33 Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations
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.
- 33 Chapter Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations
- —— Heading Pick one of the 7 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 33 covers essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations: fragrances, skincare, makeup, oral hygiene products and similar personal-care goods. Ingredient composition and intended use (cosmetic vs. medicinal) can shift a product between this chapter and chapter 30, so labeling and formulation matter for classification. Classification tip: A product marketed as 'cosmeceutical' can land in either chapter 33 or chapter 30 depending on whether it makes a therapeutic claim: check the label and formulation, not just the marketing category.
7 headings in chapter 33
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 33.01 Oils; essential (concretes, absolutes); concentrates thereof in fats, fixed oils, waxes or the like (obtained by enfleurage or maceration); aqueous distillates, solutions and terpenic by-products thereof; resinoids; extracted oleoresins 8 codes
- 33.02 Odoriferous substances and mixtures (including alcoholic solutions) with a basis of one or more of these substances, of a kind used as raw materials in industry; other preparations based on odoriferous substances, of a kind used for beverage manufacture 2 codes
- 33.03 Perfumes and toilet waters 1 code
- 33.04 Cosmetic and toilet preparations; beauty, make-up and skin care preparations (excluding medicaments, including sunscreen or sun tan preparations), manicure or pedicure preparations 5 codes
- 33.05 Hair preparations; for use on the hair 4 codes
- 33.06 Oral or dental hygiene preparations; including fixative pastes and powders; yarn used to clean between the teeth (dental floss), in individual retail packages 3 codes
- 33.07 Perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations; pre-shave, shaving, after-shave, bath preparations; personal deodorants and depilatories; room deodorisers, perfumed or not with disinfectant properties or not 6 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 33? 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 33 FAQ
Chapter 33 covers essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations: fragrances, skincare, makeup, oral hygiene products and similar personal-care goods. Ingredient composition and intended use (cosmetic vs. medicinal) can shift a product between this chapter and chapter 30, so labeling and formulation matter for classification. Classification tip: A product marketed as 'cosmeceutical' can land in either chapter 33 or chapter 30 depending on whether it makes a therapeutic claim: check the label and formulation, not just the marketing category.
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 33. 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.