Heading 20.05 — Vegetables preparations n.e.c.; prepared or pres... 6-digit code

2005.91 Vegetable preparations; bamboo shoots, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen

A full HS code. These six digits are what goes on a customs declaration, and they mean the same thing in every country that uses the Harmonized System.

Section IV, Foodstuffs, Beverages & Tobacco — prepared food and drink — sugar, cocoa, beverages, spirits, vinegar and tobacco.

  1. 20 Chapter Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants
  2. 05 Heading Vegetables preparations n.e.c.; prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading no. 2006
  3. 91 Subheading Vegetable preparations; bamboo shoots, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen

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.

All of chapter 20

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 2005.91? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.

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2005.91 FAQ

2005.91 covers vegetable preparations; bamboo shoots, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen. It sits under heading 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) in chapter 20, Section IV of the Harmonized System.

It is the international part of it. Six digits are the same in every country that applies the Harmonized System; the importing country then extends them to eight or ten for its own tariff and statistics. Declare 2005.91 plus whatever national digits the destination’s tariff schedule adds to it.

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.