Thinner Hs Code

Thinner harmonized system code

Product Overview Thinner classified under HS Code 381400 refers to a solvent blend primarily utilized to reduce the viscosity of industrial coatings, paints, and adhesives, facilitating their application and drying processes. This product typically comprises volatile organic compounds such as hydrocarbons, esters, ketones, or alcohols, formulated to achieve specific evaporation rates and solvency power tailored to various industrial specifications. Physically, thinners under this classification exhibit clear to slightly colored liquid forms with flash points commonly ranging between 21°C to 40°C, ensuring effective thinning without compromising safety standards. The HS Code 381400 encompasses subcategories that differentiate thinners based on their chemical composition and intended use, including aromatic, aliphatic, and mixed solvent thinners. Commercially, these thinners are integral in sectors such as automotive refinishing, industrial coating manufacturing, and printing, where precise viscosity control is critical. Their value proposition lies in enhancing product performance, optimizing application efficiency, and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, positioning them as essential inputs within global supply chains for coatings and solvent-based products. HS Code Classification & Trade Specifications The HS Code 381400 is structured as follows: Chapter 38 covers "Miscellaneous Chemical Products," Heading 14 specifies "Organic composite solvents and thinners, not elsewhere specified or included," with Subheading 00 designating the specific thinner product category. This classification is grounded in the product’s chemical composition and primary function as a solvent to alter viscosity, distinguishing it from other solvent categories such as pure solvents or chemical reagents. Trade professionals must note that thinners under 381400 are commonly packaged in metal drums, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), or UN-approved plastic containers, adhering to international maritime and hazardous materials shipping regulations. Preservation methods emphasize airtight sealing and the use of desiccants to prevent contamination and evaporation losses during transit. Quality standards align with ISO 9001 manufacturing protocols and relevant ASTM solvent specifications, ensuring batch consistency, purity levels typically exceeding 95%, and compliance with VOC emission limits as per WTO trade agreements. Accurate classification and documentation under HS Code 381400 facilitate streamlined customs clearance and regulatory adherence across international markets.

Thinner Chapter Note

1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Separate chemically defined elements or compounds with the exception of the following : (1) Artificial graphite (heading 38.01); (2) Insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up as described in heading 38.08; (3) Products put up as charges for fire-extinguishers or put up in fire-extinguishing grenades (heading 38.13); (4) Certified reference materials specified in Note 2 below; (5) Products specified in Note 3 (a) or 3 (c) below; (b) Mixtures of chemicals with foodstuffs or other substances with nutritive value, of a kind used in the preparation of human foodstuffs (generally heading 21.06); (c) Products of heading 24.04; (d) Slag, ash and residues (including sludges, other than sewage sludge), containing metals, arsenic or their mixtures and meeting the requirements of Note 3 (a) or 3 (b) to Chapter 26 (heading 26.20); (e) Medicaments (heading 30.03 or 30.04); or (f) Spent catalysts of a kind used for the extraction of base metals or for the manufacture of chemical compounds of base metals (heading 26.20), spent catalysts of a kind used principally for the recovery of precious metal (heading 71.12) or catalysts consisting of metals or metal alloys in the form of, for example, finely divided powder or woven gauze (Section XIV or XV). 2.- (A) For the purpose of heading 38.22, the expression “certified reference materials” means reference materials which are accompanied by a certificate which indicates the values of the certified properties, the methods used to determine these values and the degree of certainty associated with each value and which are suitable for analytical, calibrating or referencing purposes. (B) With the exception of the products of Chapter 28 or 29, for the classification of certified reference materials, heading 38.22 shall take precedence over any other heading in the Nomenclature. 3.- Heading 38.24 includes the following goods which are not to be classified in any other heading of the Nomenclature : (a) Cultured crystals (other than optical elements) weighing not less than 2.5 g each, of magnesium oxide or of the halides of the alkali or alkaline-earth metals; (b) Fusel oil; Dippel's oil; (c) Ink removers put up in packings for retail sale; (d) Stencil correctors, other correcting fluids and correction tapes (other than those of heading 96.12), put up in packings for retail sale; and (e) Ceramic firing testers, fusible (for example, Seger cones). 4.- Throughout the Nomenclature, “municipal waste” means waste of a kind collected from households, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, shops, offices, etc., road and pavement sweepings, as well as construction and demolition waste. Municipal waste generally contains a large variety of materials such as plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass, metals, food materials, broken furniture and other damaged or discarded articles. The term “municipal waste”, however, does not cover : (a) Individual materials or articles segregated from the waste, for example wastes of plastics, rubber, wood, paper, textiles, glass or metals, electrical and electronic waste and scrap (including spent batteries) which fall in their appropriate headings of the Nomenclature; (b) Industrial waste;(c) Waste pharmaceuticals, as defined in Note 4 (k) to Chapter 30; or (d) Clinical waste, as defined in Note 6 (a) below. 5.- For the purposes of heading 38.25, “sewage sludge” means sludge arising from urban effluent treatment plant and includes pre-treatment waste, scourings and unstabilised sludge. Stabilised sludge when suitable for use as fertiliser is excluded (Chapter 31). 6.- For the purposes of heading 38.25, the expression “other wastes” applies to : (a) Clinical waste, that is, contaminated waste arising from medical research, diagnosis, treatment or other medical, surgical, dental or veterinary procedures, which often contain pathogens and pharmaceutical substances and require special disposal procedures (for example, soiled dressings, used gloves and used syringes); (b) Waste organic solvents; (c) Wastes of metal pickling liquors, hydraulic fluids, brake fluids and anti-freezing fluids; and (d) Other wastes from chemical or allied industries. The expression “other wastes” does not, however, cover wastes which contain mainly petroleum oils or oils obtained from bituminous minerals (heading 27.10). 7.- For the purposes of heading 38.26, the term “biodiesel” means mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids of a kind used as a fuel, derived from animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils whether or not used.