54 Man-made filaments; strip and the like of man-made textile materials
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.
- 54 Chapter Man-made filaments; strip and the like of man-made textile materials
- —— Heading Pick one of the 8 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 54 covers man-made filaments; strip and the like of man-made textile materials: synthetic and artificial continuous fibre yarns like polyester, nylon and rayon filament, plus strip and similar man-made textile materials, before weaving into fabric. Classification tip: Synthetic (petroleum-based, like polyester/nylon) and artificial (cellulose-based, like viscose/rayon) filaments are classified under different headings even though both are 'man-made': confirm which category the fibre falls into.
8 headings in chapter 54
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 54.01 Sewing thread of man-made filaments, whether or not put up for retail sale 2 codes
- 54.02 Synthetic filament yarn (other than sewing thread), not put up for retail sale, including synthetic monofilament of less than 67 decitex 22 codes
- 54.03 Artificial filament yarn (other than sewing thread), not put up for retail sale, including artificial monofilament of less than 67 decitex 8 codes
- 54.04 Synthetic monofilament of 67 decitex or more, of which no cross-sectional dimension exceeds 1mm; strip and the like (e.g. artificial straw) of synthetic textile materials of an apparent width not exceeding 5mm 4 codes
- 54.05 Artificial monofilament of 67 decitex or more, no cross-sectional dimension exceeds 1mm; strip and the like (e.g. artificial straw), of artificial textile materials of a width not exceeding 5mm 1 code
- 54.06 Man-made filament yarn (other than sewing thread), put up for retail sale 1 code
- 54.07 Woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, including woven fabrics obtained from materials of heading no. 5404 25 codes
- 54.08 Woven fabrics of artificial filament yarn including woven fabrics obtained from materials of heading no. 5404 9 codes
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 54? 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 54 FAQ
Chapter 54 covers man-made filaments; strip and the like of man-made textile materials: synthetic and artificial continuous fibre yarns like polyester, nylon and rayon filament, plus strip and similar man-made textile materials, before weaving into fabric. Classification tip: Synthetic (petroleum-based, like polyester/nylon) and artificial (cellulose-based, like viscose/rayon) filaments are classified under different headings even though both are 'man-made': confirm which category the fibre falls into.
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 54. 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.