A PRIMER ON THE AHTN

      (PROTOCOL GOVERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ASEAN HARMONISED

TARIFF NOMENCLATURE ) CLICK HERE 

1. What is the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN)?

    The AHTN is an 8-digit commodity nomenclature agreed to be adopted in principle by the
ten (10) ASEAN member countries on 01 January 2002. It is based on the Harmonized
System (HS) and involves the alignment of the national tariff nomenclature of each member
country with the AHTN.

2. What is the structure of the AHTN?

    The AHTN is comprised of the (1) General Rules for the interpretation of the System,
(2) Section and Chapter Notes, including Subheading Notes, and (3) a list of headings
arranged in systematic order and, where appropriate, subdivided into subheadings.

    Adhering to the 6-digit level of the HS, the seventh and eighth digit codes are assigned to
ASEAN subheadings that comprise about 10,800 tariff lines. These would cover the
requirements of the ten ASEAN Member States.

    However, national classifications of Member States that were not included in the AHTN
shall be dealt with beyond the 8-digit code. Furthermore, the AHTN already incorporates the
HS 2002 amendments.

3. What are the uses of the AHTN?

a. As a uniform tariff nomenclature within ASEAN

b. As a base for preferential tariff purposes in AFTA

4. What are the advantages of the AHTN?

a. It establishes uniformity of application in the classification of goods in ASEAN

b. It enhances transparency in the classification process for goods in the region

c. It simplifies the tariff nomenclature system of ASEAN Member States to facilitate trade in
the region

5. When will the government implement the AHTN and what is the legal basis?

    The Tariff Commission is mandated by Executive Order No. 688 dated 01 May 1981 to
align the Philippine Tariff Nomenclature with all future amendments to the Customs
Cooperation Council Nomenclature. Subsequently, a NEDA Board Resolution and/or an
Executive Order will be issued upon the completion of the required procedures to adopt the
AHTN.
    Further, the Philippines is bound by Article 4 of the ASEAN Agreement on Customs dated
01 March 1997 and the AHTN protocol to be signed by the Member States within 2002.

    The Philippines is scheduled to implement the adoption of the AHTN by 01 January 2003.

6. What is the AHTN Protocol?

    The AHTN Protocol defines the legal framework governing the implementation of the
AHTN, and its implementing rules and explanatory notes.

    The AHTN Protocol will be signed by the Governments of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom
of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, Lao People'’ Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Union
of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of
Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

      (PROTOCOL GOVERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ASEAN HARMONISED

TARIFF NOMENCLATURE ) CLICK HERE 

7. What are the obligations of Member States?

    Each Member State shall abide by the HS Code and shall apply the AHTN, up to the 8-
digit level for all trade transactions for tariff, the collection of statistical data and other
purposes.

    Amendments to the AHTN shall only be made in accordance with Article 5 (Amendments
of the AHTN) and Article 6 (Amendment Procedures) of the Protocol.

8. What are the reasons for amending the AHTN? In what instances may the AHTN
be amended?

    Amendments to the AHTN maybe effected for the following reasons or instances:

a. when there is an amendment to the HS Code and/or description

b. when there is amendment to the ASEAN subheadings in the AHTN for the purposes of
simplification

c. when there is amendment arising from the requirements of Member States, changes in
technology, etc.

9. How do countries provide for national subdivisions?

a. Beyond the 8-digit AHTN level, each Member State could create new national
subheadings or through domestic procedures. In the interim, the Philippines shall be
assigning alpha-numeric codes to denote new subheadings, e.g.:

Rate of Duty (%)

Heading Tariff Code Description
2002 2003 2004
25.19
 Natural magnesium carbonate
(magnesite); fused magnesia;
dead-burned (sintered)
magnesia whether or not
containing small quantities of
other oxides added before
sintering; other magnesium
oxide, whether or not pure
- Natural magnesium
2519.10 00 3 3 3
carbonate (magnesite)
2519.90 00 - Others:

A. Fused Magnesia 1 1 1

B. Dead-burned (sintered) 1 1 1

C. Other 3 3 3

b. To incorporate newly created national subheadings in the AHTN, proposals for

amendments shall be made by Member States to the ASEAN Directors-General (ADG) of
Customs through the ASEAN Secretariat.

c. The ADG of Customs shall be the forum to allow amendments to the AHTN. The ADG of
Customs may convene an experts panel consisting of representatives from all the Member
States. The Decisions of the ADG of Customs shall be made by consensus.

10. What are the Institutional Arrangements overseeing the AHTN Protocol?

a. The ASEAN Directors-General (ADG) of Customs shall be responsible for monitoring,

reviewing, supervising all aspects relating to the implementation of the AHTN Protocol.

b. The ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting shall be the forum for all decisions relating to the
implementation of the AHTN Protocol.

c. The ASEAN Secretariat shall provide the necessary support for supervising, coordinating
and reviewing the implementation of the AHTN Protocol and shall assist the ADG of Customs
on matters relating thereto. The ASEAN Secretariat shall have the responsibility of assisting
the experts panel, and assisting Member states in monitoring and reviewing the AHTN.

11. What were the criteria used for classification in the AHTN?

a. Classifications should not be provided where the tariff rates for groups of ASEAN
subheadings are equal in the respective Member States

b. Classifications should be provided where the significance in trade for a subheading for a
Member State is high

c. Classifications should reflect a single, unique code for a defined commodity to avoid
ambiguous criteria for Classification

d. Classifications can be based on the criteria which has been utilized by a majority of
Member States

e. Classifications for national statistical and other non-tariff-purposes may be dealt with at
the national level, at the 8-digit level and beyond
f. Classifications should take into account international conventions

g. Classifications based on seasonal tariff rates should be dealt with through domestic
procedures of the affected Member State

h. Classifications, other than the above, for tariff purposes, and which is country-specific
should be dealt with in accordance with the procedures in Article 5 and 6 of the Protocol. In
this case, efforts should be made to establish common regional criteria for affected
subheadings to avoid proliferation of tariff lines

i. Classifications can be created for the purposes of tariff reduction and these may be
reflected as an extraction of the AHTN subheading as a transitional measure.

12. What other publications to complement the AHTN?

a. Supplementary Explanatory Notes (SEN) – a compilation of the official interpretation of

the ASEAN subheadings.

b. Alphabetical Index –an alphabetical electronic list of the articles mentioned in the AHTN
and the SEN. It facilitates the location of references in the AHTN or the SEN to any of the
products or articles mentioned therein.

c. Correlation Table – an essential guide for the transposition of the HS2002 6-digit HS-
based Code to the 8-digit AHTN