16 Meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or insects; preparations thereof
The broadest level of the Harmonized System. Pick the heading below that fits your goods, then the six-digit code under it — that last one is what you declare.
Section IV, Foodstuffs, Beverages & Tobacco — prepared food and drink — sugar, cocoa, beverages, spirits, vinegar and tobacco.
- 16 Chapter Meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or insects; preparations thereof
- —— Heading Pick one of the 5 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 16 covers prepared or preserved meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs and insects: canned tuna, corned beef, sausages, fish balls, and similar cooked, cured or otherwise processed animal-protein products. This is where chapter 2 and chapter 3 raw products end up once they're cooked, canned or otherwise transformed. Classification tip: The specific species and packing medium (in oil, in brine, in sauce) each affect the subheading for canned fish, so check the label's exact contents, not just 'canned fish' generically.
5 headings in chapter 16
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 16.01 Sausages and similar products, of meat, meat offal, blood or insects; food preparations based on these products 1 code
- 16.02 Prepared or preserved meat, meat offal, blood or insects 10 codes
- 16.03 Extracts and juices of meat, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates 1 code
- 16.04 Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs 12 codes
- 16.05 Crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved 18 codes
Other chapters in Section IV
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 from chapter 16? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipmentChapter 16 FAQ
Chapter 16 covers prepared or preserved meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs and insects: canned tuna, corned beef, sausages, fish balls, and similar cooked, cured or otherwise processed animal-protein products. This is where chapter 2 and chapter 3 raw products end up once they're cooked, canned or otherwise transformed. Classification tip: The specific species and packing medium (in oil, in brine, in sauce) each affect the subheading for canned fish, so check the label's exact contents, not just 'canned fish' generically.
Pick the heading below that describes the goods, then the six-digit subheading under it. Six digits is the level the Harmonized System defines and the level customs everywhere recognises; anything beyond that is added by the importing country.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section IV and to chapter 16. 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.