Directory / Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Leather articles; handbags
Articles of leather, saddlery and harness, and the travel goods, handbags and similar containers that this chapter is best known for.
The 9 codes this site holds in chapter 42
| Code | What it covers | Markets priced | Duty range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 420211 | Suitcases and briefcases, leather outer | 6 of 6 | 2% to 11% |
| 420212 | Suitcases and briefcases, plastic or textile outer | 2 of 6 | 5% to 11% |
| 420219 | Suitcases and briefcases, other materials | 3 of 6 | 0% to 20% |
| 420221 | Handbags, leather outer surface | 6 of 6 | 2% to 10% |
| 420222 | Handbags, plastic or textile outer surface | 2 of 6 | 5% to 10.5% |
| 420231 | Wallets and card holders, leather outer | 5 of 6 | 2% to 8.5% |
| 420232 | Wallets and card holders, plastic or textile outer | 2 of 6 | 8% plus 1 charged per unit |
| 420291 | Travel bags and holdalls, leather outer | 5 of 6 | 2% to 5% |
| 420292 | Travel bags and backpacks, plastic or textile outer | 1 of 6 | 5% |
Where this chapter ends
The outer surface material decides the heading, and it is judged by the greatest external surface area rather than by what the item is mostly made of inside. That is why a bag with a plastic-coated face and a leather trim is not classified as leather, and why the same bag in two finishes can take two different codes.
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), which runs from chapter 41 to chapter 43. A section note governs every chapter in its section, so it stands one layer above the note to chapter 42 below and applies before it.
The nomenclature publishes no note to section VIII at all. That is the published position rather than a gap on this page: the section groups its chapters and leaves the rules to them, so the note to chapter 42 below is the highest one that governs this chapter.
Read from the section notes published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/8, on 2026-09-08, and read a second time from the chapter endpoint quoted below, which carries the same section note and has to agree with it. Like the chapter and heading notes, a section note is part of the international text of the Harmonized System, so it decides classification and never a rate.
What the nomenclature excludes
The sentence above is this site's summary. This one is not. Note 2 to chapter 42 sets out what this chapter does not cover, and these are its 12 items as published, with the heading each one sends the goods to. Where a note names a chapter this site also covers, the chapter number is a link.
- (a) sterile surgical catgut or similar sterile suture materials (heading 3006)
- (b) articles of apparel and clothing accessories (except gloves, mittens and mitts), lined with fur skin or artificial fur or to which fur skin or artificial fur is attached on the outside except as mere trimming (heading 4303 or 4304)
- (c) made up articles of netting (heading 5608)
- (d) articles of Chapter 64 see chapter 64
- (e) headgear or parts thereof of Chapter 65 see chapter 65
- (f) whips, riding-crops or other articles of heading 6602
- (g) cuff-links, bracelets or other imitation jewellery (heading 7117)
- (h) fittings or trimmings for harness, such as stirrups, bits, horse brasses and buckles, separately presented (generally, Section XV)
- (ij) strings, skins for drums or the like, or other parts of musical instruments (heading 9209)
- (k) articles of Chapter 94 (for example, furniture, luminaires and lighting fittings) see chapter 94
- (l) articles of Chapter 95 (for example, toys, games, sports requisites) see chapter 95
- (m) buttons, press-fasteners, snap-fasteners, press-studs, button moulds or other parts of these articles, button blanks, of heading 9606
Read from the chapter notes published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/42, on 2026-09-07. The first six digits of that nomenclature are the Harmonized System itself and the notes to a chapter are part of its international text, so this is the same note whichever of this site's destinations a shipment is going to. It decides classification and never a rate.
What the notes say about each heading
The note above governs chapter 42 as a whole. Underneath it the same published notes speak about individual four digit headings, and that is the layer a classification usually turns on. This site holds codes under one heading in this chapter. One of them is the subject of a numbered note.
| Heading | What the nomenclature calls it | Codes here | What the notes say about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 420211 , 420212 , 420219 , 420221 , 420222 , 420231 , 420232 , 420291 , 420292 | Subject of note 3 |
How each of those notes opens, in the words the nomenclature uses. The note in full is on every code page under the heading it governs, which is where a reader deciding a classification is standing.
Note 3 to chapter 42, which takes heading 4202 as its subject
Opening, as published
(A) In addition to the provisions of note 2 above, heading 4202 does not cover: a. bags made of sheeting of plastics, wh...
Note 3 in full on 420211 , and on every other code this site holds under that heading.
Read from the same chapter notes quoted above, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/42, on 2026-09-07, with each heading title read from its own endpoint. The Harmonized System publishes no separate heading notes: its legal text is section notes, chapter notes and subheading notes, and what governs a heading is a chapter note whose subject clause names it. The section notes are quoted at the top of this page, which is the layer above.
What chapter 42 costs to import
The dearest line this site holds in chapter 42 is 420219, suitcases and briefcases, other materials, at 20% into United States. 1 of the 31 rates charged on value in this chapter is zero. The widest gap between destinations is on 420219, suitcases and briefcases, other materials, which runs from 0% to 20% depending on where it lands. One rate in this chapter is charged per unit rather than on value, so it is left out of every range above.
A destination that prices part of a chapter answers for part of it, so this is how much of chapter 42 each one covers, out of 9 codes.
| Destination | Codes priced | Duty range in this chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 8 of 9 | 0% to 5% |
| Canada | 7 of 9 | 8% to 11% |
| United States | 5 of 9 | 4.5% to 20% plus 1 charged per unit |
| Germany | 4 of 9 | 3% |
| Portugal | 4 of 9 | 3% |
| United Kingdom | 4 of 9 | 2% |
Third country rates, which is what applies with no trade agreement claimed. Destination tax is charged on top. Each code page carries the reading behind its own figures and the day they were read.