55 Man-made staple fibres
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.
- 55 Chapter Man-made staple fibres
- —— Heading Pick one of the 16 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 55 covers man-made staple fibres: synthetic and artificial fibres cut to short lengths for spinning into yarn, as opposed to the continuous filaments in chapter 54. Together chapters 54-55 cover the full range of synthetic textile inputs. Classification tip: As with chapter 54, synthetic versus artificial staple fibre is the first classification fork, and blended-fibre yarns are classified by the fibre with the greatest weight share.
16 headings in chapter 55
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 55.01 Synthetic filament tow 6 codes
- 55.02 Artificial filament tow 2 codes
- 55.03 Synthetic staple fibres, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning 6 codes
- 55.04 Artificial staple fibres, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning 2 codes
- 55.05 Waste (including noils, yarn waste and garnetted stock), of man-made fibres 2 codes
- 55.06 Synthetic staple fibres, carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning 5 codes
- 55.07 Artificial staple fibres, carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning 1 code
- 55.08 Sewing thread of man-made staple fibres, whether or not put up for retail sale 2 codes
- 55.09 Yarn (other than sewing thread) of synthetic staple fibres, not put up for retail sale 18 codes
- 55.10 Yarn (other than sewing thread) of artificial staple fibres, not put up for retail sale 5 codes
- 55.11 Yarn (not sewing thread), of man-made staple fibres, put up for retail sale 3 codes
- 55.12 Woven fabrics of synthetic staple fibres, containing 85% or more by weight of synthetic staple fibres 6 codes
- 55.13 Woven fabrics of synthetic staple fibres, containing less than 85% by weight of such fibres, mixed mainly or solely with cotton, of a weight not exceeding 170g/m2 11 codes
- 55.14 Woven fabrics of synthetic staple fibres, containing less than 85% by weight of such fibres, mixed mainly or solely with cotton, of a weight exceeding 170g/m2 12 codes
- 55.15 Woven fabrics of synthetic staple fibres, n.e.c. in chapter 55 9 codes
- 55.16 Woven fabrics of artificial staple fibres 20 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 55? 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 55 FAQ
Chapter 55 covers man-made staple fibres: synthetic and artificial fibres cut to short lengths for spinning into yarn, as opposed to the continuous filaments in chapter 54. Together chapters 54-55 cover the full range of synthetic textile inputs. Classification tip: As with chapter 54, synthetic versus artificial staple fibre is the first classification fork, and blended-fibre yarns are classified by the fibre with the greatest weight share.
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 55. 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.