34.01 Soap; organic surface-active preparations used as soap, skin washing, in bars, cakes, moulded pieces, shapes, liquid or cream, containing soap or not; for retail, paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent
One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.
Section VI, Chemical Products — inorganic and organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, paints and cosmetics.
- 34 Chapter Soap, organic surface-active agents; washing, lubricating, polishing or scouring preparations; artificial or prepared waxes, candles and similar articles, modelling pastes, dental waxes and dental preparations with a basis of plaster
- 01 Heading Soap; organic surface-active preparations used as soap, skin washing, in bars, cakes, moulded pieces, shapes, liquid or cream, containing soap or not; for retail, paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 4 six-digit codes below
Chapter 34 covers soap, organic surface-active agents; washing, lubricating, polishing or scouring preparations; artificial or prepared waxes, candles and similar articles: household and industrial cleaning and personal-care products built around surfactant chemistry. Classification tip: Industrial lubricants in this chapter are classified separately from the mineral oils in chapter 27 they're often made from: the finished lubricant preparation, not its petroleum origin, determines the chapter.
All of chapter 34The 4 six-digit codes under 34.01
One of these is the number you declare.
- 3401.11 Soap and organic surface-active products; in the form of bars, cakes, moulded shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent, for toilet use (including medicated products)
- 3401.19 Soap and organic surface-active products; in the form of bars, cakes, moulded shapes, and paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent, not for toilet use
- 3401.20 Soap; in forms n.e.c. in item no. 3401.11
- 3401.30 Organic surface-active products and preparations for washing the skin, in the form of liquid or cream and put up for retail sale, whether or not containing soap
Other headings in chapter 34
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 34.01? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment34.01 FAQ
Heading 34.01 covers soap; organic surface-active preparations used as soap, skin washing, in bars, cakes, moulded pieces, shapes, liquid or cream, containing soap or not; for retail, paper, wadding, felt and nonwovens, impregnated, coated or covered with soap or detergent. It is part of chapter 34 (soap, organic surface-active agents; washing, lubricating, polishing or scouring preparations; artificial or prepared waxes, candles and similar articles, modelling pastes, dental waxes and dental preparations with a basis of plaster), and it is subdivided into 4 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 4 subheadings below. Those six digits are what customs recognises internationally; the importing country may extend them to eight or ten in its own tariff schedule.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section VI and to chapter 34. 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.