20 Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants
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.
- 20 Chapter Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants
- —— Heading Pick one of the 9 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 20 covers prepared or preserved vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants: jams, fruit juices, canned vegetables, pickles and similar processed produce. Sugar content, preservation method and fruit type each affect which six-digit code applies. Classification tip: Fruit juice classification depends heavily on Brix value (sugar concentration) and whether the juice is single-strength or concentrate, both of which change the subheading and often the duty rate.
9 headings in chapter 20
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 20.01 Vegetables, fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants; prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid 2 codes
- 20.02 Tomatoes; prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid 2 codes
- 20.03 Mushrooms and truffles, prepared or preserved other than by vinegar or acetic acid 2 codes
- 20.04 Vegetables preparations n.e.c.; prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, frozen, other than products of heading no. 2006 2 codes
- 20.05 Vegetables preparations n.e.c.; prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading no. 2006 10 codes
- 20.06 Vegetables, fruit, nuts, fruit-peel and other parts of plants, preserved by sugar (drained, glace or crystallised) 1 code
- 20.07 Jams, fruit jellies, marmalades, fruit or nut puree and fruit or nut pastes, being cooked preparations; whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 3 codes
- 20.08 Fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants; prepared or preserved in ways n.e.c., whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or spirit, not elsewhere specified or included 13 codes
- 20.09 Fruit or nut juices (including grape must and coconut water) and vegetable juices, unfermented, not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 17 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 20? 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 20 FAQ
Chapter 20 covers prepared or preserved vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants: jams, fruit juices, canned vegetables, pickles and similar processed produce. Sugar content, preservation method and fruit type each affect which six-digit code applies. Classification tip: Fruit juice classification depends heavily on Brix value (sugar concentration) and whether the juice is single-strength or concentrate, both of which change the subheading and often the duty rate.
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 20. 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.