1 January 2022 marks the implementation of the 2022 version of the Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature. The changes in HS 2022 reflect the amendments to the nomenclature appended to the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention), which were accepted as a result of the Customs Co-operation Council’s (now the World Customs Organisation) recommendations of 28 June 2019. These amendments will enter into force on 1 January 2022. Complementary amendments to the HS Nomenclature 2022 have been accepted as a result of the Council Recommendation of 25 June 2020.
As a signatory to the HS Convention, South Africa implements the amendments in terms of section 48(1)(c) of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964.
This is the seventh major revision of the HS since it had been approved by the Council in 1983 and implemented in 1988 and includes, on an international level, 351 sets of amendments.
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Electrical and electronic waste, commonly referred to as e-waste, is one example of a product class which presents significant policy concerns as well as a high value of trade, as a result the HS 2022 includes specific provisions for its classification to assist countries in their work under the Basel Convention.
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New subheadings for novel tobacco and nicotine based products resulted from the difficulties of the classification of these products, lack of visibility in trade statistics and the very high monetary value of this trade.
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New subheadings and Notes have been created for smartphones that will also clarify and confirm the current heading classification of these multifunctional devices.
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New subheadings have been created for placebos and clinical trial kits for medical research to enable classification without information on the ingredients in placebos will assist in facilitating cross-border medical research.
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Cell cultures and cell therapy are among the product classes that have gained new and specific provisions.
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The HS 2022 amendment aims at changes to the provisions for diagnostic kits due to the recognition of the dangers of delays in the deployment of tools for the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases in outbreaks.
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New subheadings have been introduced for the monitoring and control of fentanyls and their derivatives as well as two fentanyl precursors.
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The HS 2022 changes are not confined to creating new specific provisions for various goods. The amendments also include clarification of texts to ensure uniform application of the nomenclature.
The HS 2022 amendments and correlation table (Schedule No. 1) up to a 6-digit level can be viewed on the WCO website at http://www.wcoomd.org
