# HS editions: how the code list changes every five years > The WCO revises the Harmonized System about every five years. What HS 2022 changed, what HS 2028 brings on 1 January 2028, and how to re-check your codes. Source: https://border.bot/docs/guides/hs-codes/hs-editions Last updated: 2026-10-30 > Documentation index: https://border.bot/llms.txt. Every page is Markdown at its URL + `.md`. > [!IMPORTANT] HS 2028 takes effect on 1 January 2028 > The WCO announced on 21 January 2026 that the HS 2028 amendments were accepted. Codes for vaccines, dietary supplements, plastic waste, single-use plastics and health-emergency supplies change. The Harmonized System is revised in editions roughly every five years: the edition in force is HS 2022, applied since 1 January 2022, and the next, HS 2028, enters into force on 1 January 2028. Each edition creates, splits and deletes codes, so a catalog classified once goes out of date at the next edition, and national tariffs change more often still. Rules as of 30 October 2026. ## How often does the HS change? The HS changes in editions prepared by the WCO's Harmonized System Committee on a review cycle that is normally five years long. The WCO describes updates as coming every five to six years: the review behind HS 2028 ran six years, from July 2019 to June 2025, extended to finish discussions delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. | Edition | In force | Size of the change | | --- | --- | --- | | First HS | 1 January 1988 | The original nomenclature | | HS 2022 (7th edition) | 1 January 2022 | 351 sets of amendments | | HS 2028 (8th edition) | 1 January 2028 | 299 sets of amendments | An edition becomes binding through the HS Convention. For HS 2022, the WCO Council adopted the amendments in June 2019, the WCO notified the parties on 4 July 2019, no objections came in during the six-month objection period, and the amendments entered into force for all parties on 1 January 2022 under Article 16 of the Convention. ## What did HS 2022 change? HS 2022 brought 351 sets of amendments across almost every part of the nomenclature. The WCO's own count puts 77 in agriculture, food and tobacco, 63 in machinery and electrical goods, 58 in chemicals, 31 in wood, 27 in base metals, 22 in transport, 21 in textiles and 52 elsewhere. Several new product types got codes of their own. The changes that matter most for consumer goods: - Smartphones got their own subheading and note in heading 85.17. - Drones got their own heading, 88.06, for unmanned aircraft. - E-waste got specific provisions, to help countries apply the Basel Convention. - Novel tobacco and nicotine products got new provisions in Chapter 24. - Flat panel display modules, infectious disease diagnostic kits, and placebos and clinical trial kits were given clearer homes. - New subheadings cover fentanyl and its derivatives, and dual-use goods from toxins to laboratory equipment. ## What changes in HS 2028? HS 2028 is the eighth edition, made of 299 sets of amendments. It will have 1,229 headings and 5,852 subheadings; against HS 2022 it creates 6 headings and 428 subheadings and deletes 5 headings and 172 subheadings. The WCO announced on 21 January 2026 that the amendments were accepted, and they enter into force on 1 January 2028. The main changes, as the WCO lists them: - Vaccines move out of heading 30.02 into new heading 30.07 for human vaccines and 30.08 for other vaccines, including veterinary ones. - Dietary supplements get a new heading, 21.07, with new legal notes. - Plastic waste in heading 39.15 is split into hazardous, PIC-controlled and other plastic waste, in line with the Basel Convention. - A new Note 3 to Chapter 39 introduces the idea of single-use plastics, with new subheadings for single-use products. - Health-emergency supplies get new subheadings: ambulances, personal protective equipment, medical ventilators, and diagnostic and monitoring devices. - Other amendments target illicit trade, goods controlled under other international conventions, and recycling equipment. Most six-digit codes don't change: with 428 subheadings created and 172 deleted out of more than 5,800, most subheadings keep their code. The ones that do change can move to a different heading, not just a different subheading. ## When do countries switch to a new edition? Countries switch to a new HS edition by changing their own tariff, so each national code list moves on the date its own legal act sets. The WCO is using the two years before 1 January 2028 for correlation tables between HS 2022 and HS 2028, updated Explanatory Notes and support for national implementation. In the US, the International Trade Commission opened investigation 1205-14 in August 2025 to recommend the changes, and in April 2026 it asked for comments on proposed modifications that would conform the HTSUS to the amendments scheduled for 1 January 2028. The changes take effect when the President proclaims them: HS 2022 came into the US tariff through Proclamation 10326 of 23 December 2021. The EU republishes its whole Combined Nomenclature every year as a stand-alone regulation, which is how WCO amendments reach the CN. ## How do you prepare a catalog for HS 2028? Preparing a catalog for a new HS edition means finding every product whose six-digit code the amendments touch, classifying those products again under the new wording, and then updating every national code built on them for each destination. Start from the WCO's correlation tables once they're published, then follow each destination's tariff as it adopts the edition. - [ ] Every product listed with its six-digit code and its full code for each destination - [ ] Products flagged in the areas the amendments touch, such as vaccines, supplements, plastics, and medical and protective equipment - [ ] Each flagged code checked against the correlation tables and the new legal notes - [ ] National codes updated as each destination publishes its new tariff - [ ] Current codes kept in use until each destination's switch date On border.bot, each country page with a national tariff names the edition and the publisher's file its tariff lines come from, such as the [United States](https://border.bot/countries/united-states). The [HS code lookup](https://border.bot/hs-codes) shows the HS 2022 nomenclature in force today, and the [HS code classifier](https://border.bot/tools/hs-code-classifier) classifies against the destination's current tariff. ## Common questions ### What is the current HS edition? HS 2022, in force since 1 January 2022. HS 2028 replaces it on 1 January 2028. ### Will my HS codes change in 2028? Only if your products sit in a part of the nomenclature that the 299 amendment sets touch. Most six-digit codes stay the same, but check each one against the WCO's correlation tables. ### Does the US switch to HS 2028 on 1 January 2028? The US changes its tariff by presidential proclamation after a recommendation from the International Trade Commission. The Commission's proposed changes are written to match the WCO's 1 January 2028 date, but the proclamation sets the date they apply. ## Sources - [WCO: Amendments effective from 1 January 2028](https://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/nomenclature/instrument-and-tools/hs-nomenclature-2028-edition/amendments-effective-from-1-january-2028.aspx), World Customs Organization, checked 2026-10-30 - [WCO: HS 2028 Amendments, adapting the Harmonized System to global priorities and trade evolution](https://www.wcoomd.org/en/media/newsroom/2026/january/hs-2028-amendments-adapting-the-harmonized-system-to-global-priorities-and-trade-evolution.aspx), World Customs Organization, 2026-01-21 - [WCO: Amendments effective from 1 January 2022](https://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/nomenclature/instrument-and-tools/hs-nomenclature-2022-edition/amendments-effective-from-1-january-2022), World Customs Organization, checked 2026-10-30 - [WCO: WCO has published accepted amendments to HS 2022](https://www.wcoomd.org/en/media/newsroom/2020/january/wco-has-published-accepted-amendments-to-hs-2022.aspx), World Customs Organization, January 2020 - [WCO: What is the Harmonized System (HS)?](https://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/nomenclature/overview/what-is-the-harmonized-system.aspx), World Customs Organization, checked 2026-10-30 - [CBP: What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Tariff Classification](https://www.cbp.gov/document/publications/tariff-classification), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, page updated 2026-01-07 - [USITC: Recommended Modifications in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (91 FR 21311)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/21/2026-07753/recommended-modifications-in-the-harmonized-tariff-schedule), Federal Register, 2026-04-21 - [USITC: Recommended Modifications in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, investigation 1205-14 (90 FR 39418)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/15/2025-15511/recommended-modifications-in-the-harmonized-tariff-schedule), Federal Register, 2025-08-15 - [Proclamation 10326: To Modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (86 FR 73593)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/28/2021-28334/to-modify-the-harmonized-tariff-schedule-of-the-united-states-and-for-other-purposes), Federal Register, 2021-12-28 - [European Commission: Combined Nomenclature](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/customs/calculation-customs-duties/customs-tariff/combined-nomenclature_en), European Commission, checked 2026-10-30