The HS code for salted beef omasum is not in Chapter 2
Most people classifying salted beef omasum start in Chapter 2, meat and edible meat offal, and then argue about whether the goods are salted enough to leave the frozen heading. That argument is a dead end. Chapter 2 does not cover this product at all, and the legal text says so in one line.
The heading almost everybody misses
Omasum is a stomach. Heading 05.04 reads: guts, bladders and stomachs of animals (other than fish), whole and pieces thereof, fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, in brine, dried or smoked. Salted beef omasum is squarely inside that wording, and the six-digit code is 0504.00.
This is not a judgement call. Note 1 to Chapter 2 states that the chapter does not cover guts, bladders or stomachs of animals (heading 05.04). A legal note excluding a product from a chapter is binding — it is not guidance, and a broker cannot argue around it. Once you accept that omasum is a stomach, Chapter 2 is closed.
Why Chapter 2 looks right, and is not
The pull towards Chapter 2 is understandable. Omasum is edible bovine offal, and 0206 and 0210 both plainly describe edible bovine offal. But the Harmonized System resolves that overlap by carving stomachs out of Chapter 2 entirely and putting them, with guts and bladders, in Chapter 5 — products of animal origin not elsewhere specified.
The practical consequence is the useful part. Heading 05.04 covers fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, in brine, dried and smoked in a single heading. So the question that dominates every Chapter 2 argument — how much salt makes something “salted” rather than “frozen” — does not change the code here at all. Whether you ship the omasum chilled, frozen, wet-salted or dried, the heading is the same.
Beyond the sixth digit
The first six digits are international. After that every country adds its own. The United States uses 0504.00.00 with statistical suffixes that separate hog material from other; the European Union, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Bangladesh each extend the heading in their own way. Duty treatment varies by destination and by preferential agreement, so confirm the full national code and the applicable rate with your own broker before you quote a landed price.
Classification is not the same question as eligibility
Getting the heading right tells you what duty applies. It tells you nothing about whether the goods may legally enter. Those are two separate gates, decided by two separate authorities, and clearing one does not clear the other.
Animal products are controlled on country of origin and treatment, through the importing country’s veterinary authority. A correct HS code on a commercial invoice will not get a consignment released if the origin is not approved for that commodity, or if the treatment applied does not meet the standard that authority requires. Confirm the veterinary route in writing before the code matters.
What to put on the invoice
- 0504.00 at six digits, plus the national extension for the destination
- A description that matches the heading language — stomachs of bovine animals, salted — rather than trade names like bible tripe or omasum alone
- The variant and grade, the net and gross weight, and the lot code
- The preservation state, even though it does not change the code, because the veterinary certificate has to agree with the invoice
One habit worth keeping. If a broker or a buyer proposes a Chapter 2 code for this product, send them Note 1 to Chapter 2 rather than arguing. It is one sentence, it is in every published tariff, and it ends the discussion in the exporter’s favour.
We ship salted beef omasum under 0504.00.00 with the Bangladesh-side document set. See the full salted omasum specification, or ask for the grade bands and the yield basis.