HS Code 38: Miscellaneous chemical products

Q: Is HS code 38 the same in every country?

Yes — HS code 38 is part of the WCO Harmonized System and is the same in every WCO member country at the 6-digit level. Beyond 6 digits, each country extends the code under its own system (e.g. HTSUS in the US, CN/TARIC in the EU, HSK in Korea, CCCHS in China) for national tariff rates and trade statistics. To see how a specific country classifies this code, select a country.

Q: Which WCO edition does HS code 38 belong to, and has it been reclassified?

The Harmonized System is maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and revised approximately every five years. The current edition is HS 2022, which replaced HS 2017 on 1 January 2022. Codes are added, merged, or split between editions to reflect new products and trade patterns, so a code valid in one edition may not exist or may mean something different in another.

Q: How do I find the correct country-specific version of HS code 38?

Beyond the international 6-digit level, each country adds its own digits — the US extends to 10 digits (HTSUS), the EU to 8 or 10 (CN/TARIC), China to 13 (CCCHS), Korea to 10 (HSK), Japan to 9, and so on. To find the full code used by a specific country, select a country in TradeInt's HS Code Tool and search for 38.

What is HS Code 38

HS Code 38 covers Miscellaneous chemical products. It is one of the 96 chapters of the WCO Harmonized System, sitting in Section VI (Products of the chemical or allied industries). The two digits "38" are the chapter level — every 4-digit heading and 6-digit subheading starting with "38" belongs here.

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What does HS Code 38 Miscellaneous chemical products Cover?

Section VI

Chapters (28-38) Products of the chemical or allied industries

Chapter 38

Miscellaneous chemical products

HS Code 3801

Artificial graphite; colloidal or semi-colloidal graphite; preparations based on graphite or other carbon in the form of pastes, blocks, plates or other semi-manufactures

HS Code 3802

Activated carbon; activated natural mineral products; animal black, including spent animal black

HS Code 3803

Tall oil, whether or not refined

HS Code 3804

Residual lyes from the manufacture of wood pulp, whether or not concentrated, desugared or chemically treated, including lignin sulphonates, but excluding tall oil of heading no. 3803

HS Code 3805

Gum, wood or sulphate turpentine, other terpenic oils; crude dipentene; sulphite turpentine, other crude para-cymene; pine oil containing alpha-terpineol as the main constituent

HS Code 3806

Rosin and resin acids and derivatives thereof; rosin spirit and rosin oils; run gums

HS Code 3807

Wood tar; wood tar oils; wood creosote; wood naphtha; vegetable pitch; brewers' pitch and similar preparations based on rosin, resin acids or on vegetable pitch

HS Code 3808

Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products, plant growth regulators, disinfectants and the like, put up in forms or packings for retail sale or as preparations or articles

HS Code 3809

Finishing agents, dye carriers to accelerate the dyeing, fixing of dyestuffs, other products and preparations, of a kind used in the textile, paper, leather or like industries, n.e.c. or included

HS Code 3810

Metal-pickling preparations; fluxes etc for soldering, brazing; welding powders, pastes of metal and other materials; preparations used as cores or coatings for welding electrodes or rods

HS Code 3811

Anti-knock preparations, oxidation and gum inhibitors, viscosity improvers, anti-corrosive preparations and the like, for mineral oils (including gasoline) or other liquids used for the same purposes

HS Code 3812

Prepared rubber accelerators; compound plasticisers for rubber or plastics, n.e.c. or included; anti-oxidising preparations and other compound stabilisers for rubber or plastics

HS Code 3813

Preparations and charges for fire extinguishers; charged fire-extinguishing grenades

HS Code 3814

Organic composite solvents and thinners, not elsewhere specified or included; prepared paint or varnish removers

HS Code 3815

Reaction initiators, reaction accelerators and catalytic preparations n.e.c. or included

HS Code 3816

Refractory cements, mortars, concretes and similar compositions, including dolomite ramming mix, other than products of heading 38.01

HS Code 3817

Mixed alkylbenzenes and mixed alkylnaphthalenes, other than those of heading no. 2707 or 2902

HS Code 3818

Chemical elements doped for use in electronics, in the form of discs, wafers or similar forms; chemical compounds doped for use in electronics

HS Code 3819

Hydraulic brake fluids and other prepared liquids for hydraulic transmission, not containing or containing less than 70% by weight of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals

HS Code 3820

Anti-freezing preparations and prepared de-icing fluids

HS Code 3821

Prepared culture media for the development or maintenance of micro-organisms (including viruses and the like) or of plant, human or animal cells

HS Code 3822

Reagents; diagnostic or laboratory reagents on a backing, prepared diagnostic or laboratory reagents whether or not on a backing, whether or not put up in the form of kits, other than those of heading 30.06; certified reference materials

HS Code 3823

Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids; acid oils from refining; industrial fatty alcohols

HS Code 3824

Prepared binders for foundry moulds or cores; chemical products and preparations of the chemical or allied industries (including those consisting of mixtures of natural products), not elsewhere specified or included

HS Code 3825

Residual products of the chemical or allied industries, not elsewhere specified or included; municipal waste; sewage sludge; other residual products.

HS Code 3826

Biodiesel and mixtures thereof; not containing or containing less than 70% by weight of petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals

HS Code 3827

Mixtures containing halogenated derivatives of methane, ethane or propane, not elsewhere specified or included

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What HS Codes for Miscellaneous Chemicals Do Not Cover

Chapter 38 is the catch-all for chemical products not specified elsewhere — pesticides, catalysts, lab reagents, biodiesel. Goods frequently misclassified here but that belong elsewhere include:

Separate chemically defined compounds

Chapters 28, 29

Pharmaceutical preparations

Chapter 30

Fertilizers

Chapter 31

Plastics in primary form

Chapter 39

This list highlights common classification errors only — it is not exhaustive. For binding classification, work with a licensed customs broker or qualified trade compliance professional.

Related HS Codes under Miscellaneous Chemicals HS 38