Every product that crosses a border is classified under the Harmonized System, and the HS code you declare decides your duty rate. Carpets and rugs occupy Chapter 57 — and the good news for importers is that the chapter is short, logical and maps directly onto how rugs are actually made.
The Four Headings That Matter
- 5701 — Hand-knotted. Carpets of knotted construction: the classic heirloom rugs. Many markets apply their most favourable rates here.
- 5702 — Woven. Flatweaves and loom-woven pile: kilims, dhurries and handloom rugs sit in this heading, subdivided by fibre and construction.
- 5703 — Tufted. Hand-tufted and machine-tufted rugs — the backbone of contemporary collections.
- 5705 — Other. The catch-all for constructions that fit none of the above, including certain felted and braided goods.
Why Classification Pays
Duty rates differ between headings and between fibres within them — a hand-knotted wool rug and a tufted synthetic rug can face very different rates in the same market, and several countries grant preferential or zero rates to handmade constructions from India. Classifying correctly is not just compliance; it is often money.
Getting It Right in Practice
Your supplier's commercial invoice should state the construction and fibre content precisely — "80% wool 20% cotton, hand-tufted" — because that sentence is what your broker classifies from. A manufacturer knows exactly how each rug was made; a trader sometimes genuinely does not. It is one more argument for buying at the source. We state construction, fibre and HS heading on our export documents as standard. Ask us for a specimen document set before your first order.