Every imported product is classified under a code that determines its duty rate. That code usually arrives on the supplier's proforma invoice, gets copied by the freight forwarder onto the declaration, and is never questioned again. It is one of the few places in importing where ten minutes of attention changes a recurring cost permanently.
Why the supplier's code is not your code
Your Chinese supplier classifies for Chinese export. The first six digits are internationally harmonised, but the digits after that are European and they are where the duty rate lives. A supplier has no reason to know them and no liability if they are wrong.
The liability is yours. A misclassification discovered later is recovered retrospectively, with interest, over the period the authorities can reach back — which is why the error compounds quietly for years before it surfaces as a single unpleasant assessment.
What actually decides the code
Classification follows what the product is and what it is principally used for, not what you call it. Composition, function and presentation all matter. A textile bag and a leather-effect bag can sit in different chapters. A device with a screen can be classified by its principal function rather than by the screen. Sets and kits have their own rules, and a kit can be classified by the component that gives it its essential character.
The tool most importers never use
You can obtain a binding tariff decision from the customs authority: you describe the product, they issue a classification, and it binds the administration across the Union for a defined period. It is free of charge, it takes a few months, and it converts an open exposure into a settled position.
For a product you will import for years, in volume, this is close to free money — and it is also the document that protects you if a competitor's classification is challenged and yours is reviewed by association.
Classification also decides whether a trade defence measure catches you. Two codes that look interchangeable can differ by a large anti-dumping duty on one and none on the other — which is precisely why customs looks closely at classifications near the edge of a measure.
Where to read it yourself
Official pages, opened and checked on 15 October 2026. Where a rule changes, these are the addresses that change with it — this article does not.