4502.00 Cork; natural cork, debacked or roughly squared, or in rectangular (including square) blocks, plates, sheets or strip, (including sharp-edged blanks for corks or stoppers)
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 IX, Wood & Wood Products — wood, charcoal, cork and articles of straw or basketware.
- 45 Chapter Cork and articles of cork
- 02 Heading Natural cork, debacked or roughly squared, or in rectangular (including square) blocks, plates, sheets or strip, (including sharp-edged blanks for corks or stoppers)
- 00 Subheading Cork; natural cork, debacked or roughly squared, or in rectangular (including square) blocks, plates, sheets or strip, (including sharp-edged blanks for corks or stoppers)
Chapter 45 covers cork and articles of cork: natural cork, agglomerated cork, and finished cork products like stoppers and flooring tiles. Classification tip: Natural cork stoppers and agglomerated (composite) cork stoppers sit on different subheadings, so check whether the product is solid natural cork or a manufactured cork composite before classifying.
All of chapter 45The 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 4502.00? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment4502.00 FAQ
4502.00 covers cork; natural cork, debacked or roughly squared, or in rectangular (including square) blocks, plates, sheets or strip, (including sharp-edged blanks for corks or stoppers). It sits under heading 45.02 (natural cork, debacked or roughly squared, or in rectangular (including square) blocks, plates, sheets or strip, (including sharp-edged blanks for corks or stoppers)) in chapter 45, Section IX 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 4502.00 plus whatever national digits the destination’s tariff schedule adds to it.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section IX and to chapter 45. 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.