HTS chapter · section IV
Chapter 16
Prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco
Chapter 16 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule sits in section IV (prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco). It has 5 headings and 117 eight-digit tariff lines.
The spread of 35 percentage points between the cheapest and dearest lines makes misclassification expensive here.
50 of its 108 lines with a percentage rate are duty-free at the general rate (46%) and 58 are dutiable, from duty-free up to 35%. The median line pays 2.4%.
9 of the lines carry specific or compound rates (per kilogram, per dozen and so on) rather than a percentage, so their burden depends on the unit value of the goods.
The most finely divided heading is 1604 (prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish…), with 48 lines; fine division usually means the rates or the trade statistics differ enough to be worth separating.
The heading with the highest median rate is 1603 (extracts and juices of meat, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic…) at 4.25%.
Headings
| Heading | Description | Lines | Free | Median rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1601 | Sausages and similar products, of meat, meat offal, blood or insects; food preparations based on these products | 3 | 0 | 3.3% |
| 1602 | Other prepared or preserved meat, meat offal, blood or insects | 25 | 1 | 3.2% |
| 1603 | Extracts and juices of meat, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates | 2 | 1 | 4.25% |
| 1604 | Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs | 48 | 17 | 4% |
| 1605 | Crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved | 39 | 31 | duty-free |