17.03 Molasses; resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar
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.
- 17 Chapter Sugars and sugar confectionery
- 03 Heading Molasses; resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 2 six-digit codes below
Chapter 17 covers sugars and sugar confectionery: raw and refined cane or beet sugar, syrups, molasses, and finished confectionery like hard candy and toffee (but not chocolate confectionery, which falls under chapter 18). Classification tip: Raw cane sugar is frequently subject to tariff-rate quotas and anti-dumping measures in major import markets, so check both the quota status and any trade-remedy orders before relying on the base duty rate.
All of chapter 17The 2 six-digit codes under 17.03
One of these is the number you declare.
Other headings in chapter 17
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 17.03? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment17.03 FAQ
Heading 17.03 covers molasses; resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar. It is part of chapter 17 (sugars and sugar confectionery), and it is subdivided into 2 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 2 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 17. 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.