Chapter 18
Cocoa and cocoa preparations
Section IV — Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar;tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; products, whether or not containing nicotine, intended for inhalation without combustion; other nicotine containing products intended for the intake of nicotine into the human body · 6 headings · 11 subheadings
Duty in chapter 18 at a glance
Counted across the 99 US national lines beneath this chapter's subheadings. It says what kind of chapter this is before you read ninety headings to find out.
- Duty-free lines
- 11 of 99 stating a rate
- Ad valorem range
- 2% – 10%
- Dutiable per unit, not on value
- 36 lines are charged per kilogram, litre or item rather than as a percentage of the customs value. A landed-cost estimate built from value alone will understate the duty on those.
Preference programmes appearing in this chapter
Named from General Note 3(c)(i). A programme appearing here does not mean it applies to your goods — that depends on the line, the origin and the agreement's rules of origin.
What this chapter excludes
These notes push goods out of chapter 18 even when a subheading's wording seems to fit. They are the fastest way to find out you are in the wrong chapter.
1. This chapter does not cover:
- (a) Food preparations containing more than 20 percent by weight of sausage, meat, meat offal, blood, insects, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or any combination thereof (chapter 16);
- (b) Preparations of headings 0403, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 2105, 2202, 2208, 3003 or 3004.
Legal notes
Reproduced from the published tariff schedule. Section and chapter notes are binding and part of the nomenclature; statistical notes are US reporting rules and are not classification law.
Section IV notes PREPARED FOODSTUFFS; BEVERAGES, SPIRITS AND VINEGAR;TOBACCO AND MANUFACTURED TOBACCO SUBSTITUTES; PRODUCTS, WHETHER OR NOT CONTAINING NICOTINE, INTENDED FOR INHALATION WITHOUT COMBUSTION; OTHER NICOTINE CONTAINING PRODUCTS INTENDED FOR THE INTAKE OF NICOTINE INTO THE HUMAN BODY
1. In this section the term "pellets" means products which have been agglomerated either directly by compression or by the addition of a binder in a proportion not exceeding 3 percent by weight.
Additional U.S. Notes
1. In this section the term "canned" means preserved in airtight containers by heat processing to destroy or inactivate micro-organisms and enzymes that otherwise could cause spoilage.
2. For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires--
(a) the term "percent by dry weight" means the sugar content as a percentage of the total solids in the product;
(b) The term "capable of being further processed or mixed with similar or other ingredients" means that the imported product is in such condition or container as to be subject to any additional preparation, treatment or manufacture or to be blended or combined with any additional ingredient, including water or any other liquid, other than processing or mixing with other ingredients performed by the ultimate consumer prior to consumption of the product;
(c) the term "prepared for marketing to the ultimate consumer in the identical form and package in which imported" means that the product is imported in packaging of such sizes and labeling as to be readily identifiable as being intended for retail sale to the ultimate consumer without any alteration in the form of the product or its packaging; and
(d) the term "ultimate consumer" does not include institutions such as hospitals, prisons and military establishments or food service establishments such as restaurants, hotels, bars or bakeries.
Chapter 18 — Notes
Legal Notes of the Harmonized System. Binding, and part of the international nomenclature.
1. This chapter does not cover:
(a) Food preparations containing more than 20 percent by weight of sausage, meat, meat offal, blood, insects, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or any combination thereof (chapter 16);
(b) Preparations of headings 0403, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 2105, 2202, 2208, 3003 or 3004.
2. Heading 1806 includes sugar confectionery containing cocoa, and, subject to note 1 to this chapter, other food preparations containing cocoa.
Chapter 18 — Additional U.S. Notes
Additional U.S. Notes. Binding in the United States; not part of the international HS.
1. The aggregate quantity of cocoa powder containing over 10 percent by dry weight of sugars derived from sugar cane or sugar beets, whether or not mixed with other ingredients (except (a) articles not principally of crystalline structure or not in dry amorphous form that are prepared for marketing to the ultimate consumer in the identical form and package in which imported, (b) blended syrups containing sugars derived from sugar cane or sugar beets, capable of being further processed or mixed with similar or other ingredients, and not prepared for marketing to the ultimate consumer in the identical form and package in which imported, or (c) articles containing over 65 percent by dry weight of sugars derived from sugar cane or sugar beets, whether or not mixed with other ingredients, capable of being further processed or mixed with similar or other ingredients, and not prepared for marketing to the ultimate consumer in the identical form and package in which imported), the foregoing goods entered under subheadings 1806.10.10, 1806.10.34 and 1806.10.65 during the 12-month period from October 1 in any year to the following September 30, inclusive, shall not exceed 2,313 metric tons (articles the product of Mexico shall not be permitted or included under this quantitative limitation and no such articles shall be classifiable therein).
2. The aggregate quantity of chocolate containing over 5.5 percent by weight of butterfat (excluding articles for consumption at retail as candy or confection), the foregoing entered under subheadings 1806.20.24, 1806.32.04 and 1806.90.15 in any calendar year shall not exceed 26,167,700 kilograms (articles the product of Mexico shall not be permitted or included under the aforementioned quantitative limitation and no such articles shall be classifiable therein).
Of the quantitative limitations provided for in this note, the countries listed below shall have access to not less than the quantities specified below:
Quantity (kg) Ireland 4,286,491 United Kingdom 3,379,297 Netherlands 45,359 Australia 2,000,000 New Zealand 1
3. The aggregate quantity of chocolate and low fat chocolate crumb containing 5.5 percent or less by weight of butterfat (excluding articles for consumption at retail as candy or confection), the foregoing entered under subheadings 1806.20.34, 1806.20.85, 1806.32.14 and 1806.90.25 in any calendar year shall not exceed 2,122,834 kilograms (articles the product of Mexico shall not be permitted or included under the aforementioned quantitative limitation and no such articles shall be classifiable therein).
Of the quantitative limitations provided for in this note, the countries listed below shall have access to not less than the quantities specified below:
Quantity (kg) Ireland 1,700,988 United Kingdom 421,845 New Zealand 1
Chapter 18 — Statistical Notes
US statistical reporting only. NOT classification law.
1. The unit of quantity "kg cmsc" (kilograms cows' milk solids content) includes all cows' milk components other than water.
Notes are reproduced from the published tariff schedule. They govern classification, but reading them is not the same as applying them to your goods — that is what a broker or a binding ruling is for.
Headings in chapter 18
1803 Cocoa paste, whether or not defatted
1806 Chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa
Other chapters
Common questions
What does HS chapter 18 cover?
Cocoa and cocoa preparations. It contains 6 headings and 11 six-digit subheadings, and sits in Section IV (prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar;tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; products, whether or not containing nicotine, intended for inhalation without combustion; other nicotine containing products intended for the intake of nicotine into the human body).
What is excluded from chapter 18?
1. This chapter does not cover: (a) Food preparations containing more than 20 percent by weight of sausage, meat, meat offal, blood, insects, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or any combination thereof (chapter 16); (b) Preparations of headings 0403, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 2105, 2202, 2208, 3003 or 3004.
Are chapter 18's notes legally binding?
This chapter carries 11 binding note paragraph(s) — legal notes of the Harmonized System, plus any US-specific Additional U.S. Notes. They decide classification, and they outrank the wording of an individual subheading. A further 1 statistical note paragraph(s) govern US reporting only and are not classification law.