Business Statistics

North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) Canada 2017

--> Find a NAPCS code for a product or service (drill down to 7-digit code by category)

• new standard classification system for goods and services in North America
• version 2.0 officially adopted by Statistics Canada in October 2017 
• code can have up to 7 digits, as shown in the example below
• similar to, but not the same as, the Harmonised System (HS) described in the next section
• NAPCS is less-detailed than HS; see example of search for 'tomatoes' in each system
• Statistics Canada will publish a concordance to convert from HS to NAPCS codes and vice versa, but it is not yet available

Harmonised System (HS)

• maintained by World Customs Organization and used by over 170 countries for tariff purposes
• is the most common standard to measure trade between countries
• 'harmonised' means that the countries have agreed to consistently use this system for identifying goods

How many digits?

• up to 10-digits: the first 6-digits must follow standard; additional numbers may vary
• import figures tend to be available in greater detail (because of the need to track taxes, duties and tariffs)
• the longer the HS code, the more detailed the breakdown, e.g.

Standard Industrial Trade Classification (SITC)

• 4-digits (approx. 800 commodities, eg. 054.4 is "Tomatoes, fresh or chilled")
• UN system used by international agencies
• Statistics Canada produces stats in this format for international comparisons
• Search tools: 
• drill down by category in SITC, Rev. 4
  
• look up alphabetically in SITC, Rev. 3