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Get help to classify articles of leather and other items in chapter 42 of the tariff for import and export.

This guidance refers to chapters and headings in the UK Global Online Tariff. If you’re importing goods into Northern Ireland, or if this guidance does not include your item, read more information.

Chapter 42 has 6 headings, all of which mainly include items made of leather or composition leather. However, headings 4202 and 4203 include items (characteristic of the leather trade) made of other materials, such as plastic or textiles.

Leather is made of animal hide or skin. Animals whose hide and skins are used to make leather, must not be on the endangered species list. You can check if an animal is endangered by contacting the Animal and Plant Health Agency Centre for International Trade.

This is leather that’s been coated with a varnish, lacquer or preformed plastic sheet; it has a shiny mirror-like surface. To be classified as patent leather, the thickness of the coating or sheet must be no more than 0.15 millimetres (mm).

This is leather that’s been coated with a sheet of preformed plastic that’s thicker than 0.15mm, but less than half the total thickness of the finished material. It has the same mirror-like finish as patent leather and is sometimes known as ‘patent coated leather’.

If leather is covered by a sheet of preformed plastic that’s thicker than 0.15mm, but more than half the total thickness of the finished material, then it’s classified in chapter 39.

This leather has a basis of natural leather or leather fibres and is also known as ‘bonded leather’. It may be:

It can be made through various processes, such as by:

Miscellaneous items that are made of leather or composition leather, are classified in heading 4205. These include:

These are classified under subheading 4203 21. They include gloves used for boxing, cricket or football (worn by the goal keeper). This subheading does not cover gloves designed for golf or motorcycling, which are classified in subheading 4203 29.

Items made from animal gut and other animal materials are classified in heading 4206. These include items made from catgut, formed by twisting strips of animal gut (especially sheep’s gut) that’s been cleaned and dried. This heading does not cover:

Subheadings covering hand-made items are included under headings 4201 to 4203. Some hand-made items can only be classified in these headings if they’ve been certified as hand-made by a recognised authority, in the country where they’re produced. It may be necessary to provide a special handicraft certificate.

Some items (such as bags and belts) have parts, fittings or ornamentation made from:

Provided these do not give an item its essential character, they can still be classified in chapter 42. For example:

If the parts or ornamentation give an article its essential character, then it’s classified in chapter 71.

Heading 4202 is made up of two sections. Both sections include items classified as containers. These containers may:

Containers are classified according to the material of their outer surface (that is visible to the naked eye), including where the outer layer is made of more than one material.

These containers are classified under subheadings:

Containers with an outer surface of leather coated with a thin layer of plastic or synthetic rubber added for protection (invisible to the naked eye – usually less than 0.15 mm in thickness), would still be classified in these subheadings.

No account is taken of any change in colour or surface shine.

There containers are classified under subheadings:

The plastic sheeting may be one of a number of materials making up the container’s outer material.

Containers are classified in these subheadings as long as the:

The first section covers containers made of any material, including:

The second section covers containers that are either made of specified materials or are completely (or mainly) covered by these materials.

Items that must be made of leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanised fibre or paperboard include:

These items are listed in legal notes 2 and 3 to chapter 42. They include:

Also not covered under heading 4202 are:

These items are listed in legal note 2 to chapter 42. They include:

If this guidance does not cover your specific item in detail and you’re importing goods into Great Britain, you can search for it in the Online Trade Tariff.

If you’re importing goods into Northern Ireland from outside the UK, and the EU and the goods are not ‘at risk’ of onward movement to the EU, you should also use the Online Trade Tariff.

If you’re importing goods into Northern Ireland from outside the UK and the EU, and the goods are at risk of onward movement to the EU, you should use the Northern Ireland (EU) Tariff.

If this guidance does cover your item, you’ll still need to look up the full commodity code to use in your declaration on the appropriate tariff.

You can find more ways to help you find a commodity code by referring to the links given in this section.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora helpline number has been updated.

CITES Helpline number changed to 0117 372 8749.

Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details.

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