Combined Nomenclature 2027: The 1 January Code Cut-Over

On 30 October 2026 the European Commission published Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2163 in the L series of the Official Journal. It is the Combined Nomenclature 2027, the EU’s eight-digit goods classification, and it applies from 1 January 2027 to goods declared on import or export and to intra-EU trade statistics.

Related reading: EU Customs Reform: The Data Hub Timeline for Importers and Traders

One code drives money and data at the same time. According to the Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD), the CN subheading stated in an import or export declaration determines which rate of customs duty applies, and the CN also sets the statistical treatment of goods. A product master that still holds a code the 2027 version has replaced risks a wrong duty rate on the customs side and a misclassified line in Intrastat.

The Commission’s announcement gives no list of changed codes. The annual implementing regulation publishes the Combined Nomenclature as an updated version of Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, rather than as a separate itemised change log. Additions, deletions, splits, mergers and other relevant changes must therefore be established by comparing the 2026 and 2027 versions of the annex.

Combined Nomenclature 2027: the dates on the calendar

• 31 October 2025: the 2026 version, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1926, was published in the Official Journal; it has applied since 1 January 2026.
• 30 October 2026: the 2027 version, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2163, published in the Official Journal, L series.
• 1 January 2027: the 2027 version applies to customs declarations and to intra-EU trade statistics.
• 1 January 2028: the World Customs Organization’s HS 2028 edition of the Harmonized System enters into force.

Customs declarations accepted before 1 January 2027 normally use the 2026 nomenclature; declarations accepted from 1 January 2027 use CN 2027, subject to the rules for special procedures. A declaration may be lodged before the goods are presented and accepted, so lodging in December does not necessarily fix the 2026 classification. For Intrastat, the applicable code version follows the statistical reference period rather than the date on which the return is submitted. Systems holding both versions should distinguish customs acceptance dates from Intrastat reference periods.

What the eight digits decide on a customs declaration

DG TAXUD describes each CN code as an eight-digit number followed by a description, a duty rate and, where relevant, a supplementary unit. For ordinary product classifications, the first two digits identify the Harmonized System (HS) chapter, the first four the HS heading and the first six the HS subheading. The seventh and eighth digits form the EU’s CN subdivision. The CN also contains special codes in Chapters 98 and 99, which do not follow the ordinary HS subheading structure.

The CN is the base layer of the Common Customs Tariff. For the January 2027 cut-over, Article 56(2)(a) and (b) of the Union Customs Code (UCC, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013) governs the CN and any other nomenclature wholly or partly based on it or providing further subdivisions to it. Regulation (EU) 2026/2108, published on 19 September 2026, establishes a replacement Union Customs Code that generally applies from 21 September 2027, so customs procedures and legal references extending beyond that date need a separate check against the new Code and its transitional provisions. TARIC, the EU’s integrated tariff database, holds the goods nomenclature and additional codes together with the measures attached to the tariff, and TARIC data is transmitted to national administrations daily. Locally held CN tables sit outside that daily feed and need their own update.

Which version governs a particular import? Article 77(2) UCC says a customs debt on import is incurred at the time of acceptance of the customs declaration, and Article 85(1) bases the amount of duty on the calculation rules applicable to the goods when the debt was incurred. My reading of the two provisions together: for goods released for free circulation, the acceptance date of the declaration decides whether the 2026 or the 2027 nomenclature applies, regardless of when the goods were ordered, invoiced or shipped. Inward processing has its own rule, covered in the FAQ below.

Intrastat lines draw on the same CN8 list

The Commission’s notice puts intra-EU trade statistics alongside import and export declarations: the CN is the basis for declaring goods in both. Member States compile intra-EU trade statistics using statistical surveys, commonly referred to as Intrastat, and other permitted data sources. The responsible collection authority varies by Member State and may be a national statistical institute, customs administration, central bank or another designated authority. The applicable national reporting channel should therefore be checked separately.

Per Danmarks Statistik, standard Intrastat commodity codes have eight digits: the first six normally correspond to the HS subheading and the final two identify the EU’s CN subdivision. Special codes in Chapters 98 and 99 are exceptions. Eurostat documents their use for specified statistical movements and simplifications, so they require separate treatment rather than an automatic HS6-to-CN8 mapping.

A CN code change calls for two separate checks. First, the applicable supplementary unit may change, affecting the quantity to report, such as pieces or litres. Second, source documents such as supplier invoices should be reviewed for commodity codes that may have been valid under an earlier CN version.

Statistics Sweden (SCB) notes that a supplier’s invoice may label the commodity code as a customs code, HS number, tariff code or TARIC code. A supplier invoice may contain a commodity code, but its presence does not establish that the classification is valid for a later customs acceptance date or Intrastat reference period. A December 2026 invoice may therefore show a code that is no longer valid for a January 2027 declaration, and the applicable CN version should be checked independently.

The annual CN regulation updates Annex I to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, the nomenclature itself. Intrastat obligations come from a different chain: Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics, its implementing rules and national compiler guidance. Who has to file, the exemption thresholds and the data elements are set there, and a new code list leaves those questions where they were.

Eurostat’s 2026 compilers’ manual (paragraph 727) states that the CN in force for a given year is always applied to the reference periods of that year, so January 2027 is the first Intrastat reference period coded in CN 2027. Danmarks Statistik publishes annual commodity-code lists, including new and deleted codes and year-to-year change files for available editions. Statistics Sweden also publishes transposition tables for specified year pairs. The availability and format of 2026-to-2027 translation files should be confirmed with each national statistical authority.

Binding Tariff Information that lapses on 1 January

A Binding Tariff Information (BTI) decision is generally valid for three years, according to the Commission’s European BTI (EBTI) page, and it ceases to be valid earlier where it no longer complies with the law because of a change in the CN or in a nomenclature based on it or subdividing it. In the UCC, that ground is Article 34(1)(a): adoption of an amendment to the nomenclatures in Article 56(2)(a) and (b), with effect from the date the amendment applies. For decisions caught by the 2027 version, that date is 1 January 2027.

Extended use needs a careful read. Article 34(9) UCC, in the version substituted by Regulation (EU) 2019/474, lets a holder keep using a decision for binding contracts based on it and concluded before it ceased to be valid or was revoked, for up to six months and on application within 30 days. The paragraph names the cases it covers: cessation under Article 34(1)(b) or 34(2), and revocation under Article 34(5), (7) or (8). Point (a) of Article 34(1), the nomenclature-amendment ground, is absent from that list. On that text, a BTI that lapses because its code changed in the 2027 version has no extended-use route under Article 34(9).

Cessation and revocation are separate events. A BTI may cease to be valid either because of a nomenclature amendment under Article 34(1)(a) UCC or because of the adoption of measures referred to in Article 57(4) UCC under Article 34(1)(b). Those grounds have different extended-use consequences under Article 34(9). Revocation under Article 34(7)(a) UCC follows a change in how the existing CN is interpreted, for example after amendments to the CN explanatory notes or a judgment of the Court of Justice, and the EBTI page lists it as a distinct ground. The explanatory notes help interpret the CN, and DG TAXUD states that they are not legally binding.

Other regimes keyed to CN codes

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) de minimis exemption applies a single 50-tonne net-mass threshold per importer and calendar year, aggregating relevant CN codes across the cement, fertilisers, iron and steel, and aluminium sectors. Article 2a and Annex VII of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083, establish this threshold, and the Commission’s Access2Markets notice of 28 January 2026 describes it as applying to the total net mass of CBAM goods, aggregated by importer and per calendar year. The mass-based exemption does not apply to imports of electricity or hydrogen, although both remain within the wider CBAM scope. Goods outside CBAM scope do not count towards the threshold. The Commission assesses the threshold under Article 2a(3) and, where the recalculated value differs from the applicable one by more than 15 tonnes, amends it by delegated act under Article 28.

An importer that tracks that threshold by CN code, or flags CBAM goods in its import data that way, faces the same version question as the customs team. Our CBAM de minimis threshold guide covers how the 50-tonne test works, and the wider declaration timetable is in our CBAM definitive period article.

HS 2028 brings the next restructuring a year later

The World Customs Organization’s eighth edition of the Harmonized System, HS 2028, enters into force on 1 January 2028 as the outcome of the 7th HS Review Cycle. For ordinary CN product classifications, the first six digits correspond to the HS subheading. Special CN codes in Chapters 98 and 99 are exceptions and should be reviewed separately during an HS-to-CN mapping exercise. My reading is that the HS 2028 changes reach EU declarations and Intrastat through the CN version that applies from 1 January 2028, one year after the 2027 version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Goods placed under inward processing in 2026 are released for free circulation as processed products in 2027. Which classification sets the duty?

Article 86(3) UCC generally allows the declarant to request that import duty on processed products be calculated using the tariff classification, customs value, quantity, nature and origin of the input goods at the time they were placed under inward processing. For inputs placed under the procedure in 2026, this can preserve their 2026 classification as the assessment basis when the processed products are released in 2027. Article 86(4) UCC provides for the Article 86(3) calculation to apply in certain cases without a request, to prevent circumvention of the measures listed in Article 56(2)(h), and Article 76 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 sets out those cases, including certain commercial policy measures and anti-dumping, countervailing, safeguard and suspended-concession duties. Where neither a mandatory case nor a valid Article 86(3) request applies, the general Article 85(1) calculation uses the rules applicable when the customs debt is incurred.

Does the 2027 version change customs duty rates?

Each CN code carries its duty rate in the annex, so the CN-level rate for 2027 can be read there code by code. The Commission’s announcement does not summarise rate changes, which makes a comparison of the duty column for the codes a business actually uses the reliable check. Tariff measures held in TARIC, and the separate rules for low-value consignments covered in our EUR 3 customs duty guide, are checked separately.

Related Articles

• EU Customs Reform: The Data Hub Timeline for Importers and Traders: the timeline for the EU Customs Data Hub and what the customs reform changes for importers.
• EUR 3 Customs Duty and Union Handling Fee: Declaring From 1 November: how the flat duty on low-value consignments and the handling fee are declared.
• CBAM De Minimis Threshold: 0.87% Assessment and the 50-Tonne Test: how the 50-tonne CBAM exemption is measured per importer and year.
• CBAM Definitive Period: The 2027 Declaration Deadline for Importers: the definitive-period obligations and the first annual CBAM declaration deadline.

Key Takeaways

• By 31 December 2026: product masters, ERP classification fields and customs broker instructions hold a CN 2027 code for every product, effective from 1 January 2027.
• Inward processing: check whether Article 86(3) applies on request or without a request under Article 86(4) UCC and Article 76 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, then document the applicable calculation basis before release.
• BTI holders: list every decision whose code changes in CN 2027; on the Article 34(9) text, those decisions get no extended use.
• Intrastat: code reference periods from January 2027 in CN 2027 and ask the national compiler whether a code-change file is available.
• Diary 1 January 2028, the HS 2028 entry-into-force date, for the next re-mapping cycle.

Sources and References

• European Commission, DG TAXUD, “Commission publishes the 2027 version of the Combined Nomenclature” (30 October 2026): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2163, Official Journal L series, 30 October 2026: EUR-Lex (PDF)
• European Commission, DG TAXUD, “Commission publishes the 2026 version of the Combined Nomenclature” (Regulation (EU) 2025/1926): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff: EUR-Lex
• Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 laying down the Union Customs Code, Articles 34, 56, 77, 85 and 86: EUR-Lex
• Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, Official Journal L series, 19 September 2026, Articles 284 to 287: EUR-Lex
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, Article 76 (inward-processing duty calculation), consolidated EU version of 1 July 2026, as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/877: EUR-Lex
• Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on European business statistics: EUR-Lex
• European Commission, DG TAXUD, Combined Nomenclature: taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• European Commission, DG TAXUD, EU customs tariff (TARIC): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• European Commission, DG TAXUD, European Binding Tariff Information (EBTI): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• European Commission, Access2Markets, “Start of the definitive period of the CBAM in the EU” (28 January 2026): trade.ec.europa.eu
• European Commission, DG TAXUD, “CBAM de minimis threshold assessment” (30 September 2026): taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
• World Customs Organization, HS Nomenclature 2028 Edition: wcoomd.org
• Danmarks Statistik, commodity codes for Intrastat: dst.dk
• Eurostat, European business statistics compilers’ manual for international trade in goods statistics: detailed data, 2026 edition, section 8.3.3 (special CN codes): ec.europa.eu/eurostat
• Statistics Sweden (SCB), Intrastat commodity codes (CN): scb.se

Running CN 2026 and CN 2027 side by side

Classify customs declarations accepted from 1 January 2027 in CN 2027, applying the inward-processing calculation rules in the FAQ above where they are relevant, and keep the CN 2026 table available for declarations accepted before that date and for Intrastat returns covering a 2026 reference period.

Disclaimer: The information on RegReportingDesk.com is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, regulatory, tax, or compliance advice. Always consult your compliance officer, legal counsel, or the relevant supervisory authority for guidance specific to your institution.