Govt maps 12,167 HSN codes to ministries to boost ease of doing business

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The government has prepared a guidebook mapping 12,167 HSN codes to 31 ministries and departments to promote a data-driven approach for streamlining regulatory processes and enhancing ease of doing business, according to a statement on Sunday.

In trade parlance, every product is categorised under an HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) Code. It helps in systematic classification of goods across the globe.

Additionally, the development will support more effective trade agreement negotiations that are aligned with national economic priorities and domain strengths.

"With the facilitation for identification of the relevant ministry or department for specific HSN Codes, this initiative will streamline regulatory processes and further enhance ease of doing business," the commerce and industry ministry said.

The move follows persistent challenges faced during trade negotiations, import substitution efforts and redressal of industry concerns due to the absence of definitive mapping of these codes.

Further, unmapped codes were misclassified as 'Residual Products' due to unclear ownership.

"To address the matter, DPIIT (department for promotion of industry and internal trade) followed a holistic and proactive approach, by undertaking the value-chain and use-case analysis for each of the 12,167 HSN Codes sourced from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Tariff Manual," it said.

Following this, it said, a thorough review of the Allocation of Business Rules, 1961, was done for mapping of each code based on the nature and end-use of the product.