05.08 Coral and similar materials, unworked or simply prepared, shells of molluscs, crustaceans or echinoderms and cuttle-bone, not cut to shape powder and waste thereof
One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.
Section I, Live Animals & Animal Products — live animals, meat, fish, dairy and other products of animal origin.
- 05 Chapter Animal originated products; not elsewhere specified or included
- 08 Heading Coral and similar materials, unworked or simply prepared, shells of molluscs, crustaceans or echinoderms and cuttle-bone, not cut to shape powder and waste thereof
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 1 six-digit codes below
Chapter 5 is a catch-all for animal-derived products that don't fit chapter 1-4: human hair, bristles, animal guts, bladders, bones, horns, hooves, coral and similar raw materials used in manufacturing rather than food. It's a small chapter, mostly industrial and craft inputs rather than consumer goods. Classification tip: Products of endangered or protected species (certain corals, ivory-adjacent materials) can require a CITES permit in addition to the HS code, regardless of how minor the shipment looks on paper.
All of chapter 05The 1 six-digit code under 05.08
One of these is the number you declare.
Other headings in chapter 05
The wording above is the Harmonized System nomenclature as published by the World Customs Organization, HS 2022 edition. It is a classification reference, not a tariff: it carries no duty rates, and it stops at six digits — the importing country adds its own beyond that.
Classification is decided by the General Rules of Interpretation and the section and chapter notes, and it is the importing country’s customs authority that makes it binding.
Shipping goods under 05.08? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment05.08 FAQ
Heading 05.08 covers coral and similar materials, unworked or simply prepared, shells of molluscs, crustaceans or echinoderms and cuttle-bone, not cut to shape powder and waste thereof. It is part of chapter 05 (animal originated products; not elsewhere specified or included), and it is subdivided into 1 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 1 subheadings below. Those six digits are what customs recognises internationally; the importing country may extend them to eight or ten in its own tariff schedule.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section I and to chapter 05. A description that reads right is not enough on its own — the notes routinely pull goods out of the chapter they obviously belong to and put them somewhere else. Where duty or licensing turns on the answer, ask the importing country’s customs authority for a binding ruling.
A wrong or missing code is one of the common reasons customs holds a container, and a hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving. Watch for it in the container tracking app, on the air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or through the tracking API.