16.04 Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs
One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.
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
- 04 Heading Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 12 six-digit codes below
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.
All of chapter 16The 12 six-digit codes under 16.04
One of these is the number you declare.
- 1604.11 Fish preparations; salmon, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.12 Fish preparations; herrings, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.13 Fish preparations; sardines, sardinella and brisling or sprats, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.14 Fish preparations; tunas, skipjack tuna and bonito (Sarda spp.), prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.15 Fish preparations; mackerel, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.16 Fish preparations; anchovies, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.17 Fish preparations; eels, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.18 Fish preparations; shark fins, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced)
- 1604.19 Fish preparations; fish prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (but not minced), n.e.c. in heading no. 1604
- 1604.20 Fish preparations; fish minced or in forms n.e.c. in heading no. 1604, prepared or preserved
- 1604.31 Fish preparations; caviar
- 1604.32 Fish preparations; caviar substitutes, prepared from fish eggs
Other headings in chapter 16
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 16.04? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment16.04 FAQ
Heading 16.04 covers prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs. It is part of chapter 16 (meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or insects; preparations thereof), and it is subdivided into 12 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 12 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 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.