What is an HSN code?
HSN stands for Harmonised System of Nomenclature, the World Customs Organization's classification of goods, used by most countries for customs and by India for GST. It narrows down in steps:
| Digits | Level | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Chapter | 61: apparel, knitted or crocheted |
| 4 | Heading | 6109: T-shirts, singlets and other vests |
| 6 | Subheading | 6109 10: of cotton |
| 8 | Tariff item, India's own split | used in India's Customs Tariff |
The first six digits are the same worldwide. Services have their own codes, SAC (Services Accounting Codes), which all start with 99.
How many digits do I need?
For GST, on B2B invoices and in GSTR-1's HSN summary: 4 digits if your turnover in the previous financial year was up to ₹5 crore, 6 digits above that (Notification 78/2020-Central Tax). Shopify's HS tariff code field asks for at least 6.
Finding the code, step by step
- Describe the product in plain words: what it is, what it is made of, and how it is made. "A women's dress, woven, of cotton" classifies differently from "a women's dress, knitted, of cotton".
- Find the chapter. The chapter usually follows the material or the kind of product (see the table below).
- Find the heading whose words fit the product best. Headings are legal text; read them literally.
- Find the subheading, usually by material or type.
- Check it on the GST portal. The portal's HSN search returns the code and its description, and its list is the same one GSTR-1's Table 12 makes you choose from since May 2025. A code that is not in that list cannot be filed.
- Look up the rate for that code in the current rate notification (9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), in force since 22 Sept 2025), and apply any price condition, such as the ₹2,500 line for clothing and footwear.
Chapters online brands use most
| Product | Heading |
|---|---|
| Perfume / personal deodorants | 3303 / 3307 |
| Make-up and skin care | 3304 |
| Hair oil, shampoo and other hair preparations | 3305 |
| Soap | 3401 |
| Candles | 3406 |
| Handbags, wallets, backpacks, luggage | 4202 |
| Notebooks and diaries | 4820 |
| Women's dresses and skirts, knitted / woven | 6104 / 6204 |
| T-shirts and vests, knitted | 6109 |
| Bed, table and kitchen linen | 6302 |
| Footwear with leather / textile uppers | 6403 / 6404 |
| Ceramic tableware, porcelain / other | 6911 / 6912 |
| Jewellery of precious metal / imitation jewellery | 7113 / 7117 |
| Furniture | 9403 |
| Lamps and lighting | 9405 |
| Toys | 9503 |
Which mistakes are most common?
- Copying the supplier's code without reading it. A supplier's invoice may use the code for the fabric, not the garment, or an old code.
- Knitted versus woven. Chapter 61 is knitted or crocheted clothing; chapter 62 is everything else. The same dress can be either.
- A service code on goods. Codes starting with 99 are services. Goods never use them.
- Classifying a set by its cheapest part. A gift set is usually classified by the item that gives it its essential character, under the Harmonised System's own interpretation rules.
What if the classification is genuinely unclear?
Some products sit between headings, and the rate can differ. Decide once, write down why, and apply it to every product of the kind. For certainty on a high-value line, a business can apply for an advance ruling from its state's Authority for Advance Ruling, which binds the applicant and its jurisdictional officer.