93 Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof
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 XIX, Arms & Ammunition — arms, ammunition and their parts and accessories.
- 93 Chapter Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof
- —— Heading Pick one of the 7 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 93 covers arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof: firearms, ammunition and military weapons. This chapter is subject to strict export and import licensing in virtually every jurisdiction, independent of the HS code itself. Classification tip: Even parts and accessories (not just complete firearms) usually require the same import/export licensing as finished weapons, so don't assume a 'parts only' shipment is exempt from arms-control paperwork.
7 headings in chapter 93
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 93.01 Military weapons; other than revolvers, pistols and arms of heading no. 9307 3 codes
- 93.02 Revolvers and pistols; other than those of heading no. 9303 or 9304 1 code
- 93.03 Firearms; other similar devices (e.g. sporting shotguns and rifles, muzzle-loading firearms, very pistols, devices for firing flares or blank ammunition, captive bolt humane killers, line throwing guns) 4 codes
- 93.04 Firearms; (e.g. spring, air or gas guns and pistols, truncheons), excluding those of heading no. 9307 1 code
- 93.05 Firearms; parts and accessories of articles of heading no. 9301 to 9304 4 codes
- 93.06 Bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war and parts thereof; cartridges and other ammunition, projectiles and parts thereof, including shot and cartridge wads 4 codes
- 93.07 Arms; swords, cutlasses, bayonets, lances and the like, parts thereof and scabbards and sheaths therefor 1 code
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 93? 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 93 FAQ
Chapter 93 covers arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof: firearms, ammunition and military weapons. This chapter is subject to strict export and import licensing in virtually every jurisdiction, independent of the HS code itself. Classification tip: Even parts and accessories (not just complete firearms) usually require the same import/export licensing as finished weapons, so don't assume a 'parts only' shipment is exempt from arms-control paperwork.
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 XIX and to chapter 93. 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.