2508.10 Clays (excluding expanded clays of heading no. 6806); bentonite, whether or not calcined
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 V, Mineral Products — salt, sulphur, earths, stone, ores, mineral fuels and mineral oils.
- 25 Chapter Salt; sulphur; earths, stone; plastering materials, lime and cement
- 08 Heading Clays; (not including expanded clays of heading no. 6806), andalusite kyanite and sillimanite, whether or not calcined; mullite; chamotte or dinas earth
- 10 Subheading Clays (excluding expanded clays of heading no. 6806); bentonite, whether or not calcined
Chapter 25 covers salt, sulphur, earths and stone, plastering materials, lime and cement: bulk mineral commodities in their natural or minimally processed state, used mostly as construction and industrial inputs. Classification tip: These are typically high-volume, low-value-per-tonne bulk commodities, so freight cost (not duty) usually dominates the landed-cost calculation: confirm the shipping mode and Incoterm before quoting a price.
All of chapter 25Other codes under 25.08
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 2508.10? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment2508.10 FAQ
2508.10 covers clays (excluding expanded clays of heading no. 6806); bentonite, whether or not calcined. It sits under heading 25.08 (clays; (not including expanded clays of heading no. 6806), andalusite kyanite and sillimanite, whether or not calcined; mullite; chamotte or dinas earth) in chapter 25, Section V 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 2508.10 plus whatever national digits the destination’s tariff schedule adds to it.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section V and to chapter 25. 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.