HS Code for Cardboard Boxes

Cardboard boxes and other paper packaging are classified under heading 4819 of the HTSUS, which covers cartons, boxes, cases, bags and other packing containers of paper or paperboard. The subheading depends mainly on the construction: corrugated boxes (4819.10), folding cartons of non-corrugated paperboard (4819.20), paper sacks and bags (4819.30 and 4819.40), and other containers such as rigid gift boxes and tubes (4819.50). Corrugated board that has not been made into boxes points toward heading 4808. Paperboard packaging in the featured lines carries a general rate of Free, so identifying the construction and form is the first step in exploring the most appropriate code.

Boxes and other packing containers made of paper or paperboard sit together in heading 4819 of the HTSUS, so the first question is whether the box is made of paper or paperboard and is a packing container. Heading 4819 covers cartons, boxes, cases, bags and other packing containers, along with box files, letter trays and storage boxes of a kind used in offices and shops. Boxes of other materials point elsewhere: plastic boxes toward heading 3923 or 3924, wooden boxes and crates toward heading 4415 or 4420, and metal boxes toward the relevant base metal chapter.

Within heading 4819, the main branch is how the box is constructed. Cartons, boxes and cases of corrugated paper or paperboard, the typical brown shipping box, point toward 4819.10. Folding cartons, boxes and cases of non-corrugated paper or paperboard, the printed retail box that ships flat and folds into shape, point toward 4819.20. Rigid (set-up) boxes that are assembled at the factory and do not fold flat, which is common for gift boxes, jewelry boxes and premium presentation boxes, point toward the other packing containers line 4819.50, along with paperboard tubes, fiber drums and composite cans.

The statistical suffixes then pick up the use. Both 4819.10 and 4819.20 separate sanitary food and beverage containers from other boxes, so a corrugated pizza box and a corrugated shipping carton point toward neighboring suffixes within the same subheading. Paper sacks and bags also sit in heading 4819: bags with a base 40 cm or more wide point toward 4819.30 and other bags and cones toward 4819.40, with multiwall shipping sacks separated from other bags.

Packaging material that has not yet been made into a container points toward different headings. Corrugated paper and paperboard in rolls or sheets points toward 4808.10, and uncoated or coated paperboard in rolls or sheets toward the paperboard headings of chapter 48. Once the board is cut, creased and formed (or supplied as a flat, die-cut box blank), it generally points toward heading 4819 as a container. Labels of paper point toward heading 4821, and decorative gift wrap toward its own provisions, rather than heading 4819.

A practical approach is to confirm the material (paper or paperboard), then the construction (corrugated, folding non-corrugated, rigid, tube or bag), and then whether it is made as a sanitary food and beverage container. Boxes imported holding goods are usually treated as packing for those goods rather than separately, so this page is most relevant to empty boxes and cartons imported as products in their own right.

General duty rates for cardboard boxes and other paper packaging are low. All of the featured heading 4819 lines, including corrugated boxes, folding cartons, rigid gift boxes, paperboard tubes, storage boxes, and paper sacks and bags, carry a general rate of Free, as does corrugated paperboard in rolls or sheets under heading 4808. Because the base rate is Free across these lines, the classification mainly matters for statistics and for any additional measures that depend on the specific code.

These are the general (MFN) rates only. Depending on origin, Section 301 or IEEPA duties may apply on top of the Free base rate, and antidumping or countervailing duty orders can cover certain paper and paperboard products from specific countries, so those are worth reviewing separately. These figures are estimates for general planning purposes only.