HS code for honeycomb paper: what the rulings say, and where width changes the answer

Most rulings put honeycomb paper wrap under HS heading 4823, which covers "other paper, cut to size or shape". The two public rulings I know both land in 4823.90: US Customs ruling NY N319560 (June 2021) and an Indian advance ruling from Uttar Pradesh (December 2022). The catch is roll width. Rolls wider than 36 cm can be argued into heading 4808 instead, so a regular importer should get a binding ruling from their own customs.

I am not a customs broker, and this page does not replace one. But the code is the first thing your broker will ask about, and a wrong one is slow and costly to undo. So here is what the public record says, and the questions your broker will ask.

What do the published rulings say?

Two rulings deal with honeycomb paper by name. Both are public, and your broker can read them in full.

Two things stand out. Neither ruling hangs on roll width, and the US ruling does not even give one.

The second point I find more telling. The Indian applicant itself tried for 4808 first. So the question is not settled in everybody's mind.

A US ruling also says nothing about duty today. The base rate in 2021 was free, but extra duties on goods from particular countries come and go. Ask your broker what applies to goods from India on your entry date, and put it into your landed cost per roll before you compare suppliers.

Why does roll width change the answer?

Because of one note in the tariff. Chapter 48, Note 8, says headings 4803 to 4809 apply only to paper in strips or rolls wider than 36 cm, or to sheets with one side over 36 cm and the other over 15 cm. You can read the same note in the Canada Border Services Agency's Customs Tariff, Chapter 48 (2022 edition), because the HS notes are shared worldwide.

Heading 4808 covers paper that is "corrugated, creped, crinkled, embossed or perforated, in rolls or sheets". A customs officer could look at a slit kraft roll and call it perforated paper. That argument only works when the roll is wider than 36 cm.

I do not find it a strong argument. Your customs officer may.

So a narrow roll has a simpler answer. Under 36 cm, heading 4808 is closed to it, and 4823 is the natural home. In the EU, CN code 4823 90 85 even names "strips or rolls of a width not exceeding 36 cm" in its text (2026 Combined Nomenclature, as listed by tariffnumber.com).

Here is how our own sizes sit against that 36 cm line.

Many online HS lookup sites miss this. They give one code for "honeycomb paper", as if a 100 mm roll and a 500 mm roll were the same thing on a customs form.

Six digits are shared, the rest is local

Think of the HS code like an Indian PIN code. The first digits tell you the region, and everyone reads them the same way. The last digits are local, and only the local post office knows them.

The first 6 digits are the international Harmonized System. After that, each country adds its own. India uses 8 digits, the EU uses 8 for the CN and 10 in TARIC, and the US uses 10 in the HTS.

So our shipping bill in India and your import entry will rarely show the same full number.

That is normal. What matters is that each one is right for its own customs.

How to get a binding ruling

If you import honeycomb paper more than once, I would get a ruling. It costs some paperwork once, and it removes an argument at every arrival after that.

It is boring work. It pays back.

1. EU: a Binding Tariff Information decision (European Commission). It is generally valid for 3 years across the EU, and past decisions are searchable in the public EBTI database.
2. UK: an Advance Tariff Ruling from HMRC. GOV.UK (updated 2 June 2026) says HMRC will reply in 30 to 120 days.
3. USA: a binding ruling under 19 CFR Part 177, requested online through CBP's eRulings. CBP's own guide to its rulings programme explains who can ask and what to send. Search the CROSS rulings database first, because a ruling on a near-identical product may already exist.
4. Australia: a Tariff Advice through the Australian Border Force's Tariff Advice System. Other customs services offer something similar.

One ruling covers one product as described. If you import 250 mm and 500 mm rolls, describe both in the application, or apply for each.

What should go in the application?

Customs decides on what it can see.

A vague description gets a cautious answer, and I would rather you sent too much than too little.

We can help with most of this. Our samples go out with the specification on each label, and for a ruling file we can add a specification sheet with width, GSM, fibre and colour, and photos of the paper flat and opened.

Mistakes I would avoid

1. Taking a code from a website that lists "honeycomb" products. Many of those pages mix up honeycomb paperboard, which is a rigid panel, with honeycomb wrap.
2. Copying the supplier's code onto your entry. An Indian supplier's code is India's code for the export. Yours has to be yours.
3. Declaring a mixed container under one code without thinking. Narrow and wide rolls may not sit under the same heading.
4. Describing the goods loosely as "paper bubble wrap". Your broker then has to guess what it is.
5. Changing the description from one invoice to the next. Customs notices when the same product arrives under three names.

Where we fit

We export honeycomb paper from Jaipur through Mundra port, mostly as 380 mm x 250 m rolls, which sit just above that 36 cm line. Our export page lists the documents that travel with each container, and our step-by-step guide to importing honeycomb paper from India covers the rest of a first import.

If your broker wants a particular description on the commercial invoice, tell us before loading. It is much easier to get the paperwork right in Jaipur than to fix it at your port.

If you are preparing a ruling application, write to us through the contact page. Tell us the roll sizes you plan to import, and we will send the specification sheet and a sample for your file.