HS Code Detail
610990 Chapter 61 · Clothing (knit) T-shirts, man-made fibres, knitted
Six-digit subheading in Clothing (knit), chapter 61 of the Harmonized System, priced here for 7 destination markets.
Anatomy of 610990
You will declare against a longer local code that begins 610990: 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 the 7 rates below differ on.
What this code covers
Import duty by country
MFN duty rate · 7 countries| Country | Duty | VAT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺Australia | 5% | 10% | |
| 🇨🇦Canada | 18% | 5% | |
| 🇩🇪Germany | 12% | 19% | |
| 🇮🇳India | 20% or Rs 50 per piece, whichever is higher | 5% | |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | 12% | 23% | |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | 12% | 20% | |
| 🇺🇸United States | 2.6% to 32% | 0% | |
| No single rate for United States United States splits this subheading into 4 national tariff lines and they do not all carry the same duty. Two official readings agree the schedule runs from 2.6% to 32%, and neither of them names a single rate for the six digit code, so the cell above shows the range rather than a figure from inside it.
Read them at the official tariff. | |||
United States splits this six digit code into national lines that do not all carry the same duty, which is why the cell above shows a range; which line your goods take is a classification decision and it is what decides the duty, so this site shows the range rather than choosing a line for you.
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.
Duty figures on this page have not yet been checked against official tariff schedules and should be treated as estimates.
What that costs: 610990 into Australia
An illustrative consignment of 610990 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 610990 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 610990 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 610990 on your own numbers in the duty calculator.
How these rates were verified
The markets listed below were read from the official tariff database of the market that charges it. Nothing here is copied from another aggregator. The other rows in the table above are not yet traced to a source, which is why no date is shown over them.
- 🇦🇺AU
- MFN for 610990 AU, read on 2026-09-01 from https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/tariff-classification/current-tariff/schedule-3/section-xi/chapter-61 and again on 2026-09-01 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: 6109.90.00 5%
- 🇨🇦CA
- MFN for 610990 CA, read on 2026-08-31 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/html/00/ch61-eng.html and again on 2026-09-01 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/menu-eng.html. Both returned 18%. 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: 6109.90.00 18%
- 🇩🇪DE 🇵🇹PT
- One reading covers DE and PT, which are priced from the same schedule: Third country duty (EU, via NI Online Tariff) for 610990 DE, read on 2026-08-31 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/xi/commodities/6109902000 and again on 2026-09-01 from https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/results?product=610990&origin=CN&destination=DE. Both returned 12%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 6109902000 12.00 %; 6109909000 12.00 %
- 🇬🇧GB
- Third country duty for 610990 GB, read on 2026-08-31 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/6109902000 and again on 2026-09-01 from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-document-for-the-customs-tariff-establishment-eu-exit-regulations-2020. Both returned 12%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 6109902000 12.00 %; 6109909000 12.00 %
What falls under 610990
- Knitted T-shirts, singlets and vests of textile materials other than cotton
- Polyester, viscose, modal, bamboo and blended-fibre tees where cotton does not predominate by weight
What's specifically excluded
These look similar but belong under a different code:
Commonly confused with
610910: Cotton T-shirts
One number decides which of the two applies: the percentage of each fibre by weight. A 60/40 cotton-polyester tee is 6109.10, a 50/50 is decided by the tie-break rules in Section XI, and a 45/55 is 6109.90. Suppliers describe garments by handfeel and marketing copy, so ask for the actual fibre breakdown rather than accepting 'cotton blend'.
611020: Sweatshirts
Weight and construction separate a heavy long-sleeve tee from a light sweatshirt, and there is no clean gram threshold in the nomenclature. The practical questions are whether the garment has a brushed or fleeced inner face and whether it is worn as an outer layer.
Classification & cost note
This subheading carries the single largest tariff gap in everyday apparel, and almost nobody expects it. In the United States a cotton T-shirt attracts 16.5% while the same shirt in man-made fibres attracts 32%, so a supplier quietly shifting a blend from 55% cotton to 55% polyester nearly doubles your US duty on an identical-looking product. The EU and UK apply 12% either way, so the exposure is specific to the US and to markets that follow its structure. If you import into the US at volume, put the fibre split in the purchase order, not just on the label.
Typical products: Performance polyester sports tees · Viscose and modal fashion tees · Poly-cotton blends where synthetic dominates · Bamboo-viscose undershirts
What the notes to section XI say
Chapter 61 sits in section XI, textiles and textile articles, where a section note governs every chapter in the section and applies before the heading notes below; the 10 reaching chapter 61 name no heading this site holds a code under, and they are quoted whole on the chapter 61 page, read from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/11 on 2026-09-08.
What the nomenclature says about heading 6109
610990 is a subheading of 6109, t-shirts, singlets and other vests, knitted or crocheted , and this site holds one other code under the same heading, which every rule below governs equally.
One numbered note to chapter 61 takes heading 6109 as its own subject, and it is quoted below in full, as published.
Note 5 to chapter 61
Heading 6109 does not cover garments with a drawstring, ribbed waistband or other means of tightening at the bottom of the garment.
One further note to chapter 61 names heading 6109 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 61, which is about something else
b. The term 'ensemble' means a set of garments (other than suits and articles of heading 6107, 6108 or 6109), composed of several pieces made up in identical fabric, put up for retail sale, and comprising: one garment designed to cover the upper part of the body, with the exception of pullovers which may form a second upper garment in the sole context of twin sets, and of waistcoats which may also form a second upper garment, and one or two different garments, designed to cover the lower part of the body and consisting of trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches, shorts (other than swimwear), a skirt or a divided skirt.
Read from the notes to chapter 61 published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/61, with the heading title from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/headings/6109, on 2026-09-07, with the whole layer and the reason a heading note is a chapter note set out on the chapter 61 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 610990
Why is the US duty on polyester T-shirts so much higher than cotton?
The US tariff schedule protects man-made fibre production separately from cotton. Cotton knit T-shirts sit at 16.5% and man-made fibre ones at 32%, on otherwise identical garments.
How is a cotton-polyester blend classified?
By which fibre predominates by weight. Above 50% cotton it is 6109.10, below that it is 6109.90, and exact 50/50 splits are resolved by the tie-break rules in Section XI.
Does the EU charge more for synthetic T-shirts?
No. The EU and UK apply 12% to knitted T-shirts regardless of fibre, so this classification only changes the bill materially for US imports.
Related codes in Chapter 61
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