34.02 Organic surface-active agents (not soap); surface-active, washing (including auxiliary washing) and cleaning preparations, containing soap or not, excluding those of heading no. 3401
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
- 02 Heading Organic surface-active agents (not soap); surface-active, washing (including auxiliary washing) and cleaning preparations, containing soap or not, excluding those of heading no. 3401
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 7 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 7 six-digit codes under 34.02
One of these is the number you declare.
- 3402.31 Anionic organic surface-active agents (other than soap); linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acids and their salts, whether or not put up for retail sale
- 3402.39 Anionic organic surface-active agents (other than soap); other than linear alkylbenzene sulphonic acids and their salts, whether or not put up for retail sale
- 3402.41 Organic surface-active agents; cationic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail sale
- 3402.42 Organic surface-active agents; non-ionic (other than soap), whether or not put up for retail sale
- 3402.49 Organic surface-active agents; whether or not put up for retail sale, n.e.c. in item no. 3402
- 3402.50 Washing and cleaning preparations; powders, flakes and granules, surface-active, whether or not containing soap (excluding those of heading no. 3401), put up for retail sale
- 3402.90 Washing and cleaning preparations; surface-active, whether or not containing soap (excluding those of heading no. 3401), including auxiliary washing preparations, not for retail sale
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 34.02? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment34.02 FAQ
Heading 34.02 covers organic surface-active agents (not soap); surface-active, washing (including auxiliary washing) and cleaning preparations, containing soap or not, excluding those of heading no. 3401. 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 7 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 7 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.