Granite HS Code for Export: Which Heading Do You Declare?
The HS code for a granite export (HTS in the US) is set by how far the stone has been processed, not by colour: blocks and sawn slabs stay in 2516, ground and edge-worked stone moves to 6802. The same polished slab is read differently in different countries, so confirm against the destination tariff before you file.
Which HS code do I declare for my granite export?
One chain answers it. How far the stone has been processed decides whether it sits in Chapter 25 or Chapter 68; whether the face is flat and whether the edge has been touched decides between 6802.23 and 6802.93 inside Chapter 68. The table below is the whole answer, five rows in all; row four, mirror polish, reads two ways, and the split is set out in section 3. There is no fifth code, and colour or trade name does not shift it — customs reads the processing state, not the stone type.
| How far the stone has got | Face | Edge | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block from the quarry, roughly trimmed | Irregular | Untouched | 2516.11 |
| Sawn into rectangular blocks or rough slabs, saw marks visible | Saw marks, not ground | Untouched | 2516.12 |
| Ground and matte, edge untouched | Flat, not reflective | Untouched | 6802.23 |
| Mirror polished, edge untouched | Flat, reflective | Untouched | 6802.23 or 6802.93, by destination |
| Chamfered, edge-ground, grooved, profiled, or flamed, bush-hammered, sandblasted | Coarse or further worked | Worked / untouched | 6802.93 |
How do I tell whether my stone is 2516 or 6802?
Material first, then surface. Blocks and large slabs are a choice between those two headings only — 2516 and 6802; kerbstones and stair treads follow the same chain: worked edge or worked face puts them in 6802.93; sawn only, with neither edge nor face touched, stays in 2516.12. Marble goes to 2515 and 6802.21, and the two sets cannot be swapped. Engineered and quartz stone sit in another chapter altogether, outside 2516 and 6802. On the granite side, heading 2516 covers blocks roughly trimmed, or stone merely cut by sawing into rectangular (including square) slabs and blocks — it stops where sawing stops. To test on site, take a pencil and a thin sheet of paper and rub the slab: if parallel saw marks show through, the stone is still at 2516.12; if nothing shows and the face is already smooth, start at 6802.23.
A polished slab: 6802.23 or 6802.93?
Read the edge first, then the face. A face ground flat — a matte face included — with the edge untouched is 6802.23, which covers granite and articles of granite merely cut or sawn, with a flat surface. Once the edge is worked — chamfer, edge grinding, grooving, a special profile — the goods are 6802.93. If the face is roughened — flamed, bush-hammered, sandblasted — that is also 6802.93, because those treatments leave a coarse face, no longer a flat surface. The remaining disagreement is mirror polish: US Customs has stated publicly that polishing and similar work going beyond cutting and sawing enter 6802.93; a Canadian tariff ruling holds that grinding and polishing only produce a flat surface and stay in 6802.23; China's 6802.2300 lists polishing under its processing-degree element. The conclusion stands: do not copy the code a buyer sends you, and do not copy an eight- or ten-digit code off a colleague's entry — the first six digits are international, the seventh and beyond are national subdivisions. Confirm once against the destination tariff.
What do I put in the processing-degree field so it matches the code?
The factory fills these five elements in at declaration; your job is to check them one by one against the quotation and the packing list: use; material, stating marble or granite; degree of processing, whether cut, sawn, polished or carved; dimensions, meaning the longest edge of the largest surface; and the colour or variety name in Chinese and English. The processing field has to match the code you picked: write sawn and 6802.23 no longer fits, write polished and 2516.12 does not either. Note also that 6802 is assessed by weight in kilograms, so net and gross weights on the packing list go straight onto the declaration — you declare weight, not square metres. A 20 ft container carrying 346 m² of 30 mm slabs reaches customs as a tonnage figure. A 30 mm slab runs about 81 kg per m² (2.7 t/m³ × 0.03 m), so 346 m² ≈ 28 tonnes.
What follows from a wrong code?
The code carries the duty treatment and the regulatory conditions, so a wrong code is not a wrong digit. At best you amend the entry and take an inspection; at worst the destination assesses under the other code and you pay the difference. Duty rates and refund treatment hang off the code and have to be read from the tariff in force — they cannot be carried over from the previous shipment. Stone adds another layer: a container holding both blocks and finished slabs carries different processing states and therefore different codes, so the lines are declared separately and never merged into one. The document list is a separate subject and we keep it in its own article.
How do I settle this at the quotation stage?
Ask the factory to put three things on the quotation: the code, how far the stone is processed, and the longest edge of the finished piece. The processing note needs to sit at the level of sawn but not ground, ground but not chamfered, chamfered with edge grinding — polished on its own is not enough. Then have your customs broker check it against the destination tariff and write the answer into the quotation's remarks. It costs little and stops the code from falling apart at the port. We put those three items on the quotation for 30 mm polished slabs, trial orders from 100 m² included.