HS Code for Bamboo Baskets: Classification Guide for Importers

If your shipment mixes market baskets, lined storage baskets and a bamboo hamper, one code will not cover all of it. The hs code for bamboo baskets turns on what the article is and how it was made, not on the word basket in a supplier listing. For the general meaning of an HS code, read the HS code hub; for the step-by-step method, read how to classify your product. This guide works through that fork: basketwork against sheet material, bamboo against rattan, and baskets against bags and luggage at national level.

Quick answer: indicative HS heading (with verify note)

Indicative only — verify before filing. Every heading here is indicative. Confirm the full national code in the destination tariff for your exact basket, entry date and origin before you declare it.

How HS codes are structured (2-4-6 digits)

The Harmonized System is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), comprising more than 5,000 commodity groups, each identified by a six-digit code, and used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their customs tariffs.³ The European Commission describes the same hierarchy: chapters at two digits, headings at four and subheadings at six, supported by general rules and explanatory notes, and the current version is HS 2022.⁴

Read a bamboo basket code from left to right. 46 is the chapter, covering manufactures of straw, esparto or other plaiting materials, basketware and wickerwork.¹ 4602 is the heading: basketwork, wickerwork and other articles, made directly to shape from plaiting materials or made up from articles of heading 4601, plus articles of loofah.¹ 4602.11 is the six-digit subheading, the shared level: of bamboo.² National digits follow: eight digits in the EU Combined Nomenclature,⁴ and ten in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Factors that decide the code for bamboo baskets

Made directly to shape, or made up from heading 4601. Heading 4602 has two routes into it: an article made directly to shape from plaiting materials, or an article made up from articles of heading 4601.¹ A basket woven straight into its shape takes the first route; a basket assembled from bamboo plaits or sheet material takes the second. A flat sheet that stays a sheet does not take either route: mats, matting and screens of bamboo sit in heading 4601, at 4601.21.¹

Plaiting material, proved from the specification. Chapter 46 note 1 defines plaiting materials as materials in a state or form suitable for plaiting, interlacing or similar processes, and the list expressly includes bamboos and rattans.¹ It excludes strips of leather or composition leather, felt or nonwovens, human hair, horsehair, textile rovings or yarns, and monofilament and strip of chapter 54.¹ Get the material from the supplier specification, not a photograph: bamboo, rattan and seagrass baskets can look alike and sit on different lines.² A basket of plastic strip is not a vegetable-material basket; it falls to the residual line 4602.90.²

Basket, bag, luggage or other article: a national-level split, not a six-digit split. At six digits, a bamboo basket, a bamboo bag and a bamboo handbag all sit at 4602.11.² The split by article kind happens in the national digits. In the United States, the 2026 schedule separates fishing baskets or creels, other baskets and bags whether or not lined, luggage, handbags and flatgoods whether or not lined, and other articles, each with a further wickerwork or other split where provided.¹ A lined basket is still a basket: the United States lines for baskets and bags and for luggage expressly say whether or not lined.¹

Wickerwork or not, where the schedule asks. Wickerwork is not a separate six-digit line for bamboo baskets, but it matters nationally. The United States schedule gives separate lines for wickerwork baskets and bags and for other baskets and bags, and the same split for other articles.¹ Describe the weave plainly in the shipment file.

Trim and handles: test essential character before you assume. A bamboo basket with a fabric lining, a wooden base or leather handles is still tested as basketwork first, because the lines for baskets and bags cover lined articles.¹ Where a secondary material could give the article its character, the General Rules provide that composite goods are classified as if they consisted of the material or component giving them their essential character.⁵

What Chapter 46 does not cover. Chapter 46 note 2 excludes wallcoverings of heading 4814, twine, cordage, ropes or cables of heading 5607, footwear or headgear of chapters 64 or 65, vehicles or bodies for vehicles of basketware of chapter 87, and articles of chapter 94, for example furniture, luminaires and lighting fittings.¹ Test function before material: a bamboo article that is furniture or a lighting fitting is tested outside chapter 46; see the bamboo furniture guide.

Sets and mixed shipments: one code per article kind. A set of nested bamboo baskets of the same construction can share 4602.11, but a shipment mixing baskets, handbags and fishing creels cannot share one national code, because the United States schedule gives those kinds separate lines.¹ Invoice baskets, bags, luggage and other articles on separate lines.

National codes: US HTS, EU CN/TARIC, UK commodity code

United States: HTS, ten digits at full national level. Start from 4602.11 in the 2026 Revision 18 schedule, then read the lines for your article kind: 4602.11.05 for fishing baskets or creels, 4602.11.07 and 4602.11.09 for wickerwork and other baskets and bags, 4602.11.21 for luggage, handbags and flatgoods, and 4602.11.35 and 4602.11.45 for other wickerwork and other articles.¹ Do not stop at six digits, and do not carry a United States statistical suffix into another country's declaration.

European Union: CN at eight digits, TARIC for measures. The Combined Nomenclature uses eight-digit codes, comprising the HS codes with further EU subdivisions.⁴ Read the confirmed CN and TARIC lines for your member state, entry date and origin. The six-digit bamboo line is the same 4602.11 everywhere; the digits after it are EU detail.

United Kingdom: commodity code, ten digits. The UK Trade Tariff lists bamboo basketwork at 4602 1100, split nationally into 4602 1100 10 for hand-made pieces and 4602 1100 90 for other pieces.⁵ That handmade split is UK national detail and must not be carried into a United States or EU declaration.

How to confirm the code officially

1. Write a precise description: plaiting material and how you know it is bamboo, construction and weave, article kind, lining and trim, and whether it is made directly to shape or made up from heading 4601 material.

2. Start from the destination tariff — USITC HTS, TARIC or the UK Trade Tariff — and read the heading and chapter notes, not just the number.

3. Check published rulings for similar baskets. For the United States, the USITC advises traders to use the Customs Rulings Online Search Service (CROSS).⁶

4. For a borderline basket, apply for a binding decision before you ship. In the EU, a Binding Tariff Information application needs a separate application for each type of product and a detailed description, including images or samples where possible.⁷ In the United Kingdom, a legally binding decision is generally valid for 3 years, through an Advance Tariff Ruling.⁸ In the United States, if the merchandise is not described in any ruling on CROSS, you may request a binding ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.⁶

5. Give your broker the description and the confirmed code for each article kind, and use the same codes on the entry, invoice and packing list.

Common classification mistakes

Filing flat bamboo mats as baskets. Mats, matting and screens of bamboo sit in heading 4601, at 4601.21, not heading 4602.¹

Filing rattan or seagrass baskets as bamboo. Rattan sits at 4602.12 and other vegetable materials at 4602.19.²

Filing every bamboo basket on one national line. At six digits everything is 4602.11, but the United States schedule separates fishing baskets, wickerwork baskets and bags, luggage and other articles.¹ A mixed shipment needs a line per article kind.

Filing a lined or lidded basket as luggage. The United States baskets and bags lines and the luggage lines both say whether or not lined.¹ Lining does not turn a basket into luggage.

Filing a furniture or lighting article under chapter 46. Articles of chapter 94 are excluded from chapter 46.¹

Copying a full code from another country. The EU extends six digits to eight,⁴ and the United States and the United Kingdom use ten-digit codes with their own splits, such as the UK handmade split.⁵

Related duties and documents

This guide states no duty rates: the code decides which duty line customs applies, and a rate on a wickerwork basket line does not carry to a luggage line or to a rattan line. Read the rate beside your confirmed code for your origin and entry date, and check what proof of origin a preference claim requires.

Keep the shipment file together: the article-by-article specification, the material statement showing bamboo rather than rattan or another vegetable material, the weave description, confirmed codes with tariff edition and entry date, any binding decision, origin evidence, and an invoice listing baskets, bags, luggage pieces and other articles on separate lines. Photographs do not replace the specification: bamboo, rattan and seagrass cannot always be told apart from a picture.⁸

FAQs

What is the HS code for bamboo baskets?

The indicative six-digit code is 4602.11, of bamboo, inside heading 4602, basketwork and wickerwork.^{1 2} Confirm the full national code for your exact basket: the United States splits 4602.11 by article kind and wickerwork, and the United Kingdom splits it by handmade and other.^{1 5}

Is the HS code the same in every country?

Only the first six digits are shared worldwide. Beyond six digits, each country adds its own lines: eight digits in the EU Combined Nomenclature,⁴ and ten digits in the United States and the United Kingdom.⁵

How do I confirm the correct code?

Describe each basket precisely, read the heading text and chapter notes, and check rulings such as CROSS for the United States.⁶ For a borderline basket, seek a binding decision before shipping: Binding Tariff Information in the EU,⁷ an Advance Tariff Ruling in the United Kingdom,⁸ or a CBP binding ruling.⁶

What happens if I use the wrong code?

Duty, licensing and quota treatment follow the code on the declaration, so a wrong code brings the wrong treatment. A binding decision in advance helps you calculate the duties and restrictions that will apply.⁸

Next steps on Exportain

Browse Bangladeshi suppliers on Exportain, asking each supplier for a written specification stating plaiting material, construction and article kind per item. Read the HS code hub and how to classify your product before sending a specification to your broker. Exportain does not clear customs.