EU tariff databases, or on a code page that shows the classification path, the duty rate, and the binding tariff rulings issued for it. Deciding between candidates still requires reading the heading texts and the section and chapter notes.

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