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Flakes, chips and powder

Soap flakes, chips, and powder, not for retail skin-washing

NO PGA · STANDARD CUSTOMS PROCEDURE

HSN 3401 19 20 (soap flakes, chips, and powder) is not covered by a Bureau of Indian Standards Quality Control Order and carries no Partner Government Agency clearance requirement at the tariff-line level. Import follows the standard customs procedure: Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), bill of entry, commercial invoice, packing list. Soap and detergent preparations put up for retail sale or formulated for skin-washing under Chapter 34 may fall under sibling tariff lines that carry distinct compliance obligations.

No partner government agency notification covers this tariff line.
A word of counsel

The absence of compliance at this tariff line reflects the industrial or bulk-trade form of the product; classification into a retail-packaged or skin-care-directed soap line within Chapter 34 can attract compliance requirements that do not apply here. Customs examination that re-characterises the product — by form, packaging, or end-use — triggers retrospective compliance, including detention pending resolution. Importers should ensure that product specifications, packaging declarations, and commercial documentation consistently reflect the bulk, non-retail character of the goods.

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Frequently asked
Does HSN 3401 19 20 require any pre-import registration?
A valid Importer-Exporter Code is required for any commercial import; no product-specific registration applies to this tariff line.
What changes if the soap flakes or powder are put up for retail sale as a skin-washing preparation?
Retail-packaged preparations for washing the skin are classified under a separate tariff line within Chapter 34 and may attract compliance obligations not applicable to bulk flakes, chips, or powder.
Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-16. Source: BIS / DGFT / Indian Customs CUSDATA.
Related
ChapterChapter 34 · Soaps, organic surface-active agents, washing preparations, lubricating preparations, waxesHSNSOAP; ORGANIC SURFACE-ACTIVE PRODUCTS AND PREPARATIONS FOR USE AS SOAP, IN THE FORM OF BARS, CAKES, MOULDED PIECES OR SHAPES, WHETHER OR NOT CONTAINING SOAP; ORGANIC SURFACE-ACTIVE PRODUCTS AND PREPARATIONS FOR WASHING THE SKIN, IN THE FORM OF LIQUID OR CREAM AND PUT UP FOR RETAIL SALE, WHETHER OR NOT CONTAINING SOAP; PAPER, WADDING, FELT AND NONWOVENS, IMPREGNATED, COATED OR COVERED WITH SOAP OR DETERGENTHSNOther: