HS Classification Lens

The HS Classification lens assigns each product in your workspace a Harmonized System (HS) code. A confirmed HS code is the foundation for every other lens: Country of Origin, Section 232, USMCA, and Duties all read it. The lens combines Altana's classification model with your product data to recommend codes, explain the reasoning, and keep a defensible record of every decision.

New to the Harmonized System? See Understanding HS Classification for the underlying trade concept.

How it works

• Prediction and confidence. Altana predicts a top HS code for each product with a confidence level, along with alternative candidate codes. High-confidence predictions are surfaced as confident suggestions you can accept quickly. Altana never finalizes a code on its own: you confirm every classification.
• Reasoning you can defend. For any classification you can generate an Interpretation (the General Rules of Interpretation, or GRI, reasoning behind the code) and a Detailed Explanation covering the product summary, the model's assumptions, and the relevant CBP CROSS rulings. The text is editable and saved to the product for audit.
• Vague descriptions are detected and enriched. Altana flags goods descriptions that are too vague to classify reliably and proposes an enriched description from online research. You accept or edit it, and the product is re-classified automatically.
• Your data improves accuracy. Any extra product details you include on upload (for example product type or material composition) are used by the model for a more precise prediction and are visible on the product under its additional fields.
• Multi-country. Altana classifies across 152 import destinations, to each destination's own national tariff line. A destination outside that set is classified to the 6-digit international level instead. A product can be classified for more than one import destination, and each destination gets its own classification.

How to use it

Products move through four states. Work the lens until every product reaches Approved.

• Needs Classification — needs your review, either because the model could not confidently predict a code, or because it flagged the provided code as likely misclassified (the model predicts, with high confidence, a different code than the one you supplied).
• Confident Suggestion — the model selected a top code with high confidence; ready to accept, individually or in bulk.
• Classified — a code has been accepted. How it was accepted is recorded (accepted as suggested, accepted as provided, manually accepted from the candidate codes, or manually classified).
• Approved — final sign-off. The approved code and its reasoning are saved to the product profile and recorded in the audit log.

The typical flow:

1. Add your products. Include as much descriptive detail as you can; richer data produces stronger predictions.
2. Filter to what needs attention. Use the Needs Review filter to focus on products that need you and set aside those already settled.
3. Accept the easy wins in bulk. Select the confident suggestions and accept them together.
4. Resolve the rest. Open a product to see Altana's suggested code, the reasoning, and the candidate codes, then accept a suggestion, choose an alternative, or enter your own code. For a difficult product, use Ask Altana (below) to work it through.
5. Approve. Once a code is correct, approve it. Filter by Classified and Approved to track progress.

Ask Altana

For a product that is hard to classify, open it and use Ask Altana to work through it in a chat with Altana's classification assistant. Altana asks guiding questions about the product and suggests a code with its reasoning. You can answer directly, or bring in a teammate or customer who knows the product: only users permissioned for that product can be tagged, and they join the same conversation rather than a separate email thread. When you are confident, accept the classification from the chat. Who can accept follows your role permissions.

Smart grouping

Smart grouping automatically sorts similar products by predicted HS chapter, then subheading, then full code, so you can classify a whole group at once instead of one product at a time. It is on by default; turn it off to review product by product. In the Classified view, groups sort by the accepted code.

Enriching vague descriptions

Products with vague descriptions are flagged. Open the flag to review Altana's enriched suggestion, then accept it or edit it. Either way the product is re-classified automatically, and the original description stays available on the product. You can edit a description at any time to regenerate a suggestion.

Custom fields

Include additional product fields (such as product type or material composition) when you add products. Altana uses them to improve prediction accuracy, and you can view them on the product under its additional fields.

Filtering

Use the column filters on goods description, provided HS code, and predicted HS code to narrow the table, combining conditions as needed. Reset to clear them.

FAQ

What happens if confidence is low or the model cannot pick a code? The product stays in Needs Classification. Review it, choose from the candidate codes, or classify it manually.

What does a misclassification flag mean? Altana predicts, with high confidence, a different code than the one you provided. Review the product and confirm the correct code.

How do I improve accuracy? Provide more product detail. Clearer descriptions and additional fields (product type, material composition, and similar) give the model more to work with.

How are vague descriptions handled? Altana flags them, proposes an enriched description, and re-classifies the product once you accept or edit the suggestion. The original description is preserved.

Which countries are supported? 152 import destinations, each classified to its own national tariff line, with 6-digit classification for destinations outside that set. A product can carry a separate classification per import destination. See Country Coverage for the full list.

Can I get help on a hard classification? Yes. Open the product and use Ask Altana to chat through it with the classification assistant, and tag a permissioned teammate or customer into the same conversation if you need their input.

How is my work defensible? Every prediction, edit, acceptance, and approval is recorded, and you can generate GRI reasoning and a detailed explanation (with CBP CROSS rulings) for any classification.

How do I export my HS codes? Select the products you want in the lens table, right-click to open the actions menu, and choose Export, then your format. The export includes each product's HS code of record (the accepted code, or the provided code where none has been accepted yet) alongside its details. To pull every product, select all first. HS codes are exported from within the HS Classification lens itself.