30 Pharmaceutical products
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.
- 30 Chapter Pharmaceutical products
- —— Heading Pick one of the 6 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 30 covers pharmaceutical products: medicaments, vaccines, blood products, diagnostic reagents and similar goods for medical use. Many countries admit finished pharmaceuticals duty-free under WTO commitments, but licensing and import-permit requirements are usually strict regardless of the tariff rate. Classification tip: Duty-free treatment under the WTO Pharmaceutical Agreement generally applies to specific listed products and their salts/esters, so confirm the exact formulation is on the covered list rather than assuming all medicaments qualify.
6 headings in chapter 30
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 30.01 Glands and other organs (extracts, secretions thereof) for organo-therapeutic uses, dried, powdered or not; heparin and its salts; other human or animal substances for therapeutic or prophylactic uses n.e.c. 2 codes
- 30.02 Human blood; animal blood for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic uses; antisera, other blood fractions, immunological products, modified or obtained by biotechnological processes; vaccines, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms (excluding yeasts) etc 10 codes
- 30.03 Medicaments; (not goods of heading no. 3002, 3005 or 3006) of two or more constituents mixed together for therapeutic or prophylactic use not in measured doses or in forms or packings for retail sale 10 codes
- 30.04 Medicaments; (not goods of heading no. 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic use, put up in measured doses (incl. those in the form of transdermal admin. systems) or packed for retail sale 12 codes
- 30.05 Wadding, gauze, bandages (dressings, adhesive plasters, poultices), impregnated or coated with pharmaceutical substances or in forms or packings for retail sale, for medical, surgical or veterinary use 2 codes
- 30.06 Pharmaceutical goods 9 codes
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 30? 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 30 FAQ
Chapter 30 covers pharmaceutical products: medicaments, vaccines, blood products, diagnostic reagents and similar goods for medical use. Many countries admit finished pharmaceuticals duty-free under WTO commitments, but licensing and import-permit requirements are usually strict regardless of the tariff rate. Classification tip: Duty-free treatment under the WTO Pharmaceutical Agreement generally applies to specific listed products and their salts/esters, so confirm the exact formulation is on the covered list rather than assuming all medicaments qualify.
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 30. 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.