22 Beverages, spirits and vinegar
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.
- 22 Chapter Beverages, spirits and vinegar
- —— Heading Pick one of the 9 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 22 covers beverages, spirits and vinegar: water, juice, beer, wine, spirits and ethyl alcohol. Alcohol content and the type of base ingredient (grape, grain, fruit) are the key factors separating subheadings, and this chapter typically carries excise duty on top of the standard import tariff. Classification tip: Alcoholic beverages usually attract excise tax in addition to customs duty: budget for both, not just the HS code's headline tariff rate.
9 headings in chapter 22
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 22.01 Waters, including natural or artificial mineral waters and aerated waters, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured; ice and snow 2 codes
- 22.02 Waters, including mineral and aerated waters, containing added sugar or sweetening matter, flavoured; other non-alcoholic beverages, not including fruit, nut or vegetable juices of heading no. 2009 3 codes
- 22.03 Beer made from malt 1 code
- 22.04 Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wines; grape must other than that of heading no. 2009 5 codes
- 22.05 Vermouth and other wine of fresh grapes, flavoured with plants or aromatic substances 2 codes
- 22.06 Fermented beverages, n.e.c. in chapter 22; (e.g. cider, perry, mead, sake) 1 code
- 22.07 Ethyl alcohol, undenatured; of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% vol. or higher; ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any strength 2 codes
- 22.08 Ethyl alcohol, undenatured; of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80% volume; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages 7 codes
- 22.09 Vinegar and substitutes for vinegar obtained from acetic acid 1 code
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 22? 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 22 FAQ
Chapter 22 covers beverages, spirits and vinegar: water, juice, beer, wine, spirits and ethyl alcohol. Alcohol content and the type of base ingredient (grape, grain, fruit) are the key factors separating subheadings, and this chapter typically carries excise duty on top of the standard import tariff. Classification tip: Alcoholic beverages usually attract excise tax in addition to customs duty: budget for both, not just the HS code's headline tariff 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 22. 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.