Learn/Customs & Compliance

HTS vs HS vs Schedule B: US Import and Export Codes

The HS code is the six-digit World Customs Organization classification used worldwide. The HTS extends those six digits to ten for US imports and carries the duty rate. Schedule B is a separate ten-digit US export classification used on AES. The first six digits match; the last four often do not.

Three numbers, three jobs

HS-6 is the international spine — chapter, heading, subheading — identical in every WCO member. It is what appears on many commercial invoices, what ISF expects as the commodity code element, and what a foreign supplier means when they say 'the HS code'. It does not, by itself, tell you the US duty rate.

HTS-10 is the US import tariff: six HS digits plus four US statistical and duty suffixes, maintained by the US International Trade Commission. Schedule B is maintained by the Census Bureau for export statistics and AES. An importer's broker classifies to HTS; an exporter's EEI classifies to Schedule B. Using one in the other filing is a mismatch, even when the first six digits look reassuringly the same.

Why the last four digits diverge

The US adds extra granularity for duty, quota, and trade-remedy programs that exporters do not need, and Census adds export statistical breaks that importers do not need. A product can therefore share HS 8471.30 and still have a different HTS-10 on entry than Schedule B-10 on export. Preferential-tariff claims, AD/CVD case numbers, and PGA flags live on the HTS side. AES commodity reporting lives on Schedule B.

Worked check: a Shenzhen supplier puts HS 8517.12 on the invoice (six digits, phones). The US importer's broker classifies the actual model to a 10-digit HTS that sets duty and any Section 301 list status. The US exporter of a similar device, shipping the other way, uses a Schedule B number for AES. Copy-pasting the supplier's six digits into AES, or the Schedule B into an entry, is how a file looks consistent and still fails the wrong agency.

Where each number shows up on a live file

Quote and rate: many FAK ocean boxes never need more than a commodity description at booking, but duty estimates and ISF need a defensible HS-6 at minimum. ISF: CBP wants the six-digit HS. Customs entry: full HTS-10, importer of record responsible, broker usually filing. AES / EEI: Schedule B. Certificate of origin and FTA claims: origin rules are written against HS headings; the HTS-10 still has to be consistent with the origin claim.

The HS codes overview explains how the six-digit hierarchy works worldwide. This page is the US split: import tariff versus export statistical code. Repeat products should store HS-6, HTS-10, and Schedule B as three fields on the SKU, not one 'customs code' cell that everyone overwrites.

Who is on the hook

The importer of record is legally responsible for HTS classification on entry. The USPPI (or its authorized agent) is responsible for Schedule B on AES. A freight forwarder who files both as agent still needs the principal's classification — guessing from the invoice description to 'just get the trucker rolling' is how penalties attach to the wrong party and the forwarder inherits the argument. Classification is judgment under the General Rules of Interpretation, not a Google search.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between HTS, HS, and Schedule B?

HS is the 6-digit WCO standard. HTS is the US 10-digit import tariff built on those six digits. Schedule B is the Census 10-digit export code for AES. The first six digits match; the last four often do not, and the two 10-digit codes are not interchangeable.

What is a Schedule B number?

The US Census Bureau's 10-digit export classification used on Electronic Export Information (AES). It shares the HS six-digit stem with HTS but is not the import tariff and should not be filed as the entry HTS.

Can I use the same 10-digit code for US import and US export?

Only if that number is valid in both the HTS and Schedule B for that product — often it is not. Check each schedule. Never assume the last four digits travel.

Which code goes on the ISF?

The six-digit HS commodity code. ISF is not an entry and does not take the full HTS-10. The entry later takes HTS-10; keep them consistent at the six-digit level.

Who publishes HTS and Schedule B?

HTS: US International Trade Commission. Schedule B: US Census Bureau. HS-6: World Customs Organization, updated in revisions (the current edition in force should be confirmed when classifying, not assumed from memory).