Subheading · Chapter 62 · Heading 6213
6213.20: Handkerchiefs, of cotton
Official description Of cotton
Subheading 6213.20 belongs to heading 6213 (handkerchiefs) in chapter 62.
What you pay
Importing into UK
Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff
UK lines →- 6213 20 00 00 Of cotton 10%p/st
- 6213 20 00 10 Hand-made 10%p/st
- 6213 20 00 90 Other 10%p/st
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Import requirements 3
- Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
- Applies to goods from
- Ukraine
- Legal act
- S.I. 2022/395
- Documents
- 9009
- 9010
- 9017
- Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
- Applies to goods from
- North Korea
- Legal act
- S.I. 2019/411
- Documents
- Y084 Derogation from import prohibition by virtue of Article 16i (1) of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1509
- Import controlImport control on luxury goods
- Applies to goods from
- North Korea
- Legal act
- S.I. 2019/411
- Documents
- Y945 Travellers' personal effects or goods of a non-commercial nature for travellers' personal use contained in their luggage (Art 10.2 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1509)
- Y946 Goods necessary for the official purposes of diplomatic or consular missions of Member States in the DPRK or international organisations enjoying immunities in accordance with international law, or to the personal effects of their staff (Art 10.3 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1509)
- Y948 Goods other than those described in Annex VIII (Luxury goods) of Reg. (EU) 2017/1509
Preferential rates by country
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | 10% |
| DCTS Comprehensive | Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and 38 moreAfghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo - Kinshasa, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia | Free |
| European Union (including code " EU") | Free | |
| DCTS Enhanced | Algeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville and 13 moreAlgeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu | Free |
| CARIFORUM | Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and 10 moreAntigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago | Free |
| OCTs (Overseas Countries and Territories) | Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands and 7 moreAnguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Turks & Caicos Islands | Free |
| Central America | Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama | Free |
| SADC EPA | Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia | Free |
| Eastern and Southern Africa States | Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe | Free |
| CPTPP | Brunei, Malaysia | Free |
| UK–Andorra agreement | Andorra | Free |
| UK–Albania agreement | Albania | Free |
| UK–Australia agreement | Australia | Free |
| UK–Canada agreement | Canada | Free |
| UK–Switzerland agreement | Switzerland | Free |
| UK–Côte d’Ivoire agreement | Côte d’Ivoire | Free |
| UK–Chile agreement | Chile | Free |
| UK–Cameroon agreement | Cameroon | Free |
| UK–Colombia agreement | Colombia | Free |
| UK–Ceuta & Melilla agreement | Ceuta & Melilla | Free |
| UK–Ecuador agreement | Ecuador | Free |
| UK–Egypt agreement | Egypt | Free |
| UK–Fiji agreement | Fiji | Free |
| UK–Faroe Islands agreement | Faroe Islands | Free |
| UK–Georgia agreement | Georgia | Free |
| UK–Ghana agreement | Ghana | Free |
| UK–Israel agreement | Israel | Free |
| UK–India agreement | India | Free |
| UK–Iceland agreement | Iceland | Free |
| UK–Jordan agreement | Jordan | Free |
| UK–Japan agreement | Japan | Free |
| UK–Kenya agreement | Kenya | Free |
| UK–South Korea agreement | South Korea | Free |
| UK–Lebanon agreement | Lebanon | Free |
| UK–Liechtenstein agreement | Liechtenstein | Free |
| UK–Morocco agreement | Morocco | Free |
| UK–Moldova agreement | Moldova | Free |
| UK–North Macedonia agreement | North Macedonia | Free |
| UK–Mexico agreement | Mexico | Free |
| UK–Norway agreement | Norway | Free |
| UK–New Zealand agreement | New Zealand | Free |
| UK–Peru agreement | Peru | Free |
| UK–Papua New Guinea agreement | Papua New Guinea | Free |
| UK–Palestinian Territories agreement | Palestinian Territories | Free |
| UK–Serbia agreement | Serbia | Free |
| UK–Solomon Islands agreement | Solomon Islands | Free |
| UK–Singapore agreement | Singapore | Free |
| UK–San Marino agreement | San Marino | Free |
| UK–Tunisia agreement | Tunisia | Free |
| UK–Türkiye agreement | Türkiye | Free |
| UK–Ukraine agreement | Ukraine | Free |
| UK–Vietnam agreement | Vietnam | Free |
| UK–Samoa agreement | Samoa | Free |
| UK–Kosovo agreement | Kosovo | Free |
| UK–South Africa agreement | South Africa | Free |
| DCTS Standard | Indonesia | 8% |
UK: imports by month
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
 China | £1.3m | 79.1% | +1.2% |
 India | £116k | 7.2% | -26.2% |
 Japan | £46k | 2.8% | -18.4% |
 Italy | £41k | 2.6% | +8.1% |
 Cambodia | £36k | 2.2% | — |
 Malaysia | £26k | 1.6% | -24.3% |
 Pakistan | £23k | 1.4% | +41% |
 Switzerland | £12k | 0.8% | +872.1% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
EU
TürkiyeWorld trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$18kUS$18k+US$205k+US$1m+> US$3m
Exports: 114
- China: US$47m
- India: US$7m
- United States: US$3m
- United Kingdom: US$3m
- Russia: US$2m
- Malaysia: US$2m
- Italy: US$2m
- Germany: US$2m
- Thailand: US$1m
- Japan: US$1m
- Armenia: US$1m
- Uzbekistan: US$1m
- France: US$935k
- Vietnam: US$878k
- Türkiye: US$762k
- South Korea: US$611k
- Netherlands: US$520k
- Bangladesh: US$419k
- Myanmar (Burma): US$401k
- Switzerland: US$393k
- Spain: US$366k
- Pakistan: US$290k
- Serbia: US$287k
- Poland: US$237k
- Lithuania: US$210k
- Kuwait: US$205k
- Czechia: US$191k
- Belgium: US$167k
- Portugal: US$167k
- South Africa: US$140k
- Madagascar: US$137k
- Sweden: US$125k
- Tunisia: US$120k
- Morocco: US$112k
- Mauritius: US$68k
- Singapore: US$66k
- Austria: US$62k
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$61k
- Philippines: US$58k
- Denmark: US$51k
- Australia: US$49k
- United Arab Emirates: US$39k
- Canada: US$38k
- Taiwan: US$33k
- Sri Lanka: US$30k
- Croatia: US$27k
- Indonesia: US$24k
- Bulgaria: US$22k
- Ireland: US$21k
- Kazakhstan: US$21k
- Moldova: US$19k
- Chile: US$18k
- Peru: US$17k
- Honduras: US$16k
- Colombia: US$15k
- Romania: US$13k
- Latvia: US$13k
- El Salvador: US$11k
- Luxembourg: US$11k
- North Macedonia: US$10k
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$30kUS$30k+US$177k+US$854k+> US$3m
Imports: 180
- United States: US$12m
- Japan: US$10m
- Kyrgyzstan: US$10m
- Ghana: US$6m
- Saudi Arabia: US$5m
- Germany: US$3m
- Armenia: US$2m
- France: US$2m
- Kazakhstan: US$2m
- United Kingdom: US$2m
- Philippines: US$2m
- Russia: US$2m
- Netherlands: US$1m
- Italy: US$1m
- Belgium: US$1m
- Australia: US$1m
- South Korea: US$1m
- Switzerland: US$854k
- Spain: US$845k
- Canada: US$725k
- Czechia: US$707k
- Kenya: US$664k
- Panama: US$629k
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$573k
- China: US$549k
- South Africa: US$527k
- Austria: US$507k
- Myanmar (Burma): US$506k
- Poland: US$463k
- Singapore: US$458k
- Malaysia: US$424k
- United Arab Emirates: US$396k
- Kuwait: US$343k
- New Zealand: US$321k
- Chile: US$284k
- Ukraine: US$252k
- Taiwan: US$248k
- Qatar: US$243k
- Tajikistan: US$224k
- Sweden: US$210k
- Laos: US$209k
- Ireland: US$207k
- North Korea: US$187k
- Nepal: US$177k
- Denmark: US$168k
- Tanzania: US$167k
- Sri Lanka: US$161k
- Thailand: US$150k
- Norway: US$141k
- India: US$138k
- Zambia: US$134k
- Mexico: US$130k
- Colombia: US$126k
- Romania: US$122k
- Finland: US$119k
- Slovakia: US$99k
- Portugal: US$96k
- Vietnam: US$92k
- Mauritius: US$91k
- Jamaica: US$89k
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | US$47m | 58.2% |
| 2 | India | US$7m | 8.2% |
| 3 |  United States | US$3m | 4% |
| 4 | United Kingdom | US$3m | 3.8% |
| 5 |  Russia | US$2m | 2.9% |
| 6 | Malaysia | US$2m | 2.5% |
| 7 | Italy | US$2m | 2.3% |
| 8 |  Germany | US$2m | 2% |
| 9 |  Thailand | US$1m | 1.5% |
| 10 | Japan | US$1m | 1.4% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$12m | 15.4% |
| 2 | Japan | US$10m | 12.1% |
| 3 |  Kyrgyzstan | US$10m | 11.8% |
| 4 |  Ghana | US$6m | 7.2% |
| 5 |  Saudi Arabia | US$5m | 6.6% |
| 6 | Germany | US$3m | 4% |
| 7 |  Armenia | US$2m | 3% |
| 8 |  France | US$2m | 2.9% |
| 9 |  Kazakhstan | US$2m | 2.5% |
| 10 | United Kingdom | US$2m | 2.4% |
Binding rulings for similar goods 1
Decisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CROSS) and HMRC (Advance Tariff Rulings) on goods classified here. A ruling binds only its holder, but shows how the authorities classify similar goods. The descriptions are the authorities’ own, in English.
- N277766 U.S. CBP
The tariff classification of bandanas from China
The UK Global Tariff divides subheading 6213.20 into 2 tariff lines; the duty is 10%.
Subheading 6213.20 is a single line in the EU Combined Nomenclature, where the duty is 10%.
173 countries pay no duty in the UK thanks to trade agreements and preference schemes such as DCTS Comprehensive and European Union, against a standard rate of 10%.
Imports of these goods into the UK came to £1.6m between September 2025 and August 2026 (down 1% on the year before); China supplied 79%, followed by India.
In 2024, countries exported these goods worth US$81m (−3.6% year on year).
The largest exporter was China (US$47m), followed by India.
Products classified here
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for handkerchiefs, of cotton?
Handkerchiefs, of cotton fall under HS subheading 6213.20, part of heading 6213, in section XI of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on handkerchiefs, of cotton in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 6213.20 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 10%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on handkerchiefs, of cotton in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 6213.20 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 10%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most handkerchiefs, of cotton?
China, with US$47m in 2024 (58.2% of world exports).
Which countries can export these goods to the UK duty-free?
173 countries pay no duty under a trade agreement or preference scheme, among them partners under DCTS Comprehensive, European Union, DCTS Enhanced. The goods must meet the agreement’s rules of origin and the importer needs proof of origin; otherwise the standard rate of 10% applies. Pick a country above to see its rate.
Where does the UK import these goods from?
In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were China (79%), India (7%) and Japan (3%), out of total imports of £1.6m.
Typical products
Everyday names, not part of the legal text.