With the objective of educating participants on the latest edition of the Harmonised System (HS) Nomenclature, Qatar Development Bank (QDB), through the support of its export programme, Tasdeer, organised a training workshop to inform exporters on the main features of the globally recognised exporting classification system.
The sixth edition of the HS Nomenclature, developed by World Customs Organization (WCO), entered into the workforce on January 1, 2017, while previous editions of the classifying discipline have been in use by over 200 countries to categorise goods in international trade since 1983. The latest instalment of the classification system includes 5,387 six-digit subheadings in contrast to the 5,205 which featured in the previous 2012 edition. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and a wide range of countries use the HS Nomenclature system as a common language for trade, for purposes of negotiation and determination of the origin for goods.
Major features of the new HS Nomenclature include environmental and social issues of global concern and are directly relevant to the internationalisation of the private sector. To this end, Tasdeer’s workshop discussed the new classifications in three key sessions: the first session covered the main features of the newest edition of HS Nomenclature, the second session covered the implementation of the HS Nomenclature 2017 as it applies to the setting of new tariff rates and statistical data, and the final session discussed the implications on operators involved in the international marketplace.
Executive Director for Tasdeer, Hassan Khalifa Al Mansoori said, "Harmonized System Nomenclature 2017 is very important—this is because the new edition includes critical amendments on food, fishery and agricultural commodities. This, then, allows for better monitoring and control of trade in the interest of food security and management of resources."
