---
title: "Commodity codes and origin for liquid containers"
url: https://fortitude21.com/tariff-classification-and-origin
language: en
description: "Commodity codes and origin for jerry cans into the UK and EU: headings 7310, 3923 and 7612, HS, CN and TARIC, CBAM and trade measures, binding rulings."
---

# Commodity codes and origin for liquid containers

The code sets the duty, decides whether CBAM applies and pulls in trade measures. Origin is a legal test, not where the box was loaded.

*The heading decides the duty and which measures apply.*

The commodity code on your entry decides three things at once: the duty you pay, whether the carbon border mechanism applies, and which trade measures attach. Suppliers routinely hand over a code copied from an old invoice. That is a guess with your money behind it, and the liability for getting it wrong is the importer’s.

**Quick answer:** What is the HS code for a steel jerry can?

Heading 7310, which covers tanks, casks, drums, cans and boxes of iron or steel up to 300 litres, lined or not. HDPE jerrycans and plastic caps fall in 3923 and aluminium cans in 7612. The first six digits match everywhere; past them the EU and UK codes differ, and only a binding ruling settles a classification.

## Where liquid containers classify

| Heading | Covers | Typical products here |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **7310** | Tanks, casks, drums, cans, boxes and similar containers of iron or steel, capacity not exceeding 300 litres, lined or not | Steel and stainless jerry cans, upright and horizontal steel tanks |
| **3923** | Articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics; stoppers, lids, caps and other closures of plastics | HDPE jerrycans, plastic closures and caps |
| **7612** | Aluminium casks, drums, cans and similar containers, capacity not exceeding 300 litres | Aluminium fuel cans |

Indicative headings for orientation, not a classification ruling. Accessories often classify away from the container they serve: a steel mounting bracket, a brass tap and a rubber gasket can each land in a different chapter.

*A code is not portable between markets past six digits. A supplier quoting one number for both the UK and the EU has checked neither.*

## How the code is built

The first six digits are the international Harmonised System and are the same everywhere. After that the systems diverge: the EU extends to eight digits as the Combined Nomenclature and to ten as TARIC, which is where trade policy measures are expressed. The UK runs its own tariff on the same six-digit base. So a code is not portable between markets past six digits, and a supplier quoting one number for both is telling you they have not checked either.

Classification follows the General Interpretative Rules in order. Rule 1 says the headings and the section and chapter notes govern, so a marketing description never decides anything. Where a good is composite or made up of different materials, Rule 3 applies in sequence. The most specific description wins. Failing that, the material or component giving the good its **essential character** decides, and only after that, the last heading in numerical order. Rule 6 then repeats the exercise at subheading level.

The essential-character rule is the one that decides a real question in this category. A can supplied with its cap and a pouring spout as one retail package is classified by whatever gives it its essential character, which is the container rather than the accessory, so the set follows the can. Buy the same spouts as a separate line and they classify on their own, in their own material's heading, at their own duty rate. The same physical parts therefore land in different places depending on how they are packed and invoiced, which is a commercial decision with a customs consequence.

*A can supplied with its cap and spout as one retail package follows the container, because Rule 3 classifies a set by essential character. Buy the same spouts as a separate line and they classify on their own, in their own heading, at their own rate. The same parts land in different places depending on how they are packed and invoiced.*

## Why the code matters beyond duty

- **CBAM.** The carbon border mechanism lists goods by heading, and 7310 is on the list. Classify a steel can into 7310 and the EU importer picks up CBAM obligations; classify a plastic one into 3923 and they do not.
- **Trade measures.** Anti-dumping duties, safeguards and quotas attach to codes and origins, not to product descriptions. Steel is a heavily measured sector.
- **Preference.** Whether a trade agreement rate applies at all turns on the code plus the origin rule for that code.

*A code is not portable between markets past six digits, so a supplier quoting one number for both is telling you they have not checked either. Both EU BTI and UK ATaR run three years and bind the authority as well as the holder, and a BTI binds every member state rather than only the one that issued it.*

## Origin is a legal test, not a shipping address

The country a shipment leaves is not necessarily its origin. Origin is determined by rules attached to the product and, where a trade agreement is claimed, by that agreement’s own rules of origin, which usually turn on where substantial transformation happened rather than where the goods were consolidated.

For a dual-sourced supplier this is the practical consequence: production moving between plants can change origin, which can change duty in either direction and can change which measures apply.

What decides origin is where the last substantial transformation happened, and for a pressed steel can that is where the coil was formed and finished rather than where it was packed or consolidated. Shipping through a third country changes nothing. Neither does invoicing from a fourth. Origin follows the manufacturing, which is why a Singapore contract desk does not make goods Singaporean.

Where a trade agreement is claimed, that agreement’s own rules of origin apply and they are stricter than the general ones. They typically set a threshold as a change of tariff heading or a percentage of value added, and claiming preference without meeting it is a declaration error rather than a difference of interpretation.

Get an origin declaration for each production base before you need one, not after a customs query.

Keep the two kinds of origin apart in your own records, because they answer to different rules and are needed at different moments. Non-preferential origin is what determines whether an anti-dumping duty, a safeguard measure or a quota applies, and it exists whether or not any trade agreement is in play. Preferential origin is a claim under a specific agreement, made to obtain a reduced rate, and it carries its own stricter tests and its own documentary form. A supplier declaration that supports one will not necessarily support the other.

For a dual-sourced programme that is a filing discipline rather than a theoretical point. The same design, made to the same drawing, at two plants in two countries, has two origins and potentially two duty outcomes, two sets of applicable measures and two preference positions. Which plant made a given consignment is therefore a customs fact that has to be traceable from the entry back to the production record. Build that link at the order, not at the query.

## Stop guessing: get a binding ruling

Both markets issue rulings that bind the authority to a classification. In the EU it is **Binding Tariff Information**; in the UK, an **Advance Tariff Ruling**. Both are valid for three years from the date of the decision and bind the authority as well as the holder. An EU BTI binds every member state's customs administration, not only the one that issued it. Either can be cut short if the classification legislation, the explanatory notes or the case law move underneath it.

They take time to obtain and they remove the argument for the period they cover. For a programme of any size, on a product family with a real classification question behind it, that is a cheap piece of certainty, and three years is long enough to cover a tooling cycle. Apply before the first entry rather than after the first query, because a ruling obtained during a dispute does not settle the entries already made.

*Only the last box is protection. Everything before it is a well-informed opinion, and an opinion is what an importer is left holding when the classification is challenged.*

## What to ask a supplier for

- The heading they believe applies, with the reasoning, rather than a number alone
- Material composition by weight, since classification often turns on the constituent material
- Country of production for the specific run, and an origin declaration
- Net and gross weights, which you need for both duty and the CBAM threshold

*This is why a code chosen to minimise duty can cost more than it saves. The same digits that set the rate decide whether a carbon mechanism and a safeguard measure reach you.*

## Where we stand on this

We confirm the heading we believe applies for any product before you order, with the reasoning behind it, and we state the country of production for the run. No supplier can give you a classification you can rely on as a ruling: classification is determined by the customs authority in your market, and a binding ruling is the only thing that settles it. Treat our view as the starting point for your own check.

*Four of these six change nothing and all four appear on the paperwork, which is why origin is the field most often filled in from the wrong document.*

## Where to start

| Your use case | Recommended can | Why this one |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Steel, heading 7310 | [20L NATO Steel Fuel Can](https://fortitude21.com/product-20l-nato-steel-fuel-can) | Also the heading that triggers CBAM. |
| Plastic, heading 3923 | [Economy HDPE Jerrycan — non-UN](https://fortitude21.com/product-economy-hdpe-jerrycan) | Outside CBAM; inside packaging rules. |
| Aluminium, heading 7612 | [20L Aluminium NATO Can](https://fortitude21.com/product-20l-aluminium-can) | Different chapter, different measures. |
| Accessories classify separately | [Caps, Closures & Gaskets](https://fortitude21.com/product-caps-closures-gaskets) | Closures rarely follow the container. |

## Common questions

### What is the commodity code for a steel jerry can?

Steel containers up to 300 litres classify in heading 7310, which covers tanks, casks, drums, cans and boxes of iron or steel whether or not lined. Plastic containers and closures fall in 3923 and aluminium ones in 7612. These are orientation, not a ruling: classification is determined by the customs authority in your market.

### Is the commodity code the same in the UK and the EU?

Only to six digits. The first six are the international Harmonised System and are identical everywhere. The EU extends to eight digits as the Combined Nomenclature and to ten as TARIC, where trade policy measures are expressed; the UK runs its own tariff on the same six-digit base. A code is not portable between markets past six digits.

### Why does the commodity code matter beyond the duty rate?

Because CBAM lists goods by heading, so classifying a steel can into 7310 gives the EU importer CBAM obligations while a plastic one in 3923 carries none. Anti-dumping duties, safeguards and quotas also attach to codes and origins rather than to product descriptions, and steel is a heavily measured sector.

### Is country of origin the same as where the goods shipped from?

No. Origin is a legal test based on where substantial transformation happened, and where a trade agreement is claimed it follows that agreement’s own rules of origin. For a dual-sourced supplier this matters: moving production between plants can change origin, which changes duty and which measures apply.

### How do I get certainty on a classification?

Apply for a binding ruling. The EU issues Binding Tariff Information and the UK issues Advance Tariff Rulings, both of which bind the authority for the period they cover. No supplier can give you a classification you can rely on, because classification is determined by the customs authority in your market.

## References

The standards and regulations this page relies on, at their issuing body. Where a market rule is named here, check the current revision before you specify against it.

- [European Commission: TARIC, the EU customs tariff](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/customs/calculation-customs-duties/customs-tariff/eu-customs-tariff-taric_en)
- [UK Trade Tariff: look up commodity codes and duty](https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff)
- [European Commission: Binding Tariff Information (BTI)](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/customs/common-customs-tariff-cct/tariff-classification-goods/eu-binding-tariff-information-bti_en)
- [HMRC: Advance Tariff Rulings](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-advance-tariff-ruling)
- [World Customs Organization: rules of origin](https://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/origin.aspx)
- [European Commission: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism](https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en)

First published 12 August 2026

Last reviewed 26 October 2026 by [Clarence Cheang](https://fortitude21.com/clarence-cheang), Co-Founder & COO. [How we review our guides](https://fortitude21.com/editorial-policy) Fortitude21 makes and sells liquid containers; our guides carry no affiliate links.