Schedule B or HTS? Which to Choose for your Export Transaction

One of the most common questions we run into in the trade community is; which number to use, Schedule B or HTS, for your export from the US? The Other is what is the difference?

It comes down to whether or not the Schedule B assigned to your article is specific enough for your transaction; after that, it’s more or less a personal preference and a Company decision on which to utilize.

The below chart explains the high level differences between the two from a compliance perspective.

A difference of approximately 8,000 classifications between Schedule B and HTS; the Schedule B containing less available classifications, interpreting to less specific classifications, might lead one to lean towards utilizing the HTS for your Export Transactions. Keep in mind, Schedule B cannot be used for Import Transactions into the US.

Another compelling reason for using the HTS is for the benefit of unification between the two types of transactions, Import and Export. Utilizing the same number in classification, HTS for both Imports and Exports, will allow you to slice and dice reports based on more specific and matching data extracted from SAP-GTS as well as your masterdata in other locations.

Additionally, you will also need to upload two separate instances of data from your data provider into SAP-GTS, maintaining two subscriptions for the two different sets of numbers, provided you choose to utilize HTS for Import, and Schedule B for Export. You’ll also need to update each as the information may change or evolve.

A less frequent, but still important factor, is those that utilize Binding Rulings or even CF-29s to support their use of tariff for their Import Related Transactions; tends to cause a little bit of leg work to cross reference the HTS applicable based on those rulings to the Schedule B that had been utilized for Export Transactions.

Most importantly, Export Licensing; because the Schedule B may be less specific and your commodity requires a license, you might tend to find more definitive direction utilizing the HTS to light that path.

Need help determining which to choose based on your specific needs? Or, Want to know more? Contact us at info@kryptinc.com to find out how Krypt, Inc. can help you be more compliant and get the most out of SAP-GTS.