71 Natural, cultured pearls; precious, semi-precious stones; precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin
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 XIV, Gems & Precious Metals — pearls, precious stones, precious metals, jewellery and coin.
- 71 Chapter Natural, cultured pearls; precious, semi-precious stones; precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin
- —— Heading Pick one of the 18 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 71 covers natural, cultured pearls; precious, semi-precious stones; precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin. Because of the high value density, customs authorities scrutinize this chapter closely, and many countries require additional import documentation (Kimberley Process certificates for diamonds, for example). Classification tip: Rough (uncut) diamonds require a Kimberley Process certificate to cross most borders legally, separate from and in addition to the HS classification, and imitation jewellery is classified differently from genuine precious-metal jewellery even if visually similar.
18 headings in chapter 71
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 71.01 Pearls; natural or cultured, whether or not worked or graded but not strung, mounted or set; pearls, natural or cultured, temporarily strung for the convenience of transport 3 codes
- 71.02 Diamonds, whether or not worked, but not mounted or set 5 codes
- 71.03 Precious (excluding diamond) and semi-precious stone; worked, graded, not strung, mounted, set; ungraded precious (excluding diamond) and semi-precious stone, temporarily strung for convenience of transport 3 codes
- 71.04 Stones; synthetic or reconstructed precious or semi-precious, whether or not worked or graded but not strung, mounted or set; ungraded synthetic or reconstructed precious or semi-precious stones, temporarily strung for convenience of transport 5 codes
- 71.05 Dust and powder of natural or synthetic precious or semi-precious stone 2 codes
- 71.06 Silver (including silver plated with gold or platinum); unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form 3 codes
- 71.07 Base metals clad with silver; not further worked than semi-manufactured 1 code
- 71.08 Gold (including gold plated with platinum) unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form 4 codes
- 71.09 Base metals or silver, clad with gold, not further worked than semi-manufactured 1 code
- 71.10 Platinum; unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form 8 codes
- 71.11 Base metals, silver or gold, clad with platinum; not further worked than semi-manufactured 1 code
- 71.12 Waste and scrap of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal; other waste and scrap containing precious metal compounds, of a kind uses principally for the recovery of precious metal other than goods of heading 85.49 4 codes
- 71.13 Jewellery articles and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal 3 codes
- 71.14 Articles of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal 3 codes
- 71.15 Articles of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal 2 codes
- 71.16 Articles of natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed) 2 codes
- 71.17 Imitation jewellery 3 codes
- 71.18 Coin 2 codes
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 71? 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 71 FAQ
Chapter 71 covers natural, cultured pearls; precious, semi-precious stones; precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin. Because of the high value density, customs authorities scrutinize this chapter closely, and many countries require additional import documentation (Kimberley Process certificates for diamonds, for example). Classification tip: Rough (uncut) diamonds require a Kimberley Process certificate to cross most borders legally, separate from and in addition to the HS classification, and imitation jewellery is classified differently from genuine precious-metal jewellery even if visually similar.
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 XIV and to chapter 71. 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.