3005.90 Wadding, gauze, bandages and similar articles; (excluding adhesive dressings), impregnated or coated with pharmaceutical substances, packaged for retail sale
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 VI, Chemical Products — inorganic and organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, paints and cosmetics.
- 30 Chapter Pharmaceutical products
- 05 Heading 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
- 90 Subheading Wadding, gauze, bandages and similar articles; (excluding adhesive dressings), impregnated or coated with pharmaceutical substances, packaged for retail sale
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.
All of chapter 30Other codes under 30.05
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 3005.90? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment3005.90 FAQ
3005.90 covers wadding, gauze, bandages and similar articles; (excluding adhesive dressings), impregnated or coated with pharmaceutical substances, packaged for retail sale. It sits under heading 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) in chapter 30, Section VI 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 3005.90 plus whatever national digits the destination’s tariff schedule adds to it.
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.