Chapter 50 Silk

HS Code 50: Silk at a glance

The Harmonized System is the shared tariff classification that customs offices use to name goods. The first two digits of a code give the chapter. The first four give the heading. Six digits give the subheading. For silk, the chapter is 50.

The chapter follows the silk fibre as it is made. It starts with silk-worm cocoons. It then moves through raw silk and silk waste, then silk yarn, and ends with woven silk fabrics. Finished clothes are not here. They sit in other chapters of the same textile group.

Some traders write HSN code 50 for the same chapter. The right silk HS code depends on how far the silk has been processed, so first ask what form your goods are in.

Silk HS codes 5001 to 5007

Each heading has its own page with the full six-digit detail. Open the one that matches your goods.

• Cocoons that can be reeled into a continuous thread sit in heading 5001, for example 500100.
• Raw silk, which is reeled thread that has not been twisted, sits in heading 5002, for example 500200.
• Scrap and by-products, such as garnetted stock, sit in heading 5003.
• Silk yarn is split across headings 5004, 5005 and 5006, depending on the raw material and how the yarn is sold.
• Woven cloth sits in heading 5007, with 500710 for noil silk and 500720 for cloth that is mostly silk.

How to choose the right silk HS code

Work through the goods in the order they are made. Is it a cocoon, a thread, or a cloth? Is it good silk or waste? Is it sold in small packs to shoppers?

Start with cocoons. If they can be reeled, they go to 5001. If they cannot, they count as waste and go to 5003, together with yarn waste and garnetted stock.

Yarn is where most mistakes happen. People often ask about the difference between HS 5004 and 5005. The first is ordinary silk yarn. Neither is packed for shoppers. Once either kind is packed in small retail lots, it moves to 5006.

For woven cloth, use 5007 and then look at the fibre. Fabric of noil silk is 500710. Fabric that contains 85 or more by weight of silk, other than noil silk, is 500720. Any other woven silk cloth falls in 500790.

If you are still unsure, try the HS code classifier before you file.

Related textile chapters in Section XI

Not every textile that looks like silk belongs here. A fabric that is mostly another fibre moves to the chapter for that fibre. Cotton is in chapter 52.

Knitted fabric is not woven, so it goes to chapter 60 instead of 5007. Silk clothes go to chapter 61 if they are knitted and chapter 62 if they are not. The full chapter list shows the rest of the group.

Search silk import and export data by HS code

Knowing the code is the first step. The second is seeing who trades under it. 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.

For silk, enter a heading such as 5002 or 5007 and open the records behind it. Use the import and export pages to follow the flow of goods, then use the buyer and supplier pages to find companies.