Chapter 22 — Beverages, spirits and vinegar 4-digit heading

22.06 Fermented beverages, n.e.c. in chapter 22; (e.g. cider, perry, mead, sake)

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.

  1. 22 Chapter Beverages, spirits and vinegar
  2. 06 Heading Fermented beverages, n.e.c. in chapter 22; (e.g. cider, perry, mead, sake)
  3. —— Subheading Pick one of the 1 six-digit codes below

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.

All of chapter 22

The 1 six-digit code under 22.06

One of these is the number you declare.

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

Track a shipment

22.06 FAQ

Heading 22.06 covers fermented beverages, n.e.c. in chapter 22; (e.g. cider, perry, mead, sake). It is part of chapter 22 (beverages, spirits and vinegar), and it is subdivided into 1 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.

Pick one of the 1 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 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.