HS Code Detail
420222 Chapter 42 · Leather Goods Handbags, plastic or textile outer surface
Six-digit subheading in Leather Goods, chapter 42 of the Harmonized System, priced here for 2 destination markets.
Anatomy of 420222
You will declare against a longer local code that begins 420222: ten digits in most national tariffs, eight in the European Union, and the first six the same everywhere. Which trailing digits apply is what the 2 rates below differ on.
What this code covers
Import duty by country
MFN duty rate · 2 countries| Country | Duty | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺Australia | 5% | 10% |
| 🇨🇦Canada | 10.5% | 5% |
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.
What that costs: 420222 into Australia
An illustrative consignment of 420222 invoiced at AUD 2,000.00, priced in AUD because a threshold is set in the destination's currency and nothing here is converted.
| Goods value on the invoice | AUD 2,000.00 |
| International freight | AUD 120.00 |
| Cargo insurance | AUD 30.00 |
| Value the duty is charged on, FOB basis | AUD 2,000.00 |
| Duty at 5% | AUD 100.00 |
| Australia tax at 10%, charged on the value plus the duty | AUD 225.00 |
| Total, before commercial charges | AUD 2,475.00 |
And if the consignment were small
Australia relieves customs duty, GST and the Import Processing Charge on consignments at or under AUD 1,000. The 420222 shipment above is over that, so its duty is charged in full. The same code invoiced at exactly AUD 1,000 with no freight would be charged AUD 0.00 of duty and AUD 0.00 of tax, a total of AUD 1,000.00. The rate on the 420222 row has not changed; only the charge is relieved. The tax is not simply absent at that value: Australia collects it on the sale instead of at the border, so an overseas seller or marketplace above the registration threshold charges it at checkout. What the relief removes is the charge on arrival, not the tax.
Selling rather than buying? AUD 2,475.00 is what your buyer in Australia pays to take delivery of this consignment, yours to pay if you quote DDP and theirs if you quote DAP: Exporting to Australia sets out who collects it and what your invoice has to say.
An illustration, not a quotation: broker fees, handling and any trade remedy on the origin sit outside it. Price 420222 on your own numbers in the duty calculator.
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.
- 🇨🇦CA
- MFN for 420222 CA, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/html/00/ch42-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 10.5%. 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: 4202.22.10 10.5%; 4202.22.90 10.5%
- 🇦🇺AU
- MFN for 420222 AU, read on 2026-09-07 from https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/tariff-classification/current-tariff/schedule-3/section-viii/chapter-42 and again on 2026-09-07 from https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04997/latest/text. Both returned 5%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 4202.22.00 5%
Markets with no figure recorded
United States: United States splits 4202.22 into 8 tariff lines and they do not carry the same rate: the schedule returned 5.7 to 17.6%. A single percentage cannot represent that honestly, so no United States figure is recorded and the calculator falls back to its disclosed category average.
United Kingdom: United Kingdom splits 4202.22 into 3 tariff lines and they do not carry the same rate: the schedule returned 2 to 8%. A single percentage cannot represent that honestly, so no United Kingdom figure is recorded and the calculator falls back to its disclosed category average.
Germany: Germany splits 4202.22 into 3 tariff lines and they do not carry the same rate: the schedule returned 3.7 to 9.7%. A single percentage cannot represent that honestly, so no Germany figure is recorded and the calculator falls back to its disclosed category average.
Portugal: Portugal splits 4202.22 into 3 tariff lines and they do not carry the same rate: the schedule returned 3.7 to 9.7%. A single percentage cannot represent that honestly, so no Portugal figure is recorded and the calculator falls back to its disclosed category average.
Re-check first: A handbag with a plastic or textile outer surface is this code and a leather one is 420221. Canada and Australia charge a single rate on it; the United States and the United Kingdom split the subheading into lines that do not agree, so neither carries a figure here.
What falls under 420222
- Handbags, whether or not with shoulder strap, including those without handle, with an outer surface of plastic sheeting or textile materials
- Coated canvas, nylon and polyurethane handbags, shoulder bags and clutches
What's specifically excluded
These look similar but belong under a different code:
Commonly confused with
420221: Leather handbags
The two handbag subheadings divide on outer surface, and coated or laminated fabrics are the hard case. A polyurethane coated fabric that looks and feels like leather is plastic sheeting for tariff purposes, and the visual similarity is exactly why the error is so common in fashion consignments.
420292: Rucksacks and shopping bags
A handbag is designed to be carried in the hand or on the shoulder to hold personal effects. A rucksack carried on the back, a shopping tote and a beach bag are in the later group, and the argument usually arrives with the oversized tote.
Classification & cost note
Handbags of plastic sheeting or textile materials carry the same outer surface test as the rest of heading 4202, and the recurring difficulty is that the fashion industry sells the appearance of leather rather than leather itself. A coated fabric is classified by its coating where the plastic forms the outer surface, and a material breakdown from the supplier stating the exterior surface composition is the document that resolves this. The second live question is the boundary with the later group of the heading, which contains travel bags, rucksacks and shopping bags. Size alone does not decide it: a large tote intended to carry personal effects during the day is a handbag, while a bag built to carry shopping or sports kit is not. Where the same style is sold in several sizes, the range can legitimately straddle two subheadings and should be classified item by item.
Typical products: Coated canvas shoulder bags · Nylon crossbody and bucket bags · Polyurethane tote and top handle bags · Textile clutches and evening bags · Quilted nylon crossbody pouches · Woven raffia effect shoulder bags · Slouch hobo shapes in coated twill
What the notes to section VIII say
Chapter 42 sits in section VIII, raw hides and skins, leather, furskins and articles thereof; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silkworm gut), and the nomenclature publishes no note to that section at all, so the note to chapter 42 is the highest rule over this code; that is the published position rather than a gap here, and the chapter 42 page says the same, read from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/8 on 2026-09-08.
What the nomenclature says about heading 4202
420222 is a subheading of 4202, trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, executive-cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; travelling-bags, insulated food or beverages bags, toilet bags, rucksacks, handbags, shopping-bags, wallets, purses, map-cases, cigarette-cases, tobacco-pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle-cases, jewellery boxes, powder boxes, cutlery cases and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanised fibre or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper , and this site holds 8 other codes under the same heading, which every rule below governs equally.
One numbered note to chapter 42 takes heading 4202 as its own subject, and it is quoted below in full, as published.
Note 3 to chapter 42
(A) In addition to the provisions of note 2 above, heading 4202 does not cover:
a. bags made of sheeting of plastics, whether or not printed, with handles, not designed for prolonged use (heading 3923);
b. articles of plaiting materials (heading 4602).
(B) Articles of heading 4202 and 4203 which have parts of precious metal or metal clad with precious metal, of natural or cultured pearls, of precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed) remain classified in those headings, even if such parts constitute more than minor fittings or minor ornamentation, provided that these parts do not give the articles their essential character. If, on the other hand, the parts give the articles their essential character, the articles are to be classified in Chapter 71.
This note sends goods to chapter 71.
Read from the notes to chapter 42 published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/42, with the heading title from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/headings/4202, on 2026-09-07, with the whole layer and the reason a heading note is a chapter note set out on the chapter 42 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 420222
Is a faux leather handbag classified with leather bags?
No. A polyurethane or plastic coated fabric is plastic sheeting for classification purposes, so the bag sits in 4202.22 rather than with leather handbags, however closely it resembles leather.
Is a large tote a handbag or a shopping bag?
It depends on what it is designed to carry rather than on size. A tote intended for personal effects is a handbag; one built to carry shopping or sports equipment falls in the later group of heading 4202 with travel and shopping bags.
Does a bag described as vegan leather sit with leather bags?
No. Vegan leather is a marketing term for a coated fabric or polymer sheet, so the bag is classified as one of plastic sheeting or textile. The description used in advertising has no bearing on the code, and only the actual composition of the exterior surface counts.
Related codes in Chapter 42
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