Chapter 81 Metals; n.e.c., cermets and articles thereof

What HS code 81 metals cover

Chapter 81 is the catch-all for metals that do not fit the other base metal chapters. That is why the title says "metals n.e.c.", which means not elsewhere classified. The named metals are tungsten (wolfram), molybdenum, tantalum, magnesium, cobalt, bismuth, titanium, zirconium, antimony and manganese. The chapter ends with cermets.

The big base metals have their own chapters. If your metal is not in one of those, look here.

Chapter 81 headings: tungsten to cermets

Each heading is built around one metal. Most follow one pattern: raw metal and powders first, then scrap, then everything else. The heading numbers skip one between 8106 and 8108, so do not look for a gap-filler there.

• 8101 tungsten (wolfram): powders, raw metal, wire, scrap and other articles.
• 8102 molybdenum: the same range, plus bars, plates, sheets, strip and foil.
• 8103 tantalum: raw metal, scrap and crucibles.
• 8104 magnesium: raw metal in two purity grades, scrap, turnings, granules and powders.
• 8105 cobalt: metallurgy intermediates, raw cobalt, scrap and other articles.
• 8106 bismuth: two codes, split by purity.
• 8108 titanium: raw metal, scrap and finished forms.
• 8109 zirconium: codes split by hafnium content.
• 8110 antimony: raw metal, scrap and worked forms.
• 8111 manganese: a single code for the metal and its articles.
• 8112 minor metals: a shared heading for many rarer metals.
• 8113 cermets: a single code for cermets and their articles.

Minor metals under heading 8112

Heading 8112 is where the rarer metals live: beryllium, chromium, hafnium, rhenium, thallium, cadmium, gallium, germanium, indium, niobium (columbium) and vanadium. Most of them get separate codes for raw metal and powders, for scrap, and for worked forms.

Cadmium is easy to miss because it has no heading of its own. Cadmium scrap is 811261. All other cadmium goods are 811269. Gallium, germanium, indium, niobium and vanadium are grouped together in a pair of shared codes.

How to choose the right Chapter 81 code

Start with the metal. Then ask what form the goods take. Unwrought means raw metal that has not been shaped into a part. Wrought goods have been worked further. Powders usually sit with the raw metal. Scrap always has its own code. Anything left over goes to the "articles n.e.c." code of that heading. Tantalum crucibles, for example, have a code of their own: 810391.

Some codes depend on a limit written into the code text:

Bismuth: 810610 is for bismuth above a set purity by weight. 810690 is for the rest.

Zirconium: heading 8109 splits its codes by hafnium content, either less than 1 part hafnium to 500 parts zirconium, or not less than that.

Unsure which code fits? Try the HS code classifier. Duty rates depend on the importing country, so check them with that country's customs authority.

Imports under Chapter 81: find importers and exporters

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. Pick your metal from the heading pages above, then explore the import data, export data, buyer data and supplier data pages.