Difference between the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)and the Harmonized System (HS)  

The Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) and Harmonized System (HS) are two different trade classifications, the main difference being that the SITC is focused more on the economic functions of products at various stages of development, whereas the HS deals with a precise breakdown of the products' individual categories.

The SITC was developed by the United Nations with the intention of classifying traded products not only on the basis of their material and physical properties, but also according to which stage of processing, as well as their economic functions in order to facilitate economic analysis. The SITC was originally developed for statistical purposes and it has to maintain a correlation with the tariff nomenclature (classification) seeing as customs declarations are the principal source of trade data. The SITC has undergone three revisions (Rev.3) to maintain consistency with the development of tariff nomenclatures. The SITC Rev. 3 was adopted in 1988 and maintains the basic 10-section structure of the previous editions; the sections are subdivided into 67 two-digit divisions, 261 three-digit groups, 1,033 four-digit groups, and 3,121 five-digit headings.

For more information please visit: UNSD 

The HS was introduced in 1988, and has since then it has become an internationally accepted method of classification wherever products are traded. The HS classification is "harmonized" in relation to the classifications of the United Nations and the European Communities. Goods are classified according to simple objective criteria and applications. The HS, a revision of the CCCN (Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature), 1974 classification system, includes a six-digit sub-heading that was introduced for more precise tagging of products. At present this system contains 21 sections, 97 chapters and 1,241 headings at the four-digit level, 930 of which are further divided in sub headings. HS-1996 (revision 1) represented a total of 5,113 separate categories of goods identified by a six-digit code. Most of the countries that have adopted HS have added one or more digits to further classify products of particular national interest (8-digit or 10-didgit level).

For more information please visit: World Customs Organisation