7801.99 Lead; unwrought, unrefined, not containing by weight antimony as the principal other element
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 XV, Base Metals — iron, steel, copper, aluminium, other base metals and articles thereof.
- 78 Chapter Lead and articles thereof
- 01 Heading Lead; unwrought
- 99 Subheading Lead; unwrought, unrefined, not containing by weight antimony as the principal other element
Chapter 78 covers lead and articles thereof: refined lead, lead alloys and lead products, most commonly traded as battery-grade lead and lead sheet. Classification tip: Used lead-acid batteries and lead scrap fall under the Basel Convention's hazardous-waste rules in many jurisdictions, requiring transboundary movement documentation beyond the standard HS code.
All of chapter 78Other codes under 78.01
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 under 7801.99? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment7801.99 FAQ
7801.99 covers lead; unwrought, unrefined, not containing by weight antimony as the principal other element. It sits under heading 78.01 (lead; unwrought) in chapter 78, Section XV 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 7801.99 plus whatever national digits the destination’s tariff schedule adds to it.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section XV and to chapter 78. 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.