HS Code Detail
220840 Chapter 22 · Beverages Rum and other cane spirits
Six-digit subheading in Beverages, chapter 22 of the Harmonized System, priced here for 5 destination markets.
Anatomy of 220840
You will declare against a longer local code that begins 220840: ten digits in the United States and the United Kingdom, eight in the European Union, and the first six the same everywhere. Which trailing digits apply is what a rate can differ on, though none of the 5 destinations below charges this subheading as a percentage at all.
What this code covers
Import duty by country
MFN duty rate · 5 countries| Country | Duty | VAT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇦Canada | Not a % | 5% | |
| Official duty for Canada
Read it at the official tariff. | |||
| 🇩🇪Germany | Not a % | 19% | |
| Official duty for Germany
Read it at the official tariff. | |||
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Not a % | 23% | |
| Official duty for Portugal
Read it at the official tariff. | |||
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Not a % | 20% | |
| Official duty for United Kingdom
Read it at the official tariff. | |||
| 🇺🇸United States | Not a % | 0% | |
Canada, Germany, Portugal, United Kingdom and United States charge this code by the hectolitre, the item or the kilogram rather than on its value, sometimes alongside a percentage, which is why the duty column reads Not a % there; a charge of that kind cannot be shown as a single percentage, so none is shown, the calculator does not estimate it, and the official wording is under each of those rows.
Rates shown are MFN (Most Favoured Nation), the default for WTO members. Preferential FTA rates may be lower with valid proof of origin. Section 301 / anti-dumping surcharges on Chinese-origin goods are not included.
How these rates were verified
Rates last verified 7 September 2026Every figure in the table above was read from the official tariff database of the market that charges it, on the date shown. Nothing here is copied from another aggregator.
- 🇺🇸US
- HTS General for 220840 US, read on 2026-09-07 from https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=2208.40 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/exportList?from=22&to=23&format=CSV&styles=false. Both returned the official wording "23.7¢/pf.liter ; Free". The United States International Trade Commission is the only body that publishes this schedule. The second reading was taken in a different format to check the reading, not to corroborate the schedule, because there is no second schedule to corroborate it against. Retrieved text: 2208.40.20.00 23.7¢/pf.liter; 2208.40.40.00 Free; 2208.40.60.00 23.7¢/pf.liter; 2208.40.80.00 Free
- 🇬🇧GB
- Third country duty for 220840 GB, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/2208401100 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-document-for-the-customs-tariff-establishment-eu-exit-regulations-2020. Both returned the official wording "0.50 GBP / % vol/hl + 2.60 GBP / hl ; 0.00 % ; 0.50 GBP / % vol/hl". The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 2208401100 0.50 GBP / % vol/hl + 2.60 GBP / hl; 2208403100 0.00 %; 2208403900 0.50 GBP / % vol/hl + 2.60 GBP / hl; 2208405100 0.50 GBP / % vol/hl; 2208409100 0.00 %; 2208409900 0.50 GBP / % vol/hl
- 🇨🇦CA
- MFN for 220840 CA, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/html/00/ch22-eng.html and again on 2026-09-07 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/menu-eng.html. Both returned the official wording "24.56¢/litre of absolute ethyl alcohol ; 12.28¢/litre of absolute ethyl alcohol". The Canada Border Services Agency is the only body that publishes this schedule. The Department of Justice publishes the Act and refers readers to the Agency for the schedule itself, so both readings are the Agency's, taken from two different products. Retrieved text: 2208.40.10 24.56¢/litre of absolute ethyl alcohol; 2208.40.90 12.28¢/litre of absolute ethyl alcohol
- 🇩🇪DE 🇵🇹PT
- One reading covers DE and PT, which are priced from the same schedule: Third country duty (EU, via NI Online Tariff) for 220840 DE, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/xi/commodities/2208401100 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/results?product=220840&origin=CN&destination=DE. Both returned the official wording "0.60 EUR / % vol/hl + 3.20 EUR / hl ; 0.00 % ; 0.60 EUR / % vol/hl". The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 2208401100 0.60 EUR / % vol/hl + 3.20 EUR / hl; 2208403100 0.00 %; 2208403900 0.60 EUR / % vol/hl + 3.20 EUR / hl; 2208405100 0.60 EUR / % vol/hl; 2208409100 0.00 %; 2208409900 0.60 EUR / % vol/hl
Markets with no figure recorded
Australia: Two official readings of 2208.40 returned different answers, so no Australia figure is recorded. Averaging them, or preferring one, would publish a number neither reading supports.
Re-check first: The United States rate on rum turns on the value per proof litre and falls to free above the threshold, so the invoice price decides the duty rather than the volume. Federal excise on distilled spirits is charged separately and is not in this table.
What falls under 220840
- Rum and other spirits obtained by distilling fermented sugar cane products
- White, gold, dark and aged rums, rhum agricole and cane spirits such as cachaca
- Cane distillates matured in wood and blended before bottling
What's specifically excluded
These look similar but belong under a different code:
Commonly confused with
220870: Spiced and flavoured rums
Adding sugar and flavouring can push a product over the line into liqueurs. A spiced rum retaining the character of rum stays here, while one sweetened past the threshold that defines a liqueur in the destination market moves to 2208.70, and the sugar content is the figure that decides it.
220600: Fermented cane drinks
The heading requires distillation. A fermented cane beverage that has not been distilled is an other fermented beverage of heading 2206, so the production method rather than the raw material sets the heading.
Classification & cost note
The subheading is defined by raw material and process together: spirits distilled from fermented sugar cane products. That covers both the molasses based rums of most of the Caribbean and the cane juice based spirits such as rhum agricole and cachaca, which is why products with quite different traditions and protected names share one six digit code. Geographical indications matter commercially and not at all at six digits: a name protected in the destination market restricts what the product may be called, not where it is classified. The live classification question is the boundary with liqueurs, because spiced and flavoured rums have grown fast and sweetening past a threshold moves the product. Excise is assessed on alcoholic strength and volume, separately from customs duty, and is usually the larger of the two.
Typical products: White and gold rums · Aged and dark rums · Rhum agricole from cane juice · Cachaca · Overproof rums · Single cask aged cane spirits · Navy strength overproof bottlings · Pot still aged expressions
What the notes to section IV say
Chapter 22 sits in section IV, prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar; tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; Products, whether or not containing nicotine, intended for inhalation without combustion; Other nicotine containing products intended for the intake of nicotine into the human body, where a section note governs every chapter in the section and applies before the heading notes below; the one reaching chapter 22 names no heading this site holds a code under, and it is quoted whole on the chapter 22 page, read from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/4 on 2026-09-08.
What the nomenclature says about heading 2208
220840 is a subheading of 2208, undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80 % vol; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages , and this site holds 3 other codes under the same heading, which every rule below governs equally.
No numbered note to chapter 22 takes heading 2208 as its subject, which is what the published notes say rather than a gap on this page: the heading is defined by its own wording above and by the note to the chapter, quoted in full on the chapter 22 page.
One further note to chapter 22 names heading 2208 from elsewhere in its own text, usually to send goods into it or away from it, and the sentence that names it is quoted below.
Note 3 to chapter 22, which is about something else
Alcoholic beverages are classified in heading 2203 to 2206 or heading 2208 as appropriate.
Read from the notes to chapter 22 published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/22, with the heading title from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/headings/2208, on 2026-09-07, with the whole layer and the reason a heading note is a chapter note set out on the chapter 22 page. These notes are part of the international text of the Harmonized System, so the rule is the same whichever destination a shipment is going to, and it decides classification and never a rate.
Questions about 220840
Are cachaca and agricole rum the same code?
Yes at six digits. Both are spirits distilled from fermented sugar cane products, so cane juice spirits and molasses based rums share this subheading despite their different traditions and protected names.
When does a spiced rum become a liqueur?
When sweetening takes it past the sugar threshold that defines a liqueur in the destination market. A spiced rum that retains the character of rum stays here; the sugar content is what decides it.
Does a protected name affect classification?
No. A geographical indication restricts what a product may be called in a market, not where it sits in the tariff. The classification follows the raw material and the process.
Do age statements affect the classification?
No. Solera, vintage and year based age claims are governed by labelling rules in the destination market and by producer conventions, and they carry no weight at six digits. A three year old and a fifteen year old rum share this subheading exactly.
Related codes in Chapter 22
Calculate duty for HS 220840
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