23.03 Residues of starch manufacture, similar residues; beet-pulp, bagasse and other waste of sugar manufacture, brewing or distilling dregs and waste, whether or not in the form of pellets
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.
- 23 Chapter Food industries, residues and wastes thereof; prepared animal fodder
- 03 Heading Residues of starch manufacture, similar residues; beet-pulp, bagasse and other waste of sugar manufacture, brewing or distilling dregs and waste, whether or not in the form of pellets
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 3 six-digit codes below
Chapter 23 covers residues and waste from food industries and prepared animal fodder: oilcake, bran, brewing and distilling dregs, and compound animal feed. It's the byproduct chapter that sits downstream of chapters 10-22. Classification tip: Animal feed containing meat or bone meal often triggers separate biosecurity/BSE-related import controls beyond the standard customs code, especially for shipments to markets with strict feed-safety rules.
All of chapter 23The 3 six-digit codes under 23.03
One of these is the number you declare.
Other headings in chapter 23
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 23.03? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment23.03 FAQ
Heading 23.03 covers residues of starch manufacture, similar residues; beet-pulp, bagasse and other waste of sugar manufacture, brewing or distilling dregs and waste, whether or not in the form of pellets. It is part of chapter 23 (food industries, residues and wastes thereof; prepared animal fodder), and it is subdivided into 3 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 3 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 23. 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.