The codes do not match each other
The SCoC, the invoice and the customs entry disagree. Fix the code once and use it everywhere.
SABER HS Code Check
Check your HS code for SABER
The HS code decides the regulation, the certificate and the tests. Send the code with product details and we confirm the requirement in writing.
Send with your code:
- Product photos
- Datasheet or catalogue page
- Materials and ratings
Quick Answer
The HS code you enter on SABER decides which technical regulation applies, whether you need a PCoC, and what you will be asked to test. Confirm the code before you commission testing. We return the answer in writing, usually within a working day.
Why It Decides Everything
What the HS code does in SABER
The Harmonized System classifies traded products. Customs worldwide use it, and Saudi Arabia uses it twice: at the border for duty, and inside SABER to map a product to its technical regulation.
That second use is what makes the code matter for certification. When your importer registers a product, the HS code is the field that brings back the regulatory answer: regulated, and a PCoC is needed — or non-regulated, needing only a shipment certificate.
So settle the classification before you commission testing. Testing to the wrong regulation spends money on evidence nobody will use.
Check the Requirement
How to check the SABER requirement for a code
Three routes, worth using in this order.
- Run the code through an indicative check — a starting point, not a ruling.
- Compare the heading against what the product actually is: its function, material, voltage, capacity and intended use. The rules decide the heading, not which one sounds closer.
- Have the technical regulation confirmed in writing before you order testing or pay certification fees. We do this as part of the free product assessment.
Get this requirement confirmed
We review your product, verify the HS code and confirm the exact technical regulation, route and document list — usually within one working day. No charge for the assessment.
Find the Code
How to find the HS code of a product
If you do not have a code yet, work from the product rather than a keyword search.
- What is it made of, and what does it do? Material decides the chapter for many goods; function decides it for machinery and electricals.
- Is it a complete article or a part? Parts are often classified separately from the machine they belong to.
- Is it electrically operated? Powered goods usually sit in chapter 84 or 85, and are far more likely to be regulated.
- What does the existing paperwork say? Supplier invoices and earlier shipments already carry a code — check it, but do not assume it is right.
- How is it presented for sale? Sets, kits and retail packs have their own rules and can sit under a different heading from their parts.
Tariff Structure
The Saudi customs tariff and HS code
The first six digits of an HS code are international — the same in Riyadh, Mumbai and Rotterdam. Beyond that each country adds national detail, and Saudi Arabia is no exception.
The regulation mapping turns on the international part plus the product’s characteristics. The full national code is what appears on your customs declaration, and it must match what your certificate covers.
| Digits | Level | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Chapter | Broad product family — e.g. 85, electrical machinery |
| 3–4 | Heading | Product group within the chapter |
| 5–6 | Subheading | Specific product type, identical worldwide |
| 7 onward | National code | Saudi tariff detail used at customs |
Common Chapters
Chapters that often carry SABER requirements
Regulated products cluster in a predictable set of chapters. If your goods fall in one of these, plan for a PCoC until it is confirmed otherwise.
This shows where requirements commonly arise — it is not a determination. Products in other chapters are regulated too, and not everything in these chapters is.
| Chapter | Covers | Typical SABER products |
|---|---|---|
| 39 & 40 | Plastics and rubber | Plastic pipes, household plastics, tyres |
| 68–70 | Stone, ceramics, glass | Ceramic tiles, safety glass, gypsum board |
| 72–73 | Iron and steel | Steel pipes, sections, fasteners, flanges |
| 84 | Machinery | Pumps, compressors, air conditioners |
| 85 | Electrical and electronics | LED lighting, cables, switches, batteries |
| 87 | Vehicles and parts | Spare parts, brake pads, filters |
| 94 | Furniture and lighting | Furniture, mattresses, luminaires |
| 95 | Toys and sports goods | Toys, bicycles, sporting goods |
At the Border
Classification mistakes that hold shipments
Four patterns account for most HS-related problems at the Saudi border.
A “close enough” code to dodge regulation
Customs classifies the goods that arrive, not the goods described. A code chosen to avoid a regulation is the fastest route to a held container.
Parts classified as complete articles
Common with machinery and automotive components. It changes both the duty and the conformity requirement.
Mixed consignments under one code
A container with several product types needs each product classified correctly and covered by its own conformity.
Possible Results
Four ways a check comes back
Three of these let you move immediately. The fourth saves the most money.
Regulated under a technical regulation
The code falls inside a published Saudi technical regulation.
A Product Certificate is required from a conformity body approved for that regulation, supported by test evidence — then a Shipment Certificate per consignment.
Not regulated
No published technical regulation covers the code.
No product certificate is issued. A Shipment Certificate is still required for each consignment, raised on a self-declaration basis.
Outside SABER entirely
The code sits with SFDA, MIM or another regulator rather than with SASO.
A different process applies. Filing these on SABER wastes weeks before the right process starts.
The code itself is arguable
The product plausibly sits in more than one heading, and the headings differ in regulation.
Screening cannot settle this. It escalates to a classification opinion reasoned under the interpretative rules.
What We Need
Send these with the code
A code on its own cannot be checked against a product nobody has seen. These inputs are what make the answer reliable.
- The HS code you are using now, and who gave it to you
- Product name and a short description
- Photographs of the product and its retail packaging
- Datasheet or catalogue page showing construction and function
- Materials, and for electrical goods the voltage and power rating
- Intended use — consumer, commercial or industrial
- Country of origin and the manufacturing site
- Any certificate or test report already issued against that code
Our Process
How the check runs
Six steps, and step two is the one most screenings skip — testing whether the inherited code describes the goods at all.
01 · Take the code as given
We start from the code you hold, whoever supplied it — your forwarder, your importer, your ERP or the factory.
02 · Test it against the product
Does the heading actually describe the goods? Most bad codes are inherited and never questioned.
03 · Screen for a technical regulation
The code is checked against the published Saudi technical regulations to establish whether it is regulated, and under which one.
04 · Check the other regulators
SFDA and MIM scope is checked too, so a product that never belonged on SABER is caught early.
05 · Name what it triggers
You receive the regulation, the standards it cites, the certificate type and the marking obligations.
06 · Flag it if it is arguable
Where the product could sit in two headings with different regulations, we say so and quote the classification opinion.
Deliverable
What you receive
A written result you can act on and, if it comes to it, show to a reviewer or an importer.
- The code screened, written out to full Saudi tariff depth
- Regulated or not regulated, stated plainly
- The technical regulation by name, where one applies
- The SASO standards it cites, and the editions in force
- The certificate type required — PCoC and SCoC, or SCoC alone
- Whether SFDA, MIM or another regulator has a claim on the product
- Marking obligations — Arabic labelling, energy label, G-Mark
- A clear flag where the code is arguable, with what it takes to settle it
Why It Matters
What a wrong code actually costs
The code is the cheapest thing in the file to verify and the most expensive thing to get wrong.
The certificate describes the wrong goods
A certificate raised under the wrong code attests to the wrong regulation. The assessment behind it has to be redone.
You test against the wrong standard
Testing follows the regulation the code points at. A wrong code buys a valid report nobody wants.
Duty is calculated wrongly
The same code drives the tariff. An understated rate found later is a reassessment with interest.
The product was never a SABER product
Food, cosmetics and medical goods belong to SFDA. Screening catches this before an account and a fee are spent.
Marking obligations are missed
Energy labels and G-Mark attach to particular codes. Miss the trigger and the goods arrive certified but wrongly marked.
The error repeats every shipment
A code sits in your ERP and on every invoice. Unchecked, one bad classification replicates across a year.
Check or Opinion
Which of the two do you need?
Most exporters need the check. A minority genuinely need the opinion — worth knowing which you are before you pay for either.
HS code check — screening
- You have a code and want to know what it triggers
- Answers regulated or not, and under which regulation
- Names the certificate type and the marking obligations
- Fast — a written answer on a straightforward code
- Flags a disputed code rather than resolving it
Classification assessment — the opinion
- The code is unknown, inherited or genuinely arguable
- Reasoned under the General Interpretative Rules, in writing
- Weighs competing headings and records why one prevails
- Defensible if customs challenges the classification later
- The right step when two headings mean two regulations
Keep Going
Related pages
What to do with the result, and where to go if the code turns out to be arguable.
FAQs
HS code check questions
Screening and regulation scope. Classification method is covered on the HS code assessment page.
How do I check if my HS code needs a SABER certificate?
The code is screened against the published Saudi technical regulations. Inside one means a Product Certificate and a Shipment Certificate are required. Outside one means no product certificate, but a shipment certificate is still needed on a self-declaration basis. We return the answer in writing, with the regulation named.
Does my HS code decide whether I need SABER?
Largely, yes. SABER maps HS codes to technical regulations. If your code falls under one, the product is regulated and needs both certificates. If not, it is non-regulated and needs only a shipment certificate. The status is verified against current data before it is confirmed.
Is an HS code check the same as an HS code assessment?
No. A check takes the code you already have and tells you what it triggers. An assessment determines what the code should be, under the interpretative rules. A check that runs into an arguable code escalates to an assessment.
Can I use the HS code my freight forwarder gave me?
It is a starting point, not an authority. Forwarder codes are chosen for clearance convenience and are often at the wrong depth for regulation. Screening tests whether the heading describes your product before anything is built on it.
What happens if the HS code on my documents is wrong?
It can change your duty and make customs expect conformity documents you have not prepared. That is a frequent cause of delays and re-inspection, so confirm the code before shipment.
My product is not regulated. Do I still need anything?
Yes — a Shipment Certificate for each consignment, on a self-declaration basis. You do not need a Product Certificate, because there is no regulation to certify against. Get the status confirmed in writing.
How long does an HS code check take?
A straightforward code is usually answered within a working day or two of receiving the description, photographs and datasheet. An arguable code takes longer, because it becomes a reasoned opinion.
Send the code before you build anything on it
The code, the product details and a datasheet is enough. You get the regulation, the certificate type and the marking obligations in writing — usually within a working day or two.