Cobalt HS Codes
Cobalt arrives mainly as metallurgical intermediates (8105.20) from the DRC, not as refined metal.
Trade volumes cover Oct 2025 – Sep 2026, from China customs official statistics.
Full cobalt HS code list
Six-digit codes are the WCO international standard and identical worldwide. Tonnage is China’s actual customs-recorded trade for each code.
| HS code | Description | Imports | Exports | Import duty | Import status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2605.00 | Cobalt ores and concentrates | 580 t$2m | —$0k | 0% | — |
| 8105.203 CN subheadings | Cobalt mattes and other intermediate products of cobalt metallurgy; cobalt powders; unwrought cobaltCobalt intermediates from the DRC make up the bulk of imports. The duty actually paid is the 0% provisional rate, not the 4% MFN rate. Hydrometallurgical intermediates (8105.20.10) and unwrought cobalt (8105.20.20) carry the same rates. | 88.0 kt$1.77bn | 6.6 kt$332m | 0%MFN 4% | — |
| 8105.30 | Cobalt waste and scrap | — | 41 t$605k | 4% | Import banned |
| 8105.90 | Other articles of cobalt | 794 t$74m | 376 t$28m | 8% | — |
Where a provisional rate applies, the large figure is the rate actually paid and the MFN rate is shown beneath it. Rates are shown only where we have verified them; a dash means we have not confirmed the current rate, not that the rate is zero. Duty and regulatory status change — confirm against the current tariff schedule or a licensed broker before you declare.
Cobalt scrap HS code
Import into China is prohibited. Cobalt waste and scrap is classified as solid waste, banned since 2021, and — unlike copper and aluminium — there is no recycled-material national standard that exempts it. Exports out of China are unrestricted.
This is why the import column above reads zero for scrap: it is not a data gap, it is the ban showing up in the official statistics.
Six digits, eight digits, ten digits
The first six digits are the WCO Harmonized System and are the same in every member country. That is the number you quote to a counterparty abroad, and it is what this page lists.
China then extends each subheading to eight digits in its own tariff schedule, and to ten digits for the statistical code actually written on a customs declaration. The extension is not cosmetic: a single HS6 can split into codes with different duty rates and different regulatory conditions.
A worked example worth remembering — refined copper cathode is HS 7403.11 internationally, but 7403.11.00 does not exist in the Chinese schedule. The real codes are 7403.11.11, 7403.11.19 and 7403.11.90. Quoting a code you derived by appending zeros will return nothing at customs, silently.
Sourcing cobalt
Looking up a code usually means there is a shipment behind it. Guilin Metals lists verified Chinese suppliers, recyclers and traders by metal and by region, alongside live prices and monthly trade statistics.
HS codes for other metals
Classification guidance on this page is informational. Binding classification is the responsibility of the declarant; consult a licensed customs broker for shipments. Largest import line over Oct 2025 – Sep 2026: HS 8105.20, 88.0 kt.