The Code Decides the Bill
HS Classification and Duty Assessment
Every imported item is assigned a tariff code, and that code determines the rate of duty, whether any exemption applies, and whether the goods need an approval before they can clear at all. Suppliers frequently put a code on the invoice that suits their own export, and copying it across is where most classification problems begin - the liability for the entry is the importer's, not the supplier's. Part of the work our brokerage team does before filing.
What Assessment Covers
Work Done Before Filing
The aim is that nothing about the entry is a surprise, to you or to customs.
- Classifying goods to the correct tariff code
- Checking the code against the actual product
- Establishing the customs value
- Calculating duty payable
- Calculating VAT on the import
- Identifying exemptions or preferential rates
Unsure of Your HS Code?
Send the product details and the invoice
Get It Classified Call +971 4 239 7107Why Classification Goes Wrong
Classification errors are quiet. They do not stop a shipment; they surface later, which is worse.
The supplier chose the code
Exporters classify for their own outbound entry, and their choice is not binding on UAE customs. The importer inherits the consequences either way.
The product changed, the code did not
A code assigned to a product two years ago follows it through every later shipment, long after the specification moved on.
Composite goods
Items made of several materials, or sold as a set, are genuinely arguable. Those are the ones worth thinking about rather than guessing.
Value declared wrongly
Customs value is not always the invoice figure. What is included and excluded matters, and it changes what is payable - which also affects goods held in bonded storage when they are finally released.
What It Prevents
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
Classification is cheap to do properly and expensive to correct.
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Underpayment found later
An under-declared entry can be revisited. Paying the difference afterwards, without the goods to sell against it, is the bad outcome.
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Overpayment nobody notices
The commoner and quieter error. Duty paid at the wrong rate is rarely reclaimed because nobody goes looking.
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Entries held on query
A code that does not match the goods invites a question, and a question means the cargo waits. See inspection coordination.
Why Cannata
Classified Against the Goods, Not the Invoice
It is easier to classify something correctly when you can look at it.
We can see the cargo
Goods in our own warehouses can be checked against the description rather than classified from paperwork alone.
Assessed before filing
The duty position is established before submission, so there are no surprises after the entry is in.
Consistent across shipments
Repeat imports are treated the same way each time, which is what keeps a history defensible.
Rate Request
Get a price for this shipment
Give us the route and the cargo and we will come back with a rate, usually within one working day.
Our FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What importers ask about classification and duty.
