HS Code vs HSN Code: Which Number Goes on Which Document

Published 23 October 2026 · By Ranjeet Kumar, Proprietor, Solution Enterprises

Short answer: they are one system. The HS code is the international six-digit classification maintained by the World Customs Organization. HSN is the name Indian GST uses for the same codes. ITC-HS is India’s eight-digit version used by customs and DGFT. A domestic GST invoice needs four or six digits depending on your turnover; a shipping bill always needs all eight; an overseas buyer usually needs the first six.

Buyers ask us for “the HS code” and “the HSN code” as if they were two different numbers. They are not, but the length that each document expects is different, and that is where mistakes happen.

How the eight digits are built

Digits	Level	Who sets it
1–2	Chapter	WCO — same in every country
3–4	Heading	WCO — same in every country
5–6	Subheading	WCO — same in every country
7–8	Tariff item	India — national detail

Take our PET strap, classified under 3920 62 20. Chapter 39 is plastics. Heading 3920 covers other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip of plastics. Subheading 3920 62 narrows that to polyethylene terephthalate. The last two digits are India’s own split. A buyer in Germany or the UAE sees the same first six digits; their own customs adds their national digits after that.

Which document needs how many digits

Document	Digits	Why
GST invoice, turnover up to ₹5 crore	4 (B2B); optional for B2C	Notification 78/2020-Central Tax, from 1 April 2021
GST invoice, turnover above ₹5 crore	6	Same notification
Shipping bill / bill of entry	8 (ITC-HS)	Customs and DGFT work at tariff-item level, whatever your turnover
Export commercial invoice	8, matching the shipping bill	Mismatches between documents cause queries and refund delays
Quote or spec sheet for an overseas buyer	6, with your 8 for reference	The first six are what their customs recognises

The turnover test in the notification is aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year. The trap for small exporters is that the four-digit rule they use on domestic invoices has nothing to do with customs: the shipping bill still needs eight.

Three mistakes we see on packaging orders

• Copying the buyer’s code. A US or EU code shares the first six digits with India’s but not the rest. Copying all of it onto an Indian shipping bill puts the wrong tariff item there.
• One code for a mixed consignment. Paper angle boards and PET strap sit in different chapters — paper and plastics. Two codes on one invoice is normal and correct; one code for both is not.
• Treating the code as a rate. The code decides the classification. The GST rate is read from the rate notification against that code, and it can change. We publish our product codes with the date they were last confirmed; rates belong with your CA.

Where to check a code yourself

• The DGFT portal’s ITC(HS) search, for the eight-digit line and its export policy.
• The GST portal’s HSN search (Services → User Services → Search HSN/SAC).
• Your customs broker, for the final word on a shipping bill.

Our product-specific pages give the code we use and how we arrived at it: paper angle board HSN code, PET strap HSN code and paper core tube HSN code. For the rest of the paperwork on a first shipment, see the export packaging checklist.

Sources

• CBIC Notification No. 78/2020-Central Tax, 15 October 2020 (HSN digits on tax invoices, effective 1 April 2021).
• World Customs Organization, the Harmonized System (six-digit international nomenclature).
• DGFT, ITC(HS) classification of export and import items (eight-digit tariff lines).

Last verified: 26 October 2026. General information, not tax or customs advice — confirm the classification of your goods with your CA or customs broker before filing.