HS Code 3803Tall oil, whether or not refined

What HS code 3803 covers

The Harmonized System sorts traded goods into numbered groups. The wording is short: tall oil, whether or not refined. So raw tall oil and refined tall oil both go here. The words "refined or not" do not split the heading into two codes. Both forms use HS 380300.

You may also see this written as HSN code 3803. It is another way of naming the same heading. The first digits match the world HS standard. Some countries add extra digits for their own use. This page sticks to the six-digit standard and does not guess at local extensions.

Tall oil is one of several wood and resin products in the same part of the tariff. For the wider picture, see the Chapter 38 chemical products HS codes.

Tall oil vs related Chapter 38 headings

Several headings near 3803 deal with products linked to wood and resin. They are easy to mix up on an invoice. Reading the heading text usually settles it.

• HS 3804, residual lyes from wood pulp: covers residual lyes from making wood pulp. Its own text excludes tall oil of heading 3803.
• HS 3806, rosin and resin acids: covers rosin and resin acids and their derivatives, rosin spirit, rosin oils and run gums.
• HS 3823, industrial fatty acids: covers industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids, acid oils from refining and industrial fatty alcohols.

Tall oil 3803 vs residual lyes 3804: how to tell them apart

The key difference is in the text of heading 3804. It names residual lyes from wood pulp manufacture and says that tall oil of heading 3803 is left out. If your goods are tall oil, use 3803. If they are residual lyes, use 3804.

Two other slips are easy to make. Rosin sounds close to tall oil, but rosin and resin acids belong in heading 3806. Industrial fatty acids and acid oils from refining also sound close, but they sit in heading 3823.

A simple check helps. Read the product description on the invoice. Compare it word by word with "tall oil, whether or not refined". If it matches, use 380300. If the goods are turpentine, rosin, tar or fatty acids, read the neighbouring heading instead. If you are still unsure, try the HS code classifier.

Tall oil import and export data under HS 3803

EximDataX shows shipment-level import and export records from official customs sources. Coverage: 43 direct customs feeds plus 184 mirror-derived countries. Named buyers and named suppliers are available in 38 of the 43 direct markets. Most markets refresh weekly and some refresh daily. You can search by HS code to see who imports and exports a product, and book a free demo.

To research tall oil, search for 380300. Then open tall oil import data to see inbound customs shipment records, or tall oil export data to see outbound ones. Use tall oil buyers and tall oil suppliers to focus on the companies behind the shipments.