53 Vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn
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 XI, Textiles & Apparel — silk, wool, cotton, man-made fibres, fabrics, carpets and clothing.
- 53 Chapter Vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn
- —— Heading Pick one of the 10 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 53 covers vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn: flax, jute, hemp, coir and similar plant fibres, plus paper yarn and woven fabrics made from paper yarn. Classification tip: Jute and other bast fibres used for sacking and packaging materials often qualify for preferential duty treatment in several markets as an eco-friendly packaging alternative: check current trade-agreement schedules.
10 headings in chapter 53
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 53.01 Flax, raw or processed but not spun; flax tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) 4 codes
- 53.02 True hemp (cannabis sativa L.), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true hemp (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) 2 codes
- 53.03 Jute and other textile bast fibres (not flax, true hemp and ramie), raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of these fibres, including yarn waste and garnetted stock 2 codes
- 53.05 Coconut, abaca (Manila hemp or Musa textilis Nee), ramie and other vegetable textile fibres n.e.c., raw or processed but not spun; tow, noils and waste of these fibres (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) 1 code
- 53.06 Flax yarn 2 codes
- 53.07 Yarn of jute or of other textile bast fibres of heading no. 5305 2 codes
- 53.08 Yarn of other vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn 3 codes
- 53.09 Woven fabrics of flax 4 codes
- 53.10 Woven fabrics of jute, other textile bast fibres of heading no. 5303 2 codes
- 53.11 Woven fabrics of other vegetable textile fibres; woven fabrics of paper yarn 1 code
Other chapters in Section XI
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 53? 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 53 FAQ
Chapter 53 covers vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn: flax, jute, hemp, coir and similar plant fibres, plus paper yarn and woven fabrics made from paper yarn. Classification tip: Jute and other bast fibres used for sacking and packaging materials often qualify for preferential duty treatment in several markets as an eco-friendly packaging alternative: check current trade-agreement schedules.
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 XI and to chapter 53. 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.