What is a Schedule B number?

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, also known as the Harmonized System (HS) is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify commodities. It came into effect in 1988 and has since been developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO). Each commodity has its own unique 6 digit number. The HS code is not to be confused with the HTS number or Schedule B number. The HTS number: Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) is administered by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), and the U.S. export classification system, the Schedule B is administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division. Both the HTS and Schedule B numbers use the international HS codes for their first 4- and 6-digit headings and subheadings. Since greater commodity detail are needed than the 4- and 6-digit HS headings and subheadings, the HTS and Schedule B classification systems expand their coverage to statistical descriptions at the 10-digit level. HS numbers and Schedule B numbers will be the same up to the first 6 digits as the importing country’s classification code. A Schedule B number is a 10-digit number used in the United States to classify physical goods for export to another country. The Schedule B is based on the international Harmonized System (HS) of 6-digit commodity classification codes. There is a Schedule B number for every physical product, from paperclips to airplanes. In the US a HTS code is used for the classification of imports while a schedule B number is used for classifications on exports. In most of the rest of the world a H.S. code is used for classification of each commodity