What are Harmonized System Codes?

Harmonized System codes or HS Codes facilitate customs clearance. It is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers for classifying traded products.

More meaning from Wikipedia:

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) of tariff nomenclature is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers for classifying traded products developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO) (formerly the Customs Co-operation Council), an independent intergovernmental organization with over 170 member countries based in Brussels, Belgium.

More than 200 countries, customs and economic unions, representing more than 98% of world trade, use the HS as a basis for:

-Customs tariffs
-Collection of international trade statistics
-Rules of origin
-Collection of internal taxes
-Trade negotiations (e.g., the World Trade Organization schedules of tariff concessions)
-Transport tariffs and statistics
-Monitoring of controlled goods (e.g., wastes, narcotics, chemical weapons, ozone layer depleting substances, endangered species)
-Areas of Customs controls and procedures, including risk assessment, information technology and compliance.
Codes have been revised through the years. If it is necessary to reference a code related to a trade issue from the past, one must make sure the definition set being used matches the code.

As a forwarder or broker, you sometimes encounter terms such as HS codes… hope this article helps!

BTW, Here’s a good source.