Most exporters are familiar with the Harmonized System (HS), the international system used to classify goods. The first six digits are internationally standardised, so a product can be recognised under essentially the same HS classification worldwide.
India, however, takes the system two digits further.
India uses the eight-digit ITC (HS) — Indian Trade Classification based on the Harmonized System. The first six digits follow the international HS structure, while the seventh and eighth digits provide additional classifications created specifically for Indian customs, statistical and trade-policy purposes.
For example, the Indian classification 76069299 can be broken down as:
76 — Chapter: Aluminium and articles thereof; 7606 — Heading: Aluminium plates, sheets and strip, over 0.2 mm thick; 760692 — International six-digit HS subheading: Other, of aluminium alloys; 76069299 — Indian eight-digit tariff item
The important point for an overseas exporter is that correctly identifying the international six-digit HS code does not necessarily complete the classification required for India.
Where Do You Find the Last Two Digits?
You do not normally apply to have them allocated. India publishes its eight-digit tariff classifications.
An exporter can use the Indian Customs ICEGATE Trade Guide to search the Indian tariff by classification or product description. Having established the international six-digit HS code, the exporter should continue through the Indian tariff to identify the appropriate eight-digit tariff item.
India’s Compliance Information Portal (CIP) can then provide further information at tariff-item level about applicable customs procedures, duties, taxes and regulatory requirements.
This matters because India’s additional classification is not simply there to collect more detailed trade statistics. The precise eight-digit tariff item can be relevant when establishing the import policy and other requirements applying to the goods, including licensing, standards, certification and regulatory controls.
Where classification is uncertain, particularly where a product could reasonably fall within more than one tariff item, the classification should be confirmed with the Indian importer or their customs broker before the goods are shipped.
The lesson is a simple one:
Do not assume that because you know your six-digit HS code, you know your complete classification in the country of destination.
When trading with India, six digits may identify your product internationally — but the final two digits can determine how India treats it.