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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprising of its ten (10)
Member States, namely: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,

Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, agreed to adopt a
common tariff nomenclature to facilitate trade within the ASEAN Free Trade Area
(AFTA).
The AFTA is a trade bloc established by ASEAN to promote domestic production
and trade among Member States, and to achieve the free flow of goods in the
region.
The AHTN is based on the Harmonized System up to the 6-digit Subheadings and
supplemented with the national requirements of each of the 10 ASEAN Member
States in the form of 8-digit Subheadings (also referred to as ASEAN
Subheadings).
Each ASEAN Member State has a tariff nomenclature based on the AHTN.
The AHTN is primarily used as:
 a uniform tariff nomenclature within the ASEAN where
classification of goods is the same up to the eight-digit level for
Member States;
 a basis for preferential tariff purposes in the AFTA (i.e., ATIGA)
and other Preferential Trade Agreements such as AANZFTA,
ACFTA, AKFTA, and AHKFTA; and
 a basis for the collection of trade statistics.
It is worthwhile to note that the AHTN is not exclusively used for
trade within the AFTA. It is also used as a tariff nomenclature for
trade outside the ASEAN region.
January 1992 – ASEAN Member States agreed to the formation of a trade bloc that
would compete and trade more efficiently with the larger markets such as those of
China, Japan, the United States, Latin America, and the European Union.
March 1997 – ASEAN Finance Ministers agreed to adopt a new 8-digit commodity
nomenclature (AHTN) to facilitate trade within the AFTA.
August 2003 – The Protocol Governing the Implementation of the AHTN was
signed by the ASEAN Finance Ministers in Makati.
September 2003 – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
issued NEDA Board Resolution No. 12 (s. of 2003) to implement the AHTN.
March 2004 – Customs Memorandum Order No. 6-2004 was issued on the
implementation of the first AHTN.
October 2006 – The AHTN updated with the HS 2007 amendments was approved
by the ASEAN Directors- Generals by ad referendum.
September 2012 – The AHTN updated with HS 2012 was
approved by the NEDA Board. The Philippines began
implementing the AHTN as our tariff nomenclature indicating
both Most Favored Nation (MFN) and ASEAN Trade in Goods
Agreement (ATIGA) rates of import duty.
June 2017 – The NEDA Board approved the adoption of the
2017 version of the AHTN into our tariff nomenclature.
July 2017 – The Tariff Commission started implementing the
TAP-AHTN 2017.
May 2022 – The NEDA Board approved the adoption of the
2022 version of the AHTN into our tariff nomenclature.
July 2022 – The Tariff Commission started implementing the
TAP-AHTN 2022.
Formally “The Protocol Governing the Implementation of the ASEAN
Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature.” It is the legal framework
governing the implementation of the AHTN and its implementing
rules and explanatory notes. Signed by the Governments of the 10
ASEAN Member States in Makati and entered into force on August 7,
2003.
The AHTN is annexed to and is an integral part of the Protocol. It
requires all ASEAN Member States to apply the AHTN up to the
eight-digit level for all trade transactions. However, Member States
are also allowed to create their own national Subheadings beyond
the eight-digit level and, as a body, amend the AHTN under the
Protocol’s amendment procedures.
A. COMPOSITION OF THE AHTN
AHTN
=
Harmonized System
+
ASEAN Subheading
(8-digit Subheadings)
D. INTRODUCTION OF NEW ASEAN SUBHEADINGS
To incorporate newly created national Subheadings in the AHTN, proposals
for amendments are made by the concerned ASEAN Member State to the
ASEAN Directors-General of Customs through the ASEAN Secretariat.
The ASEAN Directors-General of Customs is the forum to allow
amendments to the AHTN.
E. AHTN AMENDMENTS CRITERIA
Amendments to the AHTN may be done under the following instances:
 When there are amendments to the HS Code;
 When there are amendments to the ASEAN Subheadings for purposes of
simplification; and
 When there are amendments arising from the requirements of ASEAN
Member Sates to reflect changes in technology, trade patterns,
environmental and social concerns, etc.
The AHTN Supplementary Explanatory Notes
(SEN) was developed as a technical reference to
assist users in determining the proper tariff
classification of goods in the AHTN up to the
eight-digit Subheading level. It serves to
facilitate the understanding and interpretation of
the scope of the ASEAN Subheadings with the
view to furthering the uniform classification of
goods.
The updating of the nomenclature from AHTN 2017 to AHTN 2022
DOES NOT involve any modification in the tariff rates, whether MFN
or preferential.
The Tariff Commission started implementing the AHTN 2022 on July
1, 2022 following the approval by the NEDA Board of its adoption on
May 27, 2022.
With the implementation of the AHTN 2022 into our tariff
nomenclature, beginning July 1, 2022, all Advance Rulings on Tariff
Classification issued by the Tariff Commission pursuant to Section
1100 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (Republic Act No.
10863) under the AHTN 2017-BASED Philippines tariff nomenclature
are no longer valid.

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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprising of its ten (10)

Member States, namely: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,

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