29 Organic chemicals
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 VI, Chemical Products — inorganic and organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, paints and cosmetics.
- 29 Chapter Organic chemicals
- —— Heading Pick one of the 42 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 29 covers organic chemicals: hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, esters and other carbon-based compounds that feed into pharmaceuticals, plastics, solvents and countless other manufactured goods. With over 400 six-digit codes it's the single largest chapter in the entire Harmonized System, since organic chemistry produces so many distinct, precisely defined compounds. Classification tip: Because chapter 29 is organized by precise chemical structure (not by end use), classification usually requires the compound's exact chemical name or CAS number: a generic product description is rarely enough to pick the right six-digit code.
42 headings in chapter 29
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 29.01 Acyclic hydrocarbons 6 codes
- 29.02 Cyclic hydrocarbons 12 codes
- 29.03 Halogenated derivatives of hydrocarbons 42 codes
- 29.04 Sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives of hydrocarbons; whether or not halogenated 10 codes
- 29.05 Acyclic alcohols and their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 20 codes
- 29.06 Alcohols; cyclic, and their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 6 codes
- 29.07 Phenols; monophenols, polyphenols, and phenol-alcohols 9 codes
- 29.08 Phenols or phenol-alcohols; halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 5 codes
- 29.09 Ethers, ether-alcohols, ether-phenols, ether-alcohol-phenols, alcohol peroxides, ether peroxides, acetal and hemiacetal peroxides, ketone peroxides (chemically defined or not), and their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 10 codes
- 29.10 Epoxides, epoxyalcohols, epoxyphenols and epoxyethers; with a three-membered ring and their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 6 codes
- 29.11 Acetals and hemiacetals; whether or not with other oxygen function, and their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrostated derivatives 1 code
- 29.12 Aldehydes, whether or not with other oxygen function; cyclic polymers of aldehydes; paraformaldehyde 10 codes
- 29.13 Aldehydes; halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives of products of heading no. 2912 1 code
- 29.14 Ketones and quinones; whether or not with other oxygen function, and their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrostated derivatives 16 codes
- 29.15 Acids; saturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids and their anhydrides, halides, peroxides and peroxyacids; their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 16 codes
- 29.16 Acids; unsaturated acyclic monocarboxylic, cyclic monocarboxylic, their anhydrides, halides, peroxides and peroxyacids; their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 12 codes
- 29.17 Acids; polycarboxylic acids, their anhydrides, halides, peroxides and peroxy-acids; their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 13 codes
- 29.18 Acids; carboxylic acid with additional oxygen function and their anhydrides, halides, peroxides, peroxyacids; their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 16 codes
- 29.19 Esters; phosphoric, and their salts, including lactophosphates, their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 2 codes
- 29.20 Esters of other inorganic acids of non-metals (other than of hydrogen halides) and their salts, their halogenated, sulphonated, nitrated or nitrosated derivatives 9 codes
- 29.21 Amine-function compounds 18 codes
- 29.22 Oxygen-function amino-compounds 18 codes
- 29.23 Quaternary ammonium salts and hydroxides; lecithins and other phosphoaminolipids, whether or not chemically defined 5 codes
- 29.24 Carboxyamide-function compounds; amide-function compounds of carbonic acid 8 codes
- 29.25 Carboxyimide-function compounds (including saccharin and its salts) and imine-function compounds 5 codes
- 29.26 Nitrile-function compounds 5 codes
- 29.27 Diazo-, azo- or azoxy-compounds 1 code
- 29.28 Organic derivatives of hydrazine or of hydroxylamine 1 code
- 29.29 Nitrogen-function compounds, n.e.c. in chapter 29 2 codes
- 29.30 Organo-sulphur compounds 8 codes
- 29.31 Other organo-inorganic compounds 17 codes
- 29.32 Heterocyclic compounds with oxygen hetero-atom(s) only 13 codes
- 29.33 Heterocyclic compounds with nitrogen hetero-atom(s) only 27 codes
- 29.34 Nucleic acids and their salts, whether or not chemically defined; other heterocyclic compounds 6 codes
- 29.35 Sulphonamides 6 codes
- 29.36 Provitamins, vitamins; natural or reproduced by synthesis (including natural concentrates) derivatives thereof used as vitamins, and intermixtures of the fore-going, whether or not in any solvent 10 codes
- 29.37 Hormones, prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes, natural or reproduced by synthesis; derivatives and structural analogues thereof, including chain modified polypeptides, used primarily as hormones. 9 codes
- 29.38 Glycosides, natural or reproduced by synthesis, and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives 2 codes
- 29.39 Alkaloids; natural or reproduced by synthesis, and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives 19 codes
- 29.40 Sugars, chemically pure, other than sucrose, lactose, maltose, glucose and fructose; sugar ethers, sugar acetals and sugar esters, and their salts, other than the products of heading 29.37, 29.38, or 29.39 1 code
- 29.41 Antibiotics 6 codes
- 29.42 Organic compounds; n.e.c. in chapter 29 1 code
Other chapters in Section VI
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 29? 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 29 FAQ
Chapter 29 covers organic chemicals: hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, esters and other carbon-based compounds that feed into pharmaceuticals, plastics, solvents and countless other manufactured goods. With over 400 six-digit codes it's the single largest chapter in the entire Harmonized System, since organic chemistry produces so many distinct, precisely defined compounds. Classification tip: Because chapter 29 is organized by precise chemical structure (not by end use), classification usually requires the compound's exact chemical name or CAS number: a generic product description is rarely enough to pick the right six-digit code.
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 VI and to chapter 29. 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.